Originally posted December 02, 2003 07:58 AM eNuri Quraan Service Presents The First 4 verses of Suurah Al Racd. . AL RACD ( The Thunder) Bismillah, wa salaatu wa salaamu calal mustafaa, wa calaa aalih wa saxbih wa sallim Al Racd as all other surah's revealed in Makkah are addressed to our inner selves, our baseerah, our sixths sense of perception. Imagine how a an Arab person living in the desert back in the sixth century would have felt when unexpectedly one of their own comes up with a radical view of life and death and beyond! Before we can grasp the profound effect the quraan has marked and left in the Arab mind, we need to visit Arabia circa 600 AD. Today we are going to take a walk in the back alleys of Makkah, its shops, we are going to visits their temples, we are going to listen to their poetry and live their lives in order to see how this man called Mohammed ( the praised one) has changed all of that in mere 23 years. Please do your own imagination and when you are done read on. Socially, Makka was the stronghold of the Quraish, a tribe that prides itself to be the decendants of Ishmael and Abraham, AS. Makkah was known as Ummul Quraa, the mother of all towns. The main attraction in Makkah was the Holy Kaaba, a building erected as a token of gratitude by Abraham and his son Ishmael after they have fulfilled Allah's commandments. Allah accepted their gift and made that place a center of worship for all of mankind for all of time. The years that followed Makkah witnessed gradual changes that led a 360 degree departure of Abrahams's objective of devotion and worship of a single God, ironically, they were close to 360 Gods. Quraish benefited a lot from this shrine as many pilgrims flocked to visit and worship their idols, business could never be better, and the new pilgrims brought with them their habits and ways of life to further corrupt Makkah and its inhabitants. In such a society, prostitution was the norm, consumption of alcohol and gamblin the past time, slavery and oppression of the weak ( laan gaab) . law of the land. Politically, the Arabs were divided among themselves, and every town had its own rulers, if you did not do injustice, you were the receiving side. Suddenly, one day, a man known by Meccans, climbed a hill near a market and called on all Quraish clans by their names to gather for news, a gesture that was known to be like a CNN newsbreak of the times. As they gathered this man would ask them if they have any questiuon about his character and credibility, and the amazed listeners responded that they have always known him as the trustworthy ( al ameen) This man, was Mohammed and this was the beginning of the end of history. Now imagine the revelation of Al Racd verses being revealed in that backdrop of history, with a linguistic elenquence never matched and scientific and historic narrations that are so precsie, no one dared to refute. Imagine the profound effect these verse would have on the social structure, political environment, class relations and business! The stakes were high, so Qurasih bribed this man with beautiful women if he would stop this new radical concept. They would offer to be their king, and even to send him to the psyciatrist if he was possessed by the jinn. He tells them that if they gave him the sun and the moon on his palms, he would not stop his casue. Now we read: 1. Alif-Lam-Mim-Ra. [These letters are one of the miracles of the Qur'an and none but Allah (Alone) knows their meanings]. These are the Verses of the Book (the Qur'an), and that which has been revealed unto you (Muhammad ) from your Lord is the truth, but most men believe not. 2. Allah is He Who raised the heavens without any pillars that you can see. Then, He Istawa (rose above) the Throne (really in a manner that suits His Majesty). He has subjected the sun and the moon (to continue going round)! Each running (its course) for a term appointed. He regulates all affairs, explaining the Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) in detail, that you may believe with certainty in the meeting with your Lord. 3. And it is He Who spread out the earth, and placed therein firm mountains and rivers and of every kind of fruits He made Zawjain Ithnain (two in pairs - may mean two kinds or it may mean: of two sorts, e.g. black and white, sweet and sour, small and big, etc.) He brings the night as a cover over the day. Verily, in these things, there are Ayat (proofs, evidences, lessons, signs, etc.) for people who reflect. 4. And in the earth are neighbouring tracts, and gardens of vines, and green crops (fields etc.), and date-palms, growing out two or three from a single stem root, or otherwise (one stem root for every palm ), watered with the same water, yet some of them We make more excellent than others to eat. Verily, in these things, there are Ayat (proofs, evidences, lessons, signs) for the people who understand. ALIF LAAM MIIM RAA These were the components and letters of the Arabic language, the secret of this code is only known to Allah SWT. These are indeed the verses of the Book, and waht has been revealed to you ( Mohamed) from your Lord are the Truth, but most people do not believe. The author of this written book being the same as the author of the astonishing book of nature around you, the designer and originator of the universe and its captivating flawless structure without any visible columns that support the blue membrane hovering over our heads that gives us the protection from the radiation of outer space. Who made the sun and the moon that we see every day work for us to sustain life on earth creating the tides, rain, seasons, greenery and crops. Imagine if your power company charged you for these services? a power service more reliable than California's energy companies and much cheaper than Kaaraans diesel generator one lamp per house hold rates. What amazes me in these verses is how these seemingly separate verses are well connected if we pay close attention to their structure. As we have noted previously, the beginning of the Surah was the secret code of Alif Laam Miim Raa, letters that only Allah SWT knows what they stand for. Allah SWT tells us that these verses are part of the book that was revealed from Allah SWT, and the fact that this revelation is indeed the truth from Allah SWT yet most people are bent on disbelief about their origin. Interestingly, the same author of this great book happens to be the author of the larger three dimensional book of life and the universe that surrounds us. What a good feeling then to know the awesome wisdom and power of Allah SWT and his kindness to us by honoring us with such words of wisdom to show us how insignificantly small we are compared to the visible universe of some 128 Billion Galaxies, each containing billions of stars of all sizes, planets and satellite clouds, moons and heavenly bodies, not even counting the dark matter suspended between the visible spectrum, possibly containing more matter than our meager telsecopes can capture. The author of this book is so wise that he has separated the canopy of gases that protect us from harmful solar rays , separating it from the surface of the earth on which we are born, grow and die. That beautiful blue membrane filter lets useful Solar rays penetrate to provide heat, rain, rivers, vegetation and food, while the moon provides light and decoration in addition to a guidance milestone and the tides that help the oceans absorb necessary gasses for the living colors beneath, acting as a giant biological filtration system for the biosphere we call home. At the same time, that blue membrane canopy blocks harmful rays while Allah SWT supports this canopy with invisible pillars that keep the gasses float to form a sophisticated roof over our heads. Allah SWT did all of that and more than we can imagine without getting tired and afterwards he was well placed on top of his throne, marking his absolute power and wisdom which dwarfs our meager intelligence and imagination. But today, we can see with our other eyes of science and technology what the Arabs could not see 1400 years ago with their bare eyes, we can see the planet as a whole, As Somalis, we can see the horn of Africa the place where our ancestoral parents called home, grazing their camels, and living their simple life that was so much dependent on the natural elements of sun and moon, a magnificent duo who play the revolving role of day and night " Yughshii al leila nahaara" we can further take off from our homes in Somalia to the ends of the planet, or the edge of the universe with ease from the comfort of our living rooms, watching TV programs like Discovery Channnel, we can visit the rainforest and its exotic biosphere, the savannah and the survival of the fittest, the tundra and the grizzly bears, deserts and the the animals that live in a 50 plus tempreture environment creatures like the camel and snakes, the icy poles and the black tuxedo dressed penguins, oceans and rivers, volcanoes, underneath aquifers and more, all of them testifying unity of Allah with their diversity a non challengeable testaments of the greatness of Allah SWT and a sign post reading : " So You May be certain of your eventual and assured reunion with your ceator" to be questioned of what we have done with the opportunity that was granted to us and the natural furniture we were given as a means of meeting our duties to our maker. Now, that is not all, the surah hits yet on another amazing scientificly natural occurence, the shape of our planet, a fact not well known by Arabs or non Arabs at the time, Allah SWT explains how he sustains life on earth, begining with the ideal shape and spatial location of our planet which is suspended in the milky way, a planet that is so well positioned from the distance of the sun on an elliptical path that provides for a temprature range that sustains life on earth, creatuing the seasons, and the suspension of gasses that are needed like oxygen and nitrogen , just the right mixture to sustain life, yet safe enough for not creating explosions if the 21% oxygen content was surpassed. With the diversity that we have discussed, Allah says " Wa huwa alladee maddal arda" " It is he who had extended the earth", meaning that the extension of the earth to all directions maximizing the surface area requires a quasi spherical shape, but with that extension and expansion, Allah SWT placed on the surface of our planet peaks and valleys so gravity can do its work along with the temprature in creating flowing rivers and pastures necessary for sustaining life on earth, in the form of fruits and the food chain, Allah created pairs, of so that each creature Allah SWT creates finds its allotted Rizq share and play its role and purpose willingly in the case of Muslims, or unwillingly in the case of the unbelievers. Why did I say so much to explain the fisrt three verses of Suratul Al Racd: Becoause they are " La Aayatin liqowmin yatafakaruun" they are milestones or lamp posts for a folk who use their heads to ponder about the meaning of creation and life to home-in to toward their maker in apprecaiation and hence develop immense love ffor Him, enough to worship him as he rightfully deserves. Nur 2003 eNuri Quran Expediction

A Strategy for Israel in the Nineteen Eighties by Oded Yinon This essay originally appeared in Hebrew in KIVUNIM (Directions) , A Journal for Judaism and Zionism; Issue No, 14--Winter, 5742, February 1982, Editor: Yoram Beck. Editorial Committee: Eli Eyal, Yoram Beck, Amnon Hadari, Yohanan Manor, Elieser Schweid. Published by the Department of Publicity/The World Zionist Organization , Jerusalem. At the outset of the nineteen eighties the State of Israel is in need of a new perspective as to its place, its aims and national targets, at home and abroad. This need has become even more vital due to a number of central processes which the country, the region and the world are undergoing. We are living today in the early stages of a new epoch in human history which is not at all similar to its predecessor, and its characteristics are totally different from what we have hitherto known. That is why we need an understanding of the central processes which typify this historical epoch on the one hand, and on the other hand we need a world outlook and an operational strategy in accordance with the new conditions. The existence, prosperity and steadfastness of the Jewish state will depend upon its ability to adopt a new framework for its domestic and foreign affairs. This epoch is characterized by several traits which we can already diagnose, and which symbolize a genuine revolution in our present lifestyle. The dominant process is the breakdown of the rationalist, humanist outlook as the major cornerstone supporting the life and achievements of Western civilization since the Renaissance. The political, social and economic views which have emanated from this foundation have been based on several "truths" which are presently disappearing--for example, the view that man as an individual is the center of the universe and everything exists in order to fulfill his basic material needs. This position is being invalidated in the present when it has become clear that the amount of resources in the cosmos does not meet Man's requirements, his economic needs or his demographic constraints. In a world in which there are four billion human beings and economic and energy resources which do not grow proportionally to meet the needs of mankind, it is unrealistic to expect to fulfill the main requirement of Western Society, i.e., the wish and aspiration for boundless consumption. The view that ethics plays no part in determining the direction Man takes, but rather his material needs do--that view is becoming prevalent today as we see a world in which nearly all values are disappearing. We are losing the ability to assess the simplest things, especially when they concern the simple question of what is Good and what is Evil. The vision of man's limitless aspirations and abilities shrinks in the face of the sad facts of life, when we witness the break-up of world order around us. The view which promises liberty and freedom to mankind seems absurd in light of the sad fact that three fourths of the human race lives under totalitarian regimes. The views concerning equality and social justice have been transformed by socialism and especially by Communism into a laughing stock. There is no argument as to the truth of these two ideas, but it is clear that they have not been put into practice properly and the majority of mankind has lost the liberty, the freedom and the opportunity for equality and justice. In this nuclear world in which we are (still) living in relative peace for thirty years, the concept of peace and coexistence among nations has no meaning when a superpower like the USSR holds a military and political doctrine of the sort it has: that not only is a nuclear war possible and necessary in order to achieve the ends of Marxism, but that it is possible to survive after it, not to speak of the fact that one can be victorious in it. 2 The essential concepts of human society, especially those of the West, are undergoing a change due to political, military and economic transformations. Thus, the nuclear and conventional might of the USSR has transformed the epoch that has just ended into the last respite before the great saga that will demolish a large part of our world in a multi-dimensional global war, in comparison with which the past world wars will have been mere child's play. The power of nu clear as well as of conventional weapons, their quantity, their precision and quality will turn most of our world upside down within a few years, and we must align ourselves so as to face that in Israel. That is, then, the main threat to our existence and that of the Western world. The war over resources in the world, the Arab monopoly on oil, and the need of the West to import most of its raw materials from the Third World, are transforming the world we know, given that one of the major aims of the USSR is to defeat the West by gaining control over the g igantic resources in the Persian Gulf and in the southern part of Africa, in which the majority of world minerals are located. We can imagine the dimensions of the global confrontation which will face us in the future. The Gorshkov doctrine calls for Soviet control of the oceans and mineral rich areas of the Third World. That together with the present Soviet nuclear doctrine which holds that it is possible to manage, win and survive a nuclear war, in the course of which the West's military might well be destroyed and its inhabitants made slaves in the service of Marxism-Leninism, is the main danger to world peace and to our own existence. Since 1967, the Soviets have transformed Clausewitz' dictum into "War is the continuation of policy in nuclear means," and made it the motto which guides all their policies. Already today they are busy carrying out their aims in our region and throughout the world, and the need to face them becomes the major element in our country's security policy and of course that of the rest of the Free World. That is our major foreign challenge. The Arab Moslem world, therefore, is not the major strategic problem which we shall face in the Eighties, despite the fact that it carries the main threat against Israel, due to its growing military might. This world, with its ethnic minorities, its factions and internal crises, which is astonishingly self- destructive, as we can see in Lebanon, in non-Arab Iran and now also in Syria, is unable to deal successfully with its fundamental problems and does not therefore constitute a real threat against the State of Israel in the long run, but only in the short run where its immediate military power has great import. In the long run, this world will be unable to exist within its present framework in the areas around us without having to go through genuine revolutionary changes. The Moslem Arab World is built like a temporary house of cards put together by foreign ers (France and Britain in the Nineteen Twenties), without the wishes and desires of the inhabitants having been taken into account. It was arbitrarily divided into 19 states, all made of combinations of minorites and ethnic groups which are hostile to one anoth er, so that every Arab Moslem state nowadays faces ethnic so cial destruction from within, and in some a civil war is already raging. Most of th e Arabs, 118 million out of 170 millio n, 5 live in Africa, mostly in Egypt (45 million today). Apart from Egypt, all the Maghreb states are made up of a mixture of Arabs and non-Arab Berbers. In Algeria there is already a civil war raging in the Kabile mountains between the two nations in the country. Morocco and Algeria are at war with each other over Spanish Sahara, in addition to the internal struggle in each of them. Militant Islam endangers the integrity of Tunisia and Qaddafi organizes wars which are destructive from the Arab point of view, from a country which is sparsely populated and which cannot become a powerful nation. That is why he has been attempting unifications in the past with states that are more genuine, like Egypt and Syria. Sudan, the most torn apart state in the Arab Moslem world today is built upon four groups hostile to each other, an Arab Moslem Sunni minority which rules over a majority of non-Arab Africans, Pagans, and Christians. In Egypt there is a Sunni Moslem majority facing a large minority of Christians which is dominant in upper Egypt: some 7 million of them, so that even Sadat, in his speech on May 8, expressed the fear that they will want a state of their own, something like a "second" Christian Lebanon in Egypt. All the Arab States east of Israel are torn apart, broken up and riddled with inner conflict even more than those of the Maghreb. Syria is fundamentally no different from Lebanon except in the strong military regime which rules it. But the real civil war taking place nowadays between the Sunni majority and the Shi'ite Alawi ruling minority (a mere 12% of the population) testifies to th e severity of the domestic trouble. Iraq is, once again, no different in essence from its neighbors, although its majority is Shi'ite and the ruling minority Sunni. Sixty-fiv e percent of the population has no say in politics, in which an elite of 20 percent holds the power. In addition there is a large Kurdish minority in the north, and if it weren't for the strength of the ruling regime, the army and the oil revenues, Iraq's future state would be no different than that of Lebanon in th e past or of Syria today. The seed s of inner conflict and civil war are apparent today already, especially after the rise of Khomeini to power in Iran, a leader wh om the Shi'ites in Iraq view as their natural leader. All the Gulf principalities and Saudi Arabia are built upon a d elicate house of sand in which there is only o il. In Kuwait, the Kuwaitis co nstitute only a quarter of the population. In Bahrain, the Shi'ites are the majority but are deprived of power. In the UAE, Shi'ites are once again the majority but the Sunnis are in power. The same is true of Oman and North Yemen. Even in the Marx ist South Yemen there is a sizable Shi'ite minority. In Saudi Arabia half the population is foreign, Egyptian and Yemenite, but a Saudi minority holds power. Jordan is in reality Palestinian, ruled by a Trans-Jordanian Bedouin minority, but most of the army and certainly the bureaucracy is now Palestin ian. As a matter of fact Amman is as Palestinian as Nab lus. All of these countries have powerful armies, relatively speaking. But there is a problem there too. The Syrian army today is mostly Sunni with an Alawi officer corps, th e Iraqi army Shi'ite with Sunni commanders. This has great significance in the long run, and that is wh y it will not be possible to retain the loyalty of the army for a long time except where it comes to the only common denominator: The hostility towards Israel, and today even th at is insufficient. Alongside the Arabs, split as they are, the other Mo slem states share a similar predicament. Half of Iran's population is comprised of a Persian speaking group and the other half of an ethnically Turkish group. Turkey's population comprises a Turkish Sunni Moslem majority, some 50%, and two large minorities, 12 million Shi'ite Alawis and 6 million Sunni Kurds. In Afgh anistan there are 5 million Shi'ites who constitute one third of the population. In Sunni Pakistan there are 15 million Shi'ites who endanger the existence of that state. This national ethnic minority picture extending from Morocco to India and from Somalia to Turkey points to the absence of stability and a rapid degeneration in the entire region. When this picture is added to the economic one, we see how the entire region is built like a house of cards, unable to withstand its severe problems. In this giant and fractured world there are a few wealthy groups and a huge mass of poor people. Most of the Arabs have an average yearly income of 30 0 dollars. That is the situation in Egypt, in mo st of the Maghreb countries except for Libya, and in Iraq. Lebanon is torn apart and its economy is falling to pieces. It is a state in which there is no centralized power, but only 5 de facto sovereign authorities (Christian in the north, supported by the Syrians and under the rule of the Franjieh clan, in the East an area of direct Syrian conquest, in the center a Phalangist controlled Christian enclave, in the south and up to the Litani river a mostly Palestinian region controlled by the PLO and Major Haddad's state of Christians and half a million Shi'ites). Syria is in an even graver situation and even the assistance she will obtain in the future after the unification with Libya will not be sufficient for dealing with the basic problems of existence and the maintenance of a large army. Egypt is in the worst situation: Millions are on the verge of hunger, half the labor force is unemployed, and housing is scarce in this most densely populated area of the world. Except for the army, there is not a single department operating efficiently and the state is in a permanent state of bankruptcy and depends entirely on American foreign assistance granted since the peace. In the Gulf states, Saudi Arabia, Libya and Egypt there is the largest accumulation of money and oil in the world, bu t those enjoying it are tiny elites who lack a wide base of support and self-confidence, something that no army can guarantee. The Saudi army with all its equipment cannot defend the regime from real dangers at home or abroad, and what took place in Mecca in 1980 is only an example. A sad and very stormy situation surrounds Israel and creates challenges for it, problems, risks but also far- reaching opportunities for the first time since 1967 . Chances are that opportunities missed at that time will become achievab le in the Eighties to an extent and along dimensions which we cannot even imagine today. The "peace" policy and the return of territories, through a dependence upon the US, precludes the realization of the new option created for us. Since 1967, all the governments of Israel have tied our national aims down to narrow political needs, on the one hand, and on th e other to destructive opinions at home which neutralized our capacities both at ho me and abroad. Failing to take steps towards the Arab population in the new territories, acquired in the course of a war forced upon us, is the major strategic error committed by Israel on the morning after the Six Day War. We could have saved ourselves all the bitter and dangerous conflict since then if we had given Jord an to the Palestinians who live west of the Jordan river. By doing that we would have neutralized the Palestinian problem which we nowadays face, and to which we have found solutions that are really no solutions at all, such as territorial compromise or autonomy which amount, in fact, to the same thing. Today, we suddenly face immense opportunities for transforming the situation thoroughly and this we must do in the coming decade, otherwise we shall not survive as a state. In the course of the Nineteen Eighties, the State of Israel will have to go through far-reaching changes in its political and economic regime domestically, along with radical changes in its foreign policy, in order to stand up to the global and regional challenges of this new epoch. The loss of the Suez Canal oil fields, of the immense potential of the oil, gas and other natural resources in the Sinai peninsula which is geomorphologically identical to the rich oil-producing countries in the region, will result in an energy drain in the near future and will destroy our domestic economy: one quarter of our present GNP as well as one third of the budget is used for the purchase of oil. The search for raw materials in the Negev and on the coast will not, in the near future, serve to alter that state of affairs. (Regaining) the Sinai peninsula with its present and potential resources is therefore a political priority which is obstructed by the Camp David and the peace agreements . The fault for that lies of course with the present Israeli government and the governments which paved the road to the policy of territorial compromise, the Alignment governments since 1967. The Egyptians will not need to keep the peace treaty after the return of the Sinai, and they will d o all th ey can to return to the fold of the Arab world and to th e USSR in order to gain support and military assistance. American aid is guaranteed only for a short while, for the terms of the peace and the weakening of the U.S. both at home and abroad will bring about a reduction in aid. Without oil and the income from it, with the present enormous expenditure, we will not be able to g et through 1982 under the present conditions and we will have to act in order to return the situation to the status quo which existed in Sinai prior to Sadat's visit and the mistaken peace agreement signed with him in March 1979 . Israel has two major routes through which to realize this purpose, one direct and the other indirect. The direct option is the less realistic one because of the nature of the regime and government in Israel as well as the wisdom of Sadat who obtained our withdrawal from Sinai, which was, next to the war of 1973, his major achievement since he took power. Israel will not unilaterally break the treaty, neither today, nor in 1982, unless it is very hard pressed economically and politically and Egypt provides Israel with the excuse to take the Sinai back into our hands for the fourth time in our short h istory. What is left therefore, is the indirect option. The economic situation in Egypt, the nature of the regime and its pan-Arab po licy, will bring about a situation after April 1982 in which Israel will be forced to act directly or indirectly in order to regain control over Sinai as a strategic, economic and energy reserve for the long run . Egypt does n ot constitute a military strategic problem due to its internal conflicts and it could be driven back to the post 19 67 war situation in no more than one day. The myth of Egypt as the strong leader of the Arab World was demolished back in 1956 and definitely did no t survive 1967, but our po licy, as in the return of the Sinai, served to turn the myth into "fact." In reality, however, Egypt's power in proportion both to Israel alone and to the rest of the Arab World has gone down about 50 p ercent since 1967. Egypt is no longer the leading political power in the Arab World and is economically on the verge of a crisis. Without foreign assistance the crisis will come tomorrow. In the short run, due to the return of the Sinai, Egypt will gain several advantages at our 12 expense, but only in the short run until 1982, and that will not change the balance of power to its benefit, and will possibly bring about its downfall. Egypt, in its present domestic political p icture, is already a corpse, all the more so if we take into account the growing Moslem-Christian rift. Breaking Egypt down territorially into distinct geographical regions is the political aim of Israel in the Nineteen Eighties on its Western front . Egypt is divided and torn apart into many foci of authority. If Egypt falls apart, countries like Libya, Sudan or even the more distant states will not continue to exist in their p resent form and will join the downfall and dissolution of Egypt. The vision of a Christian Coptic State in Upper Egypt alongside a number of weak states with very localized power and without a centralized government a s to date, is the key to a historical development which was only set back by the peace agreement but which seems inevitable in the long run . 13 The Western front, which on the surface appears more problematic, is in fact less complicated than the Eastern front, in which most of the events that make the headlines have been taking place recently. Lebanon's total dissolution into five provinces serves as a precendent for the entire Arab world including Egypt, Syria, Iraq and the Arabian peninsula and is already following that track. The dissolution of Syria and Iraq later on into ethnically or religiously unqiue areas such as in Lebanon, is Israel's primary target on the Eastern fron t in the long run, while the d issolution o f the military power of th ose sta tes serves as the primary short term target. Syria will fall apart, in acco rdance with its ethnic and religious structure, into several states such as in present day Lebanon, so that there will be a Shi'ite Alawi state along its coast, a Sunni state in the Aleppo area, another Sunni state in Damascus hostile to its northern neighbor, and the Druzes who will set up a state , maybe even in our Golan, and certainly in the Hauran and in northern Jordan . This state of affairs will be the guarantee for peace and security in the area in the long run, and that aim is already within our reach today . 14 Iraq, rich in oil on the one hand and internally torn on the other, is guaranteed as a candidate for Israel's targets . Its dissolution is even more important for us than that of Syria. Iraq is stronger than Syria. In the short run it is Iraqi power which constitutes the greatest threat to Israel. An Iraqi-Iranian war will tear Iraq apart and cause its downfall at home even before it is able to organize a struggle on a wide front against us. Every kind of inter-Arab confrontation will assist us in the short run and will shorten the way to the more important aim of breaking up Iraq into denominations as in Syria and in Lebanon . In Iraq, a division into provinces along ethnic/religious lines as in Syria during Otto man times is possible. So, three (or more) states will exist around the three major cities: Basra, Baghdad and Mosul, and Shi'ite areas in the south will separate from the Sunni and Kurdish north. It is possible that the present Iranian-Iraqi confrontation will deepen this polarization. 15 The entire Arabian peninsula is a natural candidate for dissolution due to internal and external pressures, and the matter is inevitable especially in Saudi Arabia. Regardless of whether its economic might based on oil remains intact or whether it is diminished in the long run, the internal rifts and breakdowns are a clear and natu ral development in light of th e present political structure. 1 6 Jordan constitutes an immediate strategic target in the short run but no t in the long run, for it does not constitute a real threat in the long run after its disso lution , the termination of the lengthy rule of King Hussein and the transfer of power to the Palestinians in the short run. There is no chance that Jordan will continue to exist in its present structure for a long time, and Israel's policy, both in war and in peace, ought to be directed at the liquidation of Jordan under the present regime and the transfer of power to th e Palestin ian majority. Changing the regime east of the river will also cause the termina tion of the problem of the territories densely populated with Arabs west of the Jordan. Whether in war or under cond itions of peace, emigrationfrom the territories and economic demographic freeze in them, are the guarantees for the coming change on both banks of the river, and we ought to be active in order to accelerate this process in the nearest future . The autonomy plan ought also to be rejected, as well as any compromise or division of the territories for, given the plans of the PLO and th ose of the Israeli Arabs themselves, the Shefa'amr plan of September 1980, it is not possible to go on living in this country in the present situation without separating the two nations, the Arabs to Jordan and the Jews to the areas west of the river . Genuine coexistence and peace will reign over the land only when the Arabs understand that without Jewish rule between the Jordan and the sea they will have neither existence nor security. A nation of their own and security will be theirs only in Jordan. 17 Within Israel the distinction between the areas of '67 and the territories beyond them, those of '48, has always been meaningless for Arabs and nowadays no longer has any significance for us. The problem should be seen in its entirety without any divisions as of '67. It should be clear, under any future political situation or mifitary constellation, that the solution o f the problem of the indigenous Arabs will come only when they recognize the existence of Israel in secure borders up to the Jordan river and beyond it, as our existential need in this difficult epoch, the nuclear epoch which we shall soon enter. It is no longer possible to live with three fourths of the Jewish population on the dense shoreline which is so dangerous in a nuclear epoch. Dispersal of the population is therefore a domestic strategic aim of the highest order; otherwise, we shall cease to exist within any borders. Judea, Samaria and the Galilee are our sole guarantee for national existence, and if we do not become the majority in the mountain areas, we shall not rule in the country and we shall be like the Crusaders, who lost this country which was not theirs anyhow, and in which they were foreigners to begin with. Reb alancing the country demographically, strategically and economically is the highest and most central aim today. Taking hold of the mountain watershed from Beersheba to the Upper Galilee is the national aim g enerated by th e major strategic co nsideration which is settling the mountainous part of the country that is empty of Jews today . Realizing our aims on th e Eastern front depends first on the realization of this internal strategic objective. The transformation of the p olitical and economic structure, so as to enable the realization of these strategic aims, is the key to achieving the entire change. We need to change from a centralized economy in which the government is extensively involved, to an open and free market as well as to switch from depending upon the U.S. taxpayer to developing, with our own hands, of a genuine productive economic infrastructure. If we are not able to make this change freely and voluntarily, we shall be forced into it by world developments, especially in the areas of economics, energy, an d politics, and by our own growing isolation. From a military and strategic po int of view, the West led by the U.S. is unable to withstand the global pressures of the USSR throughout the world, and Israel must therefore stand alone in the Eighties, without any foreign assistance, military o r economic, and this is within our capacities today, with no compromises. Rapid changes in the world will also bring about a change in the condition of world 20 Jewry to which Israel will become not only a last resort but the only existential option. We cannot assume that U.S. Jews, and the communities of Europe and Latin America will continue to exist in the present form in the future . Our existence in this country itself is certain , and there is no force that could remove us from here either forcefully or by treachery (Sadat's method). Despite the difficulties of the mistaken "peace" policy and the problem of the Israeli Arabs and those of the territories, we can effectively deal with these problems in the foreseeable future. Conclusion 1. Three imp ortant points have to be clarified in order to be able to understand the significant possibilities of realization of this Zionist plan for the Middle East, and also why it had to be published. 2. The Military Background of The Plan The military conditions of this plan have not been mentioned above, but on the many occasions where something very like it is being "explained" in closed meetings to members of the Israeli Establishment, this point is clarified. It is assumed that the Israeli military forces, in all their branches, are insufficient for th e actual work of occupation of such wide territories as discussed above. In fact, even in times of intense Palestinian "unrest" on the West Bank, the forces of the Israeli Army are stretched out too much. The answer to that is the method of ruling by means of "Haddad forces" or of "Village Associations" (also kn own as "Village Leagues"): local forces under "leaders" completely dissociated from the population, not having even any feudal or party structure (such as the Phalangists have, for example). The "states" proposed by Yinon are "Haddadland" and "Village Associations," and their armed forces will be, no doubt, quite similar. In addition, Israeli military superiority in such a situation will be much greater than it is even now, so that any movement of revolt will be "punished" either by mass humiliation as in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, or by bombardment and obliteration of cities, as in Lebanon now (June 1982), or by both. In order to ensure this, the plan , as explained orally, calls for the establishment of Israeli garrisons in focal places between the mini states, equipped with the necessary mobile destructive forces. In fact, we have seen something like this in Haddadland and we will almost certainly soon see the first example of this system functioning either in South Lebanon or in all Lebanon. 3. It is obvious that the above military assumptions, and the whole plan too, depend also on the Arabs continuing to be even more divided than they are now, and on the lack of any truly progressive mass movement among them. It may be that those two conditions will be removed only when the plan will be well advanced, with consequences which can not be foreseen. 4. Why it is necessary to publish this in Israel? The reason for publication is the dual nature of the Israeli-Jewish society: A very great measure of freedom and democracy, specially for Jews, combined with expansionism and racist discrimination. In such a situation the Israeli-Jewish elite (for the masses follow the TV and Begin's speeches) has to be persuaded . The first steps in the process of persuasion are oral, as indicated above, but a time comes in which it becomes inconvenient. Written material must be produced for the benefit of the more ****** "persuaders" and "explainers" (for example medium-rank officers, who are, usually, remarkably ******). They then "learn it," more or less, and preach to others. It should be remarked that Israel, and even the Yishuv from the Twenties, has always functioned in this way. I myself well remember how (before I was "in opposition") the necessity of war with was explained to me and others a year before the 1956 war, and the necessity of conq uering "the rest of Western Palestine when we will have the opportunity" was explained in the years 1965-67. 5. Why is it assumed that there is no special risk from the outside in the publication of such plans? Such risks can come from two sources, so long as the principled opposition inside Israel is very weak (a situation which may change as a consequence of the war on Lebanon) : The Arab World, including the Palestin ians, and the United States. The Arab World has shown itself so far quite incapable of a detailed and rational analysis of Israeli-Jewish society, and the Palestinians have been, on the average, no better than the rest. In such a situation, even those who are shouting about the dangers of Israeli expansionism (which are real enough) are doing this not because of factual and detailed knowledge, but because of belief in myth. A good example is the very persistent belief in the non-existent writing on the wall of the Knesset of the Biblical verse about the Nile and the Euphrates. Another example is the persistent, and completely false declarations, which were made by some of the most important Arab leaders, that the two b lue stripes of the Israeli flag symbolize th e Nile and the Euphrates, while in fact they are taken from the stripes o f the Jewish praying shawl (Talit). The Israeli specialists assume that, on the whole, the Arabs will pay no attention to th eir serious discussions of the future, and the Lebanon war has proved them right. So why should they not continue with their old methods of persuading other Israelis? 6. In the United States a very similar situation exists, at least until now. The more or less serious commentators take their information about Israel, and much of their opinions about it, from two sources. The first is from articles in the "liberal" American press, written almost totally by Jewish admirers of Israel who, even if they are critical of some aspects of the Israeli state, practice loyally what Stalin used to call "th e constructive criticism." (In fact those among them who claim also to be "Anti- Stalinist" are in reality more Stalinist than Stalin, with Israel being their god which has not yet failed). In the framework of such critical worship it must be assumed that Israel has always "good intentions" and only "makes mistakes," and therefore such a plan would not be a matter for discussion--exactly as the Biblical genocides committed by Jews are not mentioned. The other source of information, The Jerusalem Post , has similar policies. So long, therefore, as the situation exists in which Israel is really a "closed society" to the rest of the world, because the world wants to close its eyes , the publication and even the beginning of the realization of such a plan is realistic and feasible. Israel Shahak June 17, 1982 Jerusalem About the Translator Israel Shahak is a professor of organic chemistly at Hebrew University in Jerusalem and the chairman of the Israeli League for Human and Civil Rights. He published The Shahak Papers , collections of key articles from the Hebrew press, and is the author of numerous articles and books, among them Non-Jew in the Jewish State . His latest book is Israel's Global Role: Weapons for Repression , published by the AAUG in 1982. Israel Shahak: (1933-2001) Notes 1 . American Universities Field Staff. Report No.33, 1979. According to this research, the population of the world will be 6 billion in the year 2000. Today's world population can be broken down as follows: China, 958 million; India, 635 million; USSR, 261 million; U.S., 218 million Indonesia, 140 million; Brazil and Japan, 110 million each. According to the figures of the U.N. Population Fund for 1980, there will be, in 2000, 50 cities with a population of over 5 million each. The population ofthp;Third World will then be 80% of the world population. According to Justin Blackwelder, U.S. Census Office chief, the world population will not reach 6 billion because of hunger. 2 . Soviet nuclear policy has been well summarized by two American Sovietologists: Joseph D. Douglas and Amoretta M. Hoeber, Soviet Strategy for Nuclear War , (Stanford, Ca., Hoover Inst. Press, 1979). In the Soviet Union tens and hundreds of articles and books are published each year which detail the Soviet doctrine for nuclear war and there is a great deal of documentation translated into English and published by the U.S. Air Force,including USAF: Marxism-Leninism on War and the Army: The Soviet View , Moscow, 1972; USAF: The Armed Forces of the Soviet State . Moscow, 1975, by Marshal A. Grechko. The basic Soviet approach to the matter is presented in the book by Marshal Sokolovski published in 1962 in Moscow: Marshal V. D. Sokolovski, Military Strategy, Soviet Doctrine and Concepts (New York, Praeger, 1963). 3 . A picture of Soviet intentions in various areas of the world can be drawn from the book by Douglas and Hoeber, ibid. For additional material see: Michael Morgan, "USSR's Minerals as Strategic Weapon in the Future," Defense and Foreign Affairs , Washington, D.C., Dec. 1979. 4 . Admiral of the Fleet Sergei Gorshkov, Sea Power and the State , London, 1979. Morgan, loc. cit. General George S. Brown (USAF) C-JCS, Statement to the Congress on the Defense Posture of the United States For Fiscal Year 1979 , p. 103; National Security Council, Review of Non-Fuel Mineral Policy , (Washington, D.C. 1979,); Drew Middleton, The New York Times , (9/15/79); Time , 9/21/80. 5 . Elie Kedourie, "The End of the Ottoman Empire," Journal of Contemporary History , Vol. 3, No.4, 1968. 6 . Al-Thawra , Syria 12/20/79, Al-Ahram ,12/30/79, Al Ba'ath , Syria, 5/6/79. 55% of the Arabs are 20 years old and younger, 70% of the Arabs live in Africa, 55% of the Arabs under 15 are unemployed, 33% live in urban areas, Oded Yinon, "Egypt's Population Problem," The Jerusalem Quarterly , No. 15, Spring 1980. 7 . E. Kanovsky, "Arab Haves and Have Nots," The Jerusalem Quarterly , No.1, Fall 1976, Al Ba'ath , Syria, 5/6/79. 8 . In his book, former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin said that the Israeli government is in fact responsible for the design of American policy in the Middle East, after June '67, because of its own indecisiveness as to the future of the territories and the inconsistency in its positions since it established the background for Resolution 242 and certainly twelve years later for the Camp David agreements and the peace treaty with Egypt. According to Rabin, on June 19, 1967, President Johnson sent a letter to Prime Minister Eshkol in which he did not mention anything about withdrawal from the new territories but exactly on the same day the government resolved to return territories in exchange for peace. After the Arab resolutions in Khartoum (9/1/67) the government altered its position but contrary to its decision of June 19, did not notify the U.S. of the alteration and the U.S. continued to support 242 in the Security Council on the basis of its earlier understanding that Israel is prepared to return territories. At that point it was already too late to change the U.S. position and Israel's policy. From here the way was opened to peace agreements on the basis of 242 as was later agreed upon in Camp David. See Yitzhak Rabin. Pinkas Sherut , ( Ma'ariv 1979) pp. 226-227. 9 . Foreign and Defense Committee Chairman Prof. Moshe Arens argued in an interview ( Ma 'ariv ,10/3/80) that the Israeli government failed to prepare an economic plan before the Camp David agreements and was itself surprised by the cost of the agreements, although already during the negotiations it was possible to calculate the heavy price and the serious error involved in not having prepared the economic grounds for peace. The former Minister of Treasury, Mr. Yigal Holwitz, stated that if it were not for the withdrawal from the oil fields, Israel would have a positive balance of payments (9/17/80). That same person said two years earlier that the government of Israel (from which he withdrew) had placed a noose around his neck. He was referring to the Camp David agreements ( Ha'aretz , 11/3/78). In the course of the whole peace negotiations neither an expert nor an economics advisor was consulted, and the Prime Minister himself, who lacks knowledge and expertise in economics, in a mistaken initiative, asked the U.S. to give us a loan rather than a grant, due to his wish to maintain our respect and the respect of the U.S. towards us. See Ha'aretz 1/5/79. Jerusalem Post , 9/7/79. Prof Asaf Razin, formerly a senior consultant in the Treasury, strongly criticized the conduct of the negotiations; Ha'aretz , 5/5/79. Ma'ariv , 9/7/79. As to matters concerning the oil fields and Israel's energy crisis, see the interview with Mr. Eitan Eisenberg, a government advisor on these matters, Ma'arive Weekly , 12/12/78. The Energy Minister, who personally signed the Camp David agreements and the evacuation of Sdeh Alma, has since emphasized the seriousness of our condition from the point of view of oil supplies more than once...see Y ediot Ahronot , 7/20/79. Energy Minister Modai even admitted that the government did not consult him at all on the subject of oil during the Camp David and Blair House negotiations. Ha'aretz , 8/22/79. 10 . Many sources report on the growth of the armaments budget in Egypt and on intentions to give the army preference in a peace epoch budget over domestic needs for which a peace was allegedly obtained. See former Prime Minister Mamduh Salam in an interview 12/18/77, Treasury Minister Abd El Sayeh in an interview 7/25/78, and the paper Al Akhbar , 12/2/78 which clearly stressed that the military budget will receive first priority, despite the peace. This is what former Prime Minister Mustafa Khalil has stated in his cabinet's programmatic document which was presented to Parliament, 11/25/78. See English translation, ICA, FBIS, Nov. 27. 1978, pp. D 1-10. According to these sources, Egypt's military budget increased by 10% between fiscal 1977 and 1978, and the process still goes on. A Saudi source divulged that the Egyptians plan to increase their militmy budget by 100% in the next two years; Ha'aretz , 2/12/79 and Jerusalem Post , 1/14/79. 11 . Most of the economic estimates threw doubt on Egypt's ability to reconstruct its economy by 1982. See Economic Intelligence Unit , 1978 Supplement, "The Arab Republic of Egypt"; E. Kanovsky, "Recent Economic Developments in the Middle East," Occasional Papers , The Shiloah Institution, June 1977; Kanovsky, "The Egyptian Economy Since the Mid-Sixties, The Micro Sectors," Occasional Papers , June 1978; Robert McNamara, President of World Bank, as reported in Times , London, 1/24/78. 12 . See the comparison made by the researeh of the Institute for Strategic Studies in London, and research camed out in the Center for Strategic Studies of Tel Aviv University, as well as the research by the British scientist, Denis Champlin, Military Review , Nov. 1979, ISS: The Military Balance 1979-1980, CSS; Security Arrangements in Sinai ...by Brig. Gen. (Res.) A Shalev, No. 3.0 CSS; The Military Balance and the Military Options after the Peace Treaty with Egypt , by Brig. Gen. (Res.) Y. Raviv, No.4, Dec. 1978, as well as many press reports including El Hawadeth , London, 3/7/80; El Watan El Arabi , Paris, 12/14/79. 13 . As for religious ferment in Egypt and the relations between Copts and Moslems see the series of articles published in the Kuwaiti paper, El Qabas , 9/15/80. The English author Irene Beeson reports on the rift between Moslems and Copts, see: Irene Beeson, Guardian , London, 6/24/80, and Desmond Stewart, Middle East Internmational , London 6/6/80. For other reports see Pamela Ann Smith, Guardian , London, 12/24/79; The Christian Science Monitor 12/27/79 as well as Al Dustour , London, 10/15/79; El Kefah El Arabi, 10/15/79. 14 . Arab Press Service , Beirut, 8/6-13/80. The New Republic , 8/16/80, Der Spiegel as cited by Ha'aretz , 3/21/80, and 4/30-5/5/80; The Economist , 3/22/80; Robert Fisk, Times , London, 3/26/80; Ellsworth Jones, Sunday Times , 3/30/80. 15 . J.P. Peroncell Hugoz, Le Monde , Paris 4/28/80; Dr. Abbas Kelidar, Middle East Review , Summer 1979; Conflict Studies , ISS, July 1975; Andreas Kolschitter, Der Zeit , ( Ha'aretz , 9/21/79) Economist Foreign Report , 10/10/79, Afro-Asian Affairs , London, July 1979. 16 . Arnold Hottinger, "The Rich Arab States in Trouble," The New York Review of Books , 5/15/80; Arab Press Service , Beirut, 6/25-7/2/80; U.S. News and World Report , 11/5/79 as well as El Ahram , 11/9/79; El Nahar El Arabi Wal Duwali , Paris 9/7/79; El Hawadeth , 11/9/79; David Hakham, Monthly Review , IDF, Jan.-Feb. 79. 17 . As for Jordan's policies and problems see El Nahar El Arabi Wal Duwali , 4/30/79, 7/2/79; Prof. Elie Kedouri, Ma'ariv 6/8/79; Prof. Tanter, Davar 7/12/79; A. Safdi, Jerusalem Post , 5/31/79; El Watan El Arabi 11/28/79; El Qabas , 11/19/79. As for PLO positions see: The resolutions of the Fatah Fourth Congress, Damascus, August 1980. The Shefa'amr program of the Israeli Arabs was published in Ha'aretz , 9/24/80, and by Arab Press Report 6/18/80. For facts and figures on immigration of Arabs to Jordan, see Amos Ben Vered, Ha'aretz , 2/16/77; Yossef Zuriel, Ma'ariv 1/12/80. As to the PLO's position towards Israel see Shlomo Gazit, Monthly Review ; July 1980; Hani El Hasan in an interview, Al Rai Al'Am , Kuwait 4/15/80; Avi Plaskov, "The Palestinian Problem," Survival , ISS, London Jan. Feb. 78; David Gutrnann, "The Palestinian Myth," Commentary , Oct. 75; Bernard Lewis, "The Palestinians and the PLO," Commentary Jan. 75; Monday Morning , Beirut, 8/18-21/80; Journal of Palestine Studies , Winter 1980. 18 . Prof. Yuval Neeman, "Samaria--The Basis for Israel's Security," Ma'arakhot 272-273, May/June 1980; Ya'akov Hasdai, "Peace, the Way and the Right to Know," Dvar Hashavua , 2/23/80. Aharon Yariv, "Strategic Depth--An Israeli Perspective," Ma'arakhot 270-271, October 1979; Yitzhak Rabin, "Israel's Defense Problems in the Eighties," Ma'arakhot October 1979. 19 . Ezra Zohar, In the Regime's Pliers (Shikmona, 1974); Motti Heinrich, Do We have a Chance Israel, Truth Versus Legend (Reshafim, 1981). 20 . Henry Kissinger, "The Lessons of the Past," The Washington Review Vol 1, Jan. 1978; Arthur Ross, "OPEC's Challenge to the West," The Washington Quarterly , Winter, 1980; Walter Levy, "Oil and the Decline of the West," Foreign Affairs , Summer 1980; Special Report--"Our Armed Forees-Ready or Not? " U.S. News and World Report 10/10/77; Stanley Hoffman, "Reflections on the Present Danger," The New York Review of Books 3/6/80; Time 4/3/80; Leopold Lavedez "The illusions of SALT" Commentary Sept. 79; Norman Podhoretz, "The Present Danger," Commentary March 1980; Robert Tucker, "Oil and American Power Six Years Later," Commentary Sept. 1979; Norman Podhoretz, "The Abandonment of Israel," Commentary July 1976; Elie Kedourie, "Misreading the Middle East," Commentary July 1979. 21 . According to figures published by Ya'akov Karoz, Yediot Ahronot , 10/17/80, the sum total of anti-Semitic incidents recorded in the world in 1979 was double the amount recorded in 1978. In Germany, France, and Britain the number of anti-Semitic incidents was many times greater in that year. In the U.S. as well there has been a sharp increase in anti-Semitic incidents which were reported in that article. For the new anti-Semitism, see L. Talmon, "The New Anti-Semitism," The New Republic , 9/18/1976; Barbara Tuchman, "They poisoned the Wells," Newsweek 2/3/75

Hamzah bro Read this thread to see things differently. Nur

Geeljire bro. Mels Zenawi of Ethiopia was personally invited by his Boss, King George Bush to the G8 Conference held in Japan, thanking him for his proxy handling of the Somali front of his holy war on Islam. Particularly the Ethipian Troops Genocide and rape of Somali women. You know the Somali are Heathen in the Babtist version of Christianity, their suffering is OK. George Bush, A born Again Christian, administring a dose of Mercy for the weak and helpless in Somalia, A Mercy Killing Job By the Ethiopian Tigree Army! Nur

Wa Calaykumu Salaam wa raxmatullahi wa barakaatuhu Hamza bro. You write: "the first article seemed to be filled with inconcsistencies and some what of a porapaganda." My question: "FILLED WITH INCONSISTENCIES" means at least 3 inconsistencies, but you have only raised one question. Do you have more? Let me answer the only inconsistency that you have raised. You ask: "if the author is implying that mehsud and fazllulah are under the control of the CIA, why is it taking the CIA so long to capture OBL & Co?" A better question to ask is 1. "Does the CIA want to Capture (OBL & Co) as you put it? 2. If the Capture of (OBL & Co) was CIA objective, what was the purpose of invading Iraq? 3. The Best question is What is the long term plan of the USA in the whole South East Asia Region. The last question is what the Author is trying to highlight, beginning with the distablization of Pakistan which follows a script that began with Algeria and is not yet finished. Reading the official media line to long traps minds, try reading non offical news media to make sense of the senseless. Nur

Hey U.S., welcome to the Third World! It's been a quick slide from economic superpower to economic basket case. By Rosa Brooks 19/09/08 "LA Times" - -- Dear United States, Welcome to the Third World! It's not every day that a superpower makes a bid to transform itself into a Third World nation, and we here at the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund want to be among the first to welcome you to the community of states in desperate need of international economic assistance. As you spiral into a catastrophic financial meltdown, we are delighted to respond to your Treasury Department's request that we undertake a joint stability assessment of your financial sector. In these turbulent times, we can provide services ranging from subsidized loans to expert advisors willing to perform an emergency overhaul of your entire government. As you know, some outside intervention in your economy is overdue. Last week -- even before Wall Street's latest collapse -- 13 former finance ministers convened at the University of Virginia and agreed that you must fix your "broken financial system." Australia's Peter Costello noted that lately you've been "exporting instability" in world markets, and Yashwant Sinha, former finance minister of India, concluded, "The time has come. The U.S. should accept some monitoring by the IMF." We hope you won't feel embarrassed as we assess the stability of your economy and suggest needed changes. Remember, many other countries have been in your shoes. We've bailed out the economies of Argentina, Brazil, Indonesia and South Korea. But whether our work is in Sudan, Bangladesh or now the United States, our experts are committed to intervening in national economies with care and sensitivity. We thus want to acknowledge the progress you have made in your evolution from economic superpower to economic basket case. Normally, such a process might take 100 years or more. With your oscillation between free-market extremism and nationalization of private companies, however, you have successfully achieved, in a few short years, many of the key hallmarks of Third World economies. Your policies of irresponsible government deregulation in critical sectors allowed you to rapidly develop an energy crisis, a housing crisis, a credit crisis and a financial market crisis, all at once, and accompanied (and partly caused) by impressive levels of corruption and speculation. Meanwhile, those of your political leaders charged with oversight were either napping or in bed with corporate lobbyists. Take John McCain, your Republican presidential nominee, whose senior staff includes half a dozen prominent former lobbyists. As he recently put it, "I was chairman of the [senate] Commerce Committee that oversights every part of the economy." No question about it: Your leaders' failure to notice the damage done by irresponsible deregulation was indeed an oversight of epic proportions. Now you are facing the consequences. Income inequality has increased, as the rich have gotten windfalls while the middle class has seen incomes stagnate. Fewer and fewer of your citizens have access to affordable housing, healthcare or security in retirement. Even life expectancy has dropped. And when your economic woes went from chronic to acute, you responded -- like so many Third World states have -- with an extensive program of nationalizing private companies and assets. Your mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are now state owned and controlled, and this week your reinsurance giant AIG was effectively nationalized, with the Federal Reserve Board seizing an 80% equity stake in the flailing company. Some might deride this as socialism. But desperate times call for desperate measures. Admittedly, your transition to Third World status is far from over, and it won't be painless. At first, for instance, you may find it hard to get used to the shantytowns that will replace the exurban sprawl of McMansions that helped fuel the real estate speculation bubble. But in time, such shantytowns will simply become part of the landscape. Similarly, as unemployment rates continue to rise, you will initially struggle to find a use for the expanding pool of angry, jobless young men. But you will gradually realize that you can recruit them to fight in a ceaseless round of armed conflicts, a solution that has been utilized by many other Third World states before you. Indeed, with your wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, you are off to an excellent start. Perhaps this letter comes as a surprise to you, and you feel you're not fully ready to join the Third World. Don't let this feeling concern you. Though you may never have realized it, you've been preparing for this moment for years

Why does the US think it can win in Afghanistan? The Taliban are better trained, and – sad to say – increasingly tolerated by the local civilian population By Robert Fisk 20/09/08 "The Independent' - -- Poor old Algerians. They are being served the same old pap from their cruel government. In 1997, the Pouvoir announced a "final victory" over their vicious Islamist enemies. On at least three occasions, I reported – not, of course, without appropriate cynicism – that the Algerian authorities believed their enemies were finally beaten because the "terrorists" were so desperate that they were beheading every man, woman and child in the villages they captured in the mountains around Algiers and Oran. And now they're at it again. After a ferocious resurgence of car bombing by their newly merged "al-Qa'ida in the Maghreb" antagonists, the decrepit old FLN government in Algiers has announced the "terminal phase" in its battle against armed Islamists. As the Algerian journalist Hocine Belaffoufi said with consummate wit the other day, "According to this political discourse ... the increase in attacks represents undeniable proof of the defeat of terrorism. The more terrorism collapsed, the more the attacks increased ... so the stronger (terrorism) becomes, the fewer attacks there will be." We, of course, have been peddling this crackpot nonsense for years in south-west Asia. First of all, back in 2001, we won the war in Afghanistan by overthrowing the Taliban. Then we marched off to win the war in Iraq. Now – with at least one suicide bombing a day and the nation carved up into mutually antagonistic sectarian enclaves – we have won the war in Iraq and are heading back to re-win the war in Afghanistan where the Taliban, so thoroughly trounced by our chaps seven years ago, have proved their moral and political bankruptcy by recapturing half the country. It seems an age since Donald "Stuff Happens" Rumsfeld declared,"A government has been put in place (in Afghanistan), and the Islamists are no more the law in Kabul. Of course, from time to time a hand grenade, a mortar explodes – but in New York and in San Francisco, victims also fall. As for me, I'm full of hope." Oddly, back in the Eighties, I heard exactly the same from a Soviet general at the Bagram airbase in Afghanistan – yes, the very same Bagram airbase where the CIA lads tortured to death a few of the Afghans who escaped the earlier Russian massacres. Only "terrorist remnants" remained in the Afghan mountains, the jolly Russian general assured us. Afghan troops, along with the limited Soviet "intervention" forces, were restoring peace to democratic Afghanistan. And now? After the "unimaginable" progress in Iraq – I am quoting the fantasist who still occupies the White House – the Americans are going to hip-hop 8,000 soldiers out of Mesopotamia and dump another 4,700 into the hellfire of Afghanistan. Too few, too late, too slow, as one of my French colleagues commented acidly. It would need at least another 10,000 troops to hope to put an end to these Taliban devils who are now equipped with more sophisticated weapons, better trained and increasingly – sad to say – tolerated by the local civilian population. For Afghanistan, read Irakistan. Back in the late 19th century, the Taliban – yes, the British actually called their black-turbaned enemies "Talibs" – would cut the throats of captured British soldiers. Now this unhappy tradition is repeated – and we are surprised! Two of the American soldiers seized when the Taliban stormed into their mountain base on 13 July this year were executed by their captors. And now it turns out that four of the 10 French troops killed in Afghanistan on 18 August surrendered to the Taliban, and were almost immediately executed. Their interpreter had apparently disappeared shortly before their mission began – no prizes for what this might mean – and the two French helicopters which might have helped to save the day were too busy guarding the hopeless and impotent Afghan President Hamid Karzai to intervene on behalf of their own troops. A French soldier described the Taliban with brutal frankness. "They are good soldiers but pitiless enemies." The Soviet general at Bagram now has his amanuensis in General David McKiernan, the senior US officer in Afghanistan, who proudly announced last month that US forces had killed "between 30 and 35 Taliban" in a raid on Azizabad near Herat. "In the light of emerging evidence pertaining (sic) to civilian casualties in the ... counter-insurgency operation," the luckless general now says, he feels it "prudent" – another big sic here – to review his original investigation. The evidence "pertaining", of course, is that the Americans probably killed 90 people in Azizabad, most of them women and children. We – let us be frank and own up to our role in the hapless Nato alliance in Afghanistan – have now slaughtered more than 500 Afghan civilians this year alone. These include a Nato missile attack on a wedding party in July when we splattered 47 of the guests all over the village of Deh Bala. And Obama and McCain really think they're going to win in Afghanistan – before, I suppose, rushing their soldiers back to Iraq when the Baghdad government collapses. What the British couldn't do in the 19th century and what the Russians couldn't do at the end of the 20th century, we're going to achieve at the start of the 21 century, taking our terrible war into nuclear-armed Pakistan just for good measure. Fantasy again. Joseph Conrad, who understood the powerlessness of powerful nations, would surely have made something of this. Yes, we have lost after we won in Afghanistan and now we will lose as we try to win again. Stuff happens.

USA Has Bared Its Teeth By Asif Haroon Raja 21/09/08 "Asian Tribune" -- The US and its allies succeeded in toppling Taliban regime in November 2001 and replacing it with a puppet regime, but the Taliban were neither militarily defeated nor eliminated from the system. But for effective encirclement of Afghanistan from all directions and massive air support provided by USA, the Northern Alliance could not have made any progress. Once the Taliban realised that they were no more in a position to offer resistance particularly after Pakistan ditched them, they considered it prudent to carry out a tactical withdrawal from Kabul and most took shelter in Pashtun dominated southern and eastern Afghanistan. Some trickled into FATA and Baluchistan where they had their kith and kin and some moved into Iran. They remained inactive till 2002 but utilised this time to regroup and refit themselves to be able to strike back at the invading forces that had devastated their country. Bush and his teams of neo-cons felt complacent that the Taliban and Al-Qaeda had been taken care of and only the remnants had to be flushed out. It was this smugness which impelled them to invade and occupy Iraq in March 2003. In the meanwhile, the vices that had been eliminated by the Taliban during their short rule reappeared in a big way. Besides lack of justice, war lordism, corruption, poppy growing, drug business and nepotism reigned supreme. The Taliban and their supporters were either brutally killed or put in Bagram jail and subjected to horrendous torture. The Pashtuns being in great majority were persecuted and power got concentrated in the hands of non-Pashtun Northern Alliance elements and war lords. The occupation forces inflicted heavy collateral damage on civilians whenever they confronted the militants. These developments disillusioned the Afghans and sympathy wave among the Pashtuns living both sides of the border started to shift towards the Taliban. Induction of NATO forces in 2003 together with deteriorating law and order situation provided the spark to ignite insurgency. When Gen Musharraf submitted to US pressure after 9/11 and ditched the Taliban in Afghanistan, he provided air bases as well as logistics support and shared intelligence with CIA. He allowed CIA and FBI to recruit agents in FATA and other places and to establish their outposts. The focus of ISI and other agencies was shifted towards hunting and nabbing so-called terrorists all over the country, in monitoring dissident elements within the army and in political wheeling and dealings. The CIA acquired all the links ISI and MI had both sides of the Pak-Afghan border and gradually took most agents on ISI payroll within its fold. By virtue of having better technology and means the CIA was able to take over intelligence acquisition and dissemination system. As a consequence the troops operating in FATA became entirely dependent upon CIA inputs. Taking advantage of complete liberty of action, CIA succeeded in buying the loyalties of many tribal chiefs and notables in FATA by doling out dollars in sacks since it knew that the Pashtun could not be crushed by force but could be purchased. Those not falling in line were got killed. In FATA, Nek Muhammad was first cultivated and provided logistic support. When he entered into a peace deal with Pak Army in July 2005, he was killed using precision guided missile. Abdullah Masood, an Afghan war veteran who had also fought the Northern Alliance in October-November 2001 was captured and brainwashed during his two years internment in Guantanamo Bay. He was released after agreeing to work on terms dictated by CIA and he soon was able to takeover the leadership role. His death at Zhob at the hands of Pak security forces was a loss for CIA. Baitulah Masood and Fazlullah had not taken part in Afghan jihad and do not qualify to head Taliban; yet 30 year old Baitullah has managed to create Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Fazlullah calls the shots in Swat. Mulla Omar had never shown interest in establishing any links with Pakistani Taliban and had warned Nek Muhammad not to operate under the brand name of Taliban. It is being questioned as to how come Baitullah, Fazlullah and their spokesmen desperately wanted by Pakistan security forces have escaped the hawk eye of USA, particularly after they have been seen giving detailed interviews to media and using their cell phones? ISI had once given six figure coordinates of Baitullah and yet no Hellfire missile was fired on his hideout by CIA. The TTP that has spread its influence in all the seven agencies of tribal belt and in neighbouring settled districts of NWFP has succeeded in making inroads into Punjab, particularly southern Punjab. Large number has got recruited from Chiniot, Bahawalpur, Dera Nawab, Bahawalnagar, Faisalabad, Sialkot and other places. Though they do not speak a word of Pashto, but are fighting side by side with Pathan Taliban. After Shakai peace deal with the militants in South Waziristan in July 2005, Pakistan was subjected to a calculated slander campaign. Having fixed more than one lac troops into the furnace of FATA it was scoffed at for not doing enough to control militancy in FATA. Pakistan was also accused of nuclear proliferation and IAEA kept up the pressure to hand over AQ Khan for interrogation. Musharraf accepted the charge and forced AQ Khan to make a confession to defuse the heat. The religious extremist threat was blown out of all proportions and it was repeatedly stated that Pakistan’s nuclear assets had become unsafe. Musharraf accepted this charge as well and promised to fight extremism and terrorism with full force. After declaring Pakistan as the most dangerous country, FATA was declared as the most dangerous place on earth. Pakistan was blamed for growing turbulence in Afghanistan since in view of US military leaders and Karzai; Pak army was not doing enough to control militancy. The phenomenon of missile attacks by drones commenced in January 2006 when a suspected target in Damadola was attacked killing scores of innocent civilians. Another deadly missile attack was launched on a Madrassa in Bajaur in October that year killing 80 students. Ever since, this phenomenon continues unabated. Once the ISI got freed from wild goose chase of so-called terrorists and came under pressure on account of missing persons, it started to concentrate on its primary task in the troubled spots. To its horror it found far too many militant groups and criminal gangs operating under the guise of religious militants and cultivated by foreign agencies. They were the ones involved in carrying out gruesome beheadings of security personnel and torching girls’ schools to defame the real Taliban who had a peaceful agenda. Besides CIA, RAW and RAM, even Iran and Uzbekistan had developed its tentacles in Baluchistan, Swat and Kurram Agency. Most of the pro-Pakistan groups had been purchased or neutralized and those not coming to terms were eliminated by groups sponsored by CIA. Things had gone topsy-turvy and ISI found itself at a loss how to differentiate between friend and foe. It is when the ISI began to recover the lost ground and renewed its old contacts in FATA and started to expose and block clandestine activities of CIA, RAW and RAM that all hell broke lose on ISI. Instead of feeling ashamed of what they were doing, USA had the cheeks to start making hue and cry that ISI was linked with the Taliban and that it must be emasculated. The three colluding partners lost their cool when the Indian Embassy in Kabul was subjected to a suicide attack on 7 July 2008. The trio fumed with anger and blamed ISI without even carrying out preliminary investigations. It was alleged that the perpetrator of suicide attack belonged to Gujranwala. Adm. Mike Mullen and Deputy Director CIA Stephen Kappes came huffing and puffing to Islamabad on 12 July and expressed their concern in strong words. Both Gen Tariq and Gen Kayani were told to bring the ISI to heel and to control militancy on their side of the border. The details of suicide bomber provided by the visitors proved false. It transpired later on that it was a bomb planted in a parked jeep which was detonated with the help of a remote control and was master minded by Mossad. In the meanwhile Bush gave a green signal to Pentagon to extend the sphere of operations in Afghanistan into neighbouring FATA in July. He said that besides Iraq and Afghanistan, Pakistan is the third battleground. The military was told to hit targets whenever any actionable intelligence was available without notifying Pakistan. US troops started to man mobile posts all along Pak-Afghan border with Paktika as their main forward base camp. These hostile steps were taken in spite of the fact that the new government under Zardari had abandoned its policy of dialogue and resumed the policy of force against the militants. After a month long Frontier Corps led operation in Khyber Agency, the army was employed in Hangu to control the unrest. In continuation of offensive policy, the army launched powerful operations in Swat in July and in Bajaur on 6 August backed by jetfighters, gunship helicopters, tanks and artillery guns and started to make rapid progress against the well entrenched militants. Operations in these two restive areas are still going in with full steam and several hundred militants have been killed. Instead of getting pleased, the Americans got disturbed since they never intended to control militancy but to spread the flames of militancy into cities and create anarchic conditions. The month of September saw intensification of missile attacks and each attack resulted in loss of innocent lives. To create fear and panic among the peaceful residents of Waziristan and also to target pro-government elements, missile attacks were intensified and each attack killed innocent men, women and children. The idea was to antagonise pro-government Waziris and also to force them to migrate as had happened in case of Bajaur. To further up the ante, Pakistan was declared as a battleground and a first ever ground attack was carried out by US troops on the night of 3 September at Angoor Adda killing 15 men women and children. A deadly missile attack was conducted on pro-Pakistan Jalaluddin Haqqani house in North Waziristan on 8 September killing 25 inmates mostly women and children. He was blamed for carrying out attack on Indian Embassy. The intruding drone was forced to beat a hasty retreat on 12 September when own jets got airborne and started to track it. A ground attack on 15th was also thwarted by the troops and locals. So far 62 border violations have been carried out by US-ISAF forces including 36 after the takeover by PPP government in March 2008. So far 30 missile attacks have been made killing innocent people. In none of the attack any Al-Qaada operative or militant Taliban was killed. The nexus in Kabul is working upon a scripted plan to make FATA lawless and beyond the control of security forces, push militancy into settled areas and then into major cities and thus create a civil warlike situation to prove their contention that Pakistan was the most dangerous country in the world and that the extremists were on the verge of taking over power and nuclear weapons. After inflaming South Waziristan, North Waziristan, Mohmand Agency, Khyber Agency, Darra Adam Khel, Kurram Agency, Hangu and Swat, Bajaur Agency was built into a stronghold of militants where huge cache of arms and ammunition was dumped. By virtue of being located at the crossroad of the tribal belt and also linked with ***, Swat and Afghanistan, it was to act as bulwark and a launching pad to provide reinforcement to other areas. 10,000 Indian troops are stationed in Afghanistan under the garb of supervising construction of road Jalalabad-Port Chahbahar project that has now been completed. Whereas India has officially declared 14 Indian consulates in Afghanistan, on ground they have 107 in which 20 intelligence units are burning their midnight oil to destabilise Pakistan. Many mercantile shops run by Indians have an intelligence office in the rear. In Wakhan, a religious Madrassa run by Indian Muslim clerics is functioning since 2002 under the patronage of RAW and Mossad. Very young boys, mostly orphans, destitute or homeless are recruited. Recruits are mostly Afghans, Uzbeks, Tajiks and Caucasians. The latter being fair skinned and resembling Europeans are trained to hit targets in Europe or in USA to once again create a 9/11 like situation. Reportedly, 10,000 ideologically motivated terrorist and suicide bombers have been trained. Besides receiving military training, they have also been made to learn Pashto and customs of Pathans. They are regularly infiltrated into troubled spots of Pakistan. Posing as volunteers they join the rank and file of militants to fight the army. They are the ones who are destroying schools, CD shops, bridges and other installations and carrying out brutal beheading of captured personnel. The idea is to create chaos and confusion and also to defame the real Taliban that have not come under their influence. They are also responsible for creating cleavages within the people of FATA and in disrupting peace deals. In Kurram Agency, Afghan officers and soldiers are actively involved in the sectarian conflict by way of providing arms and ammunition to Shias belonging to Tori tribe and physically participating in duels with Sunnis. In Swat, Fazlullah led militants are supplied with war munitions as well as fighters. Likewise, dissident tribal chiefs in Baluchistan including late Akbar Bugti were also taken on board. The CIA helped in reincarnating BLA and providing all sorts of war munitions to Baloch militants belonging to Bugti, Marri and Mengal tribes and establishing over 60 Farari camps in Baluchistan. Shamsi airbase that was handed over to USA in October 2001, houses Blackhawk helicopters primarily engaged in monitoring the entire length of Iranian border. CIA has cultivated Sunni Iranian Baloch Jandullah group (not the one that had operated against 5 Corps commander). It is anti- Iranian regime and was utilised by CIA to carryout acts of sabotage in Iran through Zahidan. Iran has now constructed a stone wall all along its border to prevent cross border terrorism from Baluchistan. It has clouded Pak-Iran relations since the latter feels that such activities could not have been undertaken without the blessing of Pak government. It is now clear that our so-called friends have been playing a double game. Now that USA has bared its teeth and let its intentions known, to pretend that it would stop short of achieving its objectives will be like living in fools’ paradise. It is simply degrading to unashamedly say that we cannot fight the Americans. It is also preposterous to assume that Pakistan may not survive without American support. Pro-American elements within Pakistan on US payroll have been parroting this theme since creation of Pakistan to safeguard their vested interests. North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia, Iran, Somalia are living examples who have survived despite adopting hostile posture against USA. It is high time that we gird up our loins and put our act together to face up to the challenge boldly. The army under Gen Kayani has expressed its resolve to confront the threat and safeguard country’s sovereignty irrespective of the consequences. It is now up to our week-kneed rulers oblivious of the ominous threat and still busy in power game as to how they stand up to the test. It will be naive to expect that the threat will be warded off with diplomacy alone. We must make USA realise that it will become exceedingly difficult for US led allied troops to operate in Afghanistan if Pakistan opts out of fighting US war of terror and refuses to provide transit facility to carry oil and food supplies to its troops in Afghanistan. The magnitude of dependence can be gauged from the fact each day over 400 containers ply from Karachi and Quetta to Afghanistan transporting food, munitions and 300 million gallons of fuel for US-Nato troops in Afghanistan. We may also consider bridling CIA’s unchecked activities and closing down four bases in control of USA. Asif Haroon Raja is a defence and a political analyst. -Asian Tribune

Ashkiro sis Thanks for your thoughtful analyses of the advice. An advice is not always what is best, but can be what is plausible and attainable after the fact. Life does not have an UNDO button, so at every point in life, you do with what you have, to be practical, to suggest a retroactive action such as chosing the right spouse, does not help an urgent need at hand for this sister, ( Meel hoo u baahan, hadal wax kama taro) my attempt was to help the sister explore choices from which she can see the picture as wholesme, a person without choices is a person without a decision. I mentioned the Misyaar so that she does not fall in that trap, since a person in trouble can be negatively influenced. Nur

The US Elections are getting closer, while the American economy is fast heading south, more war fronts than money can buy are being opened by the neocons for the heir of the US Presidency Mzee Obama. Americans find their hard earned wealth and homes disappear in computer screens, to the boys at Wall Street and hurricanes, and the remaining wealth is earmarked to pay a national debt of 9 Trillion Dollars representing Sovereign Funds of China and Mideast Oil countries used for "foreign wars and homeland security". As I Predicted, Obama will be elected, he will inherit the Bushladin mess, he will also be blamed for all the "Change you can not believe", which will force him to resign early. Thats is bad, the first black man in a white house will be credited to America's decending to join the Developing Nations like Nicaragua. Hey America, welcome to Somalia -in- America! complete with a possible civil war between Nazi Party of America with their white allies, the White supremacists against blacks, Latinos, coloreds and the Neocon Jews who will be blamed for all the mess in America. The EU may invade New York, Canada invades Illinois and Montana, and the Russians will take Alaska back, sending Sarah Palin on horse back to Texas. The second American civil war will not be be complete before The Republic of Spanish California declares independence as the sixth powerful world economy, with the EU support. The Future is interesting! Nur

" We Blew Her to Pieces " Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan by Aaron Glantz MARFA, Texas, Sep 16 (IPS) - Aside from the Iraqi people, nobody knows what the U.S. military is doing in Iraq better than the soldiers themselves. A new book gives readers vivid and detailed accounts of the devastation the U.S. occupation has brought to Iraq, in the soldiers' own words. "Winter Soldier Iraq and Afghanistan: Eyewitness Accounts of the Occupation," published by Haymarket Books Tuesday, is a gut-wrenching, historic chronicle of what the U.S. military has done to Iraq, as well as its own soldiers. Authored by Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) and journalist Aaron Glantz, the book is a reader for hearings that took place in Silver Spring, Maryland between Mar. 13-16, 2008 at the National Labour College. "I remember one woman walking by," said Jason Washburn, a corporal in the U.S. Marines who served three tours in Iraq. "She was carrying a huge bag, and she looked like she was heading toward us, so we lit her up with the Mark 19, which is an automatic grenade launcher, and when the dust settled, we realised that the bag was full of groceries. She had been trying to bring us food and we blew her to pieces." Washburn testified on a panel that discussed the rules of engagement in Iraq, and how lax they were, even to the point of being virtually non-existent. "During the course of my three tours, the rules of engagement changed a lot," Washburn's testimony continues. "The higher the threat the more viciously we were permitted and expected to respond." His emotionally charged testimony, like all of those in the book that covered panels addressing dehumanisation, civilian testimony, sexism in the military, veterans' health care, and the breakdown of the military, raised issues that were repeated again and again by other veterans. "Something else we were encouraged to do, almost with a wink and nudge, was to carry 'drop weapons', or by my third tour, 'drop shovels'. We would carry these weapons or shovels with us because if we accidentally shot a civilian, we could just toss the weapon on the body, and make them look like an insurgent," Washburn said. Four days of searing testimony, witnessed by this writer, is consolidated into the book, which makes for a difficult read. One page after another is filled with devastating stories from the soldiers about what is being done in Iraq. Everything from the taking of "trophy" photos of the dead, to torture and slaughtering of civilians is included. "We're trying to build a historical record of what continues to happen in this war and what the war is really about," Glantz told IPS. Hart Viges, a member of the 82nd Airborne Division of the Army who served one year in Iraq, tells of taking orders over the radio. "One time they said to fire on all taxicabs because the enemy was using them for transportation...One of the snipers replied back, 'Excuse me? Did I hear that right? Fire on all taxicabs?' The lieutenant colonel responded, 'You heard me, trooper, fire on all taxicabs.' After that, the town lit up, with all the units firing on cars. This was my first experience with war, and that kind of set the tone for the rest of the deployment." Vincent Emanuele, a Marine rifleman who spent a year in the al-Qaim area of Iraq near the Syrian border, told of emptying magazines of bullets into the city without identifying targets, running over corpses with Humvees and stopping to take "trophy" photos of bodies. "An act that took place quite often in Iraq was taking pot shots at cars that drove by," he said. "This was not an isolated incident, and it took place for most of our eight-month deployment." Kelly Dougherty, the executive director of IVAW, blames the behaviour of soldiers in Iraq on the policies of the U.S. government. "The abuses committed in the occupations, far from being the result of a 'few bad apples' misbehaving, are the result of our government's Middle East policy, which is crafted in the highest spheres of U.S. power," she said. Knowing this, however, does little to soften the emotional and moral devastation of the accounts. "You see an individual with a white flag and he does anything but approach you slowly and obey commands, assume it's a trick and kill him," Michael Leduc, a corporal in the Marines who was part of the U.S. attack of Fallujah in November 2004, said were the orders from his battalion JAG officer he received before entering the city. This is an important book for the public of the United States, in particular, because the Winter Soldier testimonies were not covered by any of the larger media outlets, aside from the Washington Post, which ran a single piece on the event that was buried in the Metro section. The New York Times, CNN, and network news channels ABC, NBC and CBS ignored it completely. This is particularly important in light of the fact that, as former Marine Jon Turner stated, "Anytime we did have embedded reporters with us, our actions changed drastically. We never acted the same. We were always on key with everything, did everything by the book." "To me it's about giving a picture of what war is like," Glantz added, "Because here in the U.S. we have this very sanitised version of what war is. But war is when we have a large group of armed people killing large numbers of other people. And that is the picture that people will get from reading veterans testimony...the true face of war." Dehumanisation of the soldiers themselves is covered in the book, as it includes testimony of sexism, racism, and the plight of veterans upon their return home as they struggle to obtain care from the Veterans Administration. There is much testimony on the dehumanisation of the Iraqi people as well. Brian Casler, a corporal in the Marines, spoke to some of this that he witnessed during the invasion of Iraq. "But on these convoys, I saw marines defecate into MRE bags or urinate in bottles and throw them at children on the side of the road," he stated. Numerous accounts from soldiers include the prevalence of degrading terms for Iraqis, such as "hajis," "towel-heads" and "sand-niggers". Scott Ewing, who served in Iraq from 2005-2006, admitted on one panel that units intentionally gave candy to Iraqi children for reasons other than "winning hearts and minds". "There was also another motive," Ewing said, "If the kids were around our vehicles, the bad guys wouldn't attack. We used the kids as human shields." Glantz admits that it would be difficult for the average U.S. citizen to read the book, and believes it is important to keep in mind while doing so what it took for the veterans to give this historic testimony. "They could have been heroes, but what they are doing here is even more heroic -- which is telling the truth," Glantz told IPS. "They didn't have to come forward. They chose to come forward."

Somali expatriate community is going thru difficult times, brought by the political situation and financial hardships. Families are being separated, divorce rates are balooning and suitable husbands for single Somali women are in short supply, even less likely in the case of divorced young single mums. The following advice was a response I sent to a very intelligent and well raised young Somali lady raising a single child with the best of values in the west, without a father figure. An admirable lone parent. My heart goes with all Somali sisters in her sitauation. Names and places in the following write-up are fictitious for privacy! Dear Sister Halima I have counseled many people in your situation before, Alhamdulillah, recently, I have succeeded helping a sister (31) with three kids 11, 9 and 4, whose hubby exploited her and abused her, and throwed her for the dogs, a fine sister otherwise, she was on her last throes when I reached out for her, now, she found her self esteem back, dignity, a career ( self employment at her home while looking after her kids) and her faith, her next challenge is also finding the right man, a success story Allah blessed me to change her life for the better. Your case, is very similar, (without the financial aspect), the problem with many marriages nowadays is that they are not based on strong family commitment, the typical Somal Faarax comes home for food and sleeping, spending all his precious time with buddies, leaving the leftover of his time to family, which creates a rift in the long term, the couple slowly grow apart, and like you described, one day, the inevitable happens, a break up! If you stay unmarried for a long time, your child will miss the father figure she direly needs for a healthy growth, and you will also feel a lots of social /emotional hardship staying alone, the risk is high and the impact can be detrimental to your faith. Your age group ( assuming that you are in your early 30s), are mostly mature women, and experienced in life, your ideal mate is more likely men from mid thirties to mid forties, the question is where are these men found. ( not at supermarkets I assure you) If we go back in the calendar, they are born from the early 60s to early 70s, these men were in their 20s in the years between 1980-1990. Its very likely that this age group have more than their shares in displacement, tragedies and travel, exposing them to different cultures, faiths and lifestyles, a minority of this age group may have survived the civil war ordeal by virtue of their Islamic principles , however they are likely to be married and even remarried ( second or third wife). Your choices at this intersection in life is : 1. To look for and find an eligible single man in that age group. 2.Marry a single /divorcee/widower man who is at your age or younger if found. 3. Consider marrying a married man of the above age group( responsible and piousl not looking for fun only ) 1. The first option is unlikely, but is its possible. 2. The second option is more likely, but still limited ( possibly lesser education/intellectual level than you) As for the third option, When men hit the 40s, they go through a second adoloscence phase, known as ( MLC) Mid Life Crises ( that is why you hear a forty somthin old man running away with an 18 year old girl to Kurtunwaarrey, leaving behind his Cambaro in Minnesota), its a fact of life that happens, and as a result it breaks homes and creates a lotta mess to an already established home. So, in light of a society where men want to marry a second (at times, for fun without the burden of responsiility) , with the possible cost of ruining the first marriage due to jealousy. Looking all this against the backdrop of abundance of qualified women of all ages, extreme solutions are invented, but not without a side effect. Extreme situations call for extreme conditions, in Saudi Arabia, the Scholars facing a growing number of divorced and single ( Caanis, gabar weynaatay) women, ( 2 million) have come up with a new arrangement. They call it "Misyaar Marriage", in this new marriage type, the father of the woman gives her hand to a man, usually a married man whose condition is that his present wife should not know of this second marriage, a flexible hours of attendance ( best effort companionship, not dedicated, does not have to switch nites). This arrangement fits some women fine, but to others, its seen as demeaning and degrading the karaama of the woman who accepts this skewed arrangement. In my personal opinion, if the man does not have the guts to tell his wife, he should not consider it to begin with, because marriage is not only pleasure, its also solemn responsibility and commitment to a human being for life. Looking after her and her kids, and giving them plenty of love and a fatherly guidnace for a healthy social growth to meet Allah's purpose in marraige which is Mawaadda wa Raxmah. Many married men ( of very good character sometimes ) are looking to marry a second, and even a third sometimes, they are financially able to support and spiritually very enlightening, however, as good as it may sound ( to men), the down side is a heavy responsibility on the man's shoulders, in addition to jealousy of the first lady, and only a man seeking Allah's pleasure can brave such a burden and risk, because its no fun. To find the right partner, another choice is that you move to a more Faarax populated area in which meeting a good person is more likely such as back home ( be careful of men who exploit women for financial / travel document) and to volunteer with organizations that help the needy, its my strong opinion that if you begin volunteering with a good philanthropic organization that Allah will team you up with a good candidate, since Allah helps those who help their brothers/sisters. Nur 2008 eNuri Family Counselling "Haweenka, nimeyna ilma (tears of joy! or Sorrow!) ka keenin, ilmo ( Kids) ka ma keeno"

Amin walaal Allah Magan ( A great name indeed ) Tobankii habeen oo ugu dambeeyay Ramadaanka wey bilowdeen, qofkii Allah waafajiyo laylatul Qadr asagoo tirsanaya oo rumeysan/ iyadoo tirsaneysa oo rumeysan, waxaa loo dambi dhaafaa wax walboo dambi ah oo hore. Nur

Five Years ( and lots of Muslim tears) ago. eNuri Political Analyses predicted: ..."I do not see an end to this madness and honestly if it comtinues, The USA will emerge out of this war that may never have a decisive end, a weaker and poorer nation that compromised a lot of its centuries old ideals while chasing an elusive enemy of its own creation. The Chinese Philosopher Sun Tzu summed it up as: " There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare." , The Art Of War." Now, Pakistan is the new target of "War On Terror" Pakistan, a country of 190 Million, is to be distablized, divided, and destroyed according to the Neocon Fundementalists in Power! A crazy cowboy is riding a faitgued American horse to another war of unknown consequences! Ngonge, next "Bushladin and the Forty Baghdad Thieves" show is about to start, pass me the popcorn please! Nur

B_G bro. This is more than a Ramadan Resources, its a wealth of Islamic knowledge, readers need to be mature to get the best of out this site, specially the Minhaj page. an eNuri Recommended Site Baarakallahu Feek akhi. Nur

Chubacka bro. Here is the hadeeth 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr reported that the Messenger of Allah, upon whom be peace, said, "The time of the noon prayer is when the sun passes the meridian and a man's shadow is the same length as his height. It lasts until the time of the afternoon prayer. The time of the afternoon prayer is until the yellowing of the sun (during its setting). The time of the evening prayer is as long as twilight. The time of the night prayer is to the middle of a night of medium duration. And the time of the morning prayer is from the appearance of the dawn until the time of sunrise. When the sun rises, abstain from praying, as it rises between the horns of Satan." (Related by Muslim.) Nur

Abtigiis bro. Our behaviour as humans is influenced from within and from without. Let me clarify things further. You see Abtigiis, when we are left alone as humans , our nature ( analogous to any man made machine) has initial settings that were set up by Allah upon creation ( first copy, Adam) aka Fitra defauult setting, at which point mankind was honored to be the best of Allah's creations. Once we were assembled with bodies ( at birth ) the interaction of the programmed "soul" and the hardware we know as "body" began. The interfaces of this set up were secure, up until natural intelliegence was completely installed, at which point the three entities, Body, Soul and Intelligence began to interact inorder to deliver on their covenant to worship Allah ALONE, which is the purpose for the human existence as Allah told us in Quraan. That purpose was challenged by Sheitan when Allah created mankind and made him the care taker of His dominion on planet earth ( Innii Jaacilun fil ardi khaliifa), Sheitan told Allah that these humans are not worth that lofty place in Allah's dominion, and that he (Sheitan ) will prove it if given an access to mankinds inner self ( Interface of body soul and intelligence). Allah granted Sheitan his wish, promisisng him and his human followers of a painful punishment in the second phase of existence in the hereafter. Allah told us that He will send scriptures and Prophets / Messengers to remind mankind about this long standing challenge, between mankind and his arch enemy, Sheitan. Sheitan was given an advantage that he can see us from a dimension that we can't see him from, to alter our perceptions, judgement and behaviours, but the reverse is not true. To offset that disadvantage, Allah gave mankind the unique ability of naming actions and things ( Al Asmaa), which led to mankinds inquistive mind and the growth of knowledge which led to mankind's scientific explorations to reach space and to dive to the depth of particle physics ( Higgs Boson). Allah also gave mankind another power, a hotline connection to His omnipresent power through daily prayers, and in this thread, Fasting in the month of Ramadan. Its in this Month of Ramadan in which we are ordered to fast from Bodily desires such as food and sex in daytime so that Sheitan's influence is immensely minimized once a year, according to the Hadeeth, the Major Sheitan is chained up to give an opportunity to humans to empty their bellies ( and you know what else!) so blood can flow into their right heads were intelligence resides to guide them back after drifting away from their creators path of siraatul mustaqeem for a year. The Sheitanimo behaviour is not all attributed to the Jinn entity as humans also display Sheitannimo unassisted on their own, Somali warlords, their Ethiopian Regional Clients and their American sponsors are an example( Shayaatina al insi wal Jinn). In Ramadan, only the Big Sheitan of Jinn origin is chained up, which leaves for humans reasonable ability to control the rest, our Nafs (human Sheitan) and the baby Jinn Sheitans. Nur

Abtigiis Whats fishy about my explanation? Nur

Siphon Its only the Major Sheitan that is chained up, the minor Sheitan and the ( our own evil seeking soul) Nafs-al- ammara-bil-suu are not. Sheitan also comes in two flavors 1. Jinn 2. Human The human one kind is never chained in Ramadan Hope its helped Nur

Nomads Welcome to Ramadan 1429 ( 2008). Hope to see you at the eNuri Restaurant for a late night happy meal, for the really hungry during this years Ramadan. Dont miss the specials! Nur

Nomads Today the following description of the believers ( Muminoon) got my attention: "those who secure their prayers" ( YUXAAFIDOON) How do you secure your prayers? 1. Before Prayers 2. During Prayers 3 After Prayers The way to secure our prayers before prayer is: A. Setting the Calandar and reminder ( Salat Watch) B. Ample time for wuduu and Sunnah ( Warm up) C. Proper Niyah and Spiritual rediness to meet Allah. The way to secure prayers DURING prayers: A. IKHLAAS NIYAH ( PureIntention for Allah alone, no show off) B. Focus C. Khushuuc D. Proper execution of movements and prayers The Way to Secure prayers after finishing: A. Looking back at what you have missed or your mistakes B. Looking Forward in securing that prayer by: 1. Not doing injustice to others 2. Not speaking ill of others 3. Not boasting about it ( Riyaa) Nur

Abtigiis I just edited your post to suit Islam page ethics guidlines. The anwer to your question is the same for food, you finish what you have started, reasonably! If you are still in doubt, you can tame your desires by fasting two months as a deterrent against future violation, give sadaqa to sixty poor people, whichever you can. Your question may have relieved many silent Nomads, thanks for your contribution. Nur

The Crash of Western Capitalist Civilization? By Richard_C_Cook 15/09/08 "ICH" -- - “Train-wreck” doesn't even begin to describe what is starting to happen to the U.S. today with the financial crisis, an onrushing depression, and the failure of George W. Bush's war policy as he is faced down by Iran and the Russian bear. But in an even broader sense, the West, as a civilization, after a century of world war and the utter failure of global finance capitalism, may have reached its limits. Those with a vested interest in the status quo dismiss any suggestion that something is wrong. This includes Donald Luskin, author of an article in the Washington Post on Sunday, September 14, titled: “A Nation of Exaggerators: Quit Doling Out That Bad Economy Line.” Luskin writes, “The relentless drumbeat of pessimism in the media and on the campaign trail” is “a virus.” He continues: “Sure, there are trouble spots in the economy, as the government takeover of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and jitters about Wall Street firm Lehman Brothers, amply demonstrate. And unemployment figures are up a bit, too. None of this, however, is cause for depression -- or exaggerated Depression comparisons.” Continue reading, and you find out who Luskin is: a campaign adviser to John McCain. We know that “where you stand depends on where you sit”—and who pays you for advice. So is a catastrophic meltdown coming? If so, probably a majority of the people in the world are thinking: “Serves them right.” For the last 500 years, the West has been striding across the globe, armed to the teeth with firearms, warships, bombers, and—more recently—depleted uranium, enforcing the “white man's burden” by enslaving nations and peoples and confiscating everything of value—ranging from art objects to gold to oil—that can be carried away. The financiers behind it all have also used the diabolically clever practice of creating money “out of thin air” to put the natives everywhere into debt, and, when that has proven insufficient, of doing the same to their own populations. All this is rationalized by various brands of racism, cultural superiority, social Darwinism, historical determinism, “dominion of the Elect,” “God's chosen people,” etc. Or, simply, “might makes right.” Some call it “The New World Order.” So today, we Americans, denizens of the “land of the free and the home of the brave,” victors in two world wars, bearers of “democracy” to Afghanistan and Iraq, allies of the brave Israelis who hold high the banner of Judeo-Christian values among the ungrateful Palestinians—well, we Americans owe our own bankers almost $70 trillion at most recent count. With the government takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, we owe holders of bad housing loans, including the governments of China, Korea, and Japan, another few trillion. The bluster of Kissinger, Brzezinski, the Kristols, the Christian fundamentalists, and their paid-off politicians and media millionaires notwithstanding, America—indeed, the entire West—has been found out, perhaps even checkmated on the world stage. The Bush/Cheney wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have blackened America's name forever. Iran has called our bluff. In Israel the gap between rich and poor is increasing as much as in the U.S. According to an article by Ian S. Lustick, the Palestinians have stood up to the Israelis to the point where more Jews are emigrating from that country than are moving in, and where those who remain are increasingly huddling around Tel Aviv as a safe haven. (Ian S. Lustick, “Abandoning the Iron Wall: ‘Israel and the Middle Eastern Muck',” Middle East Policy , Vo. XV, No. 3, Fall 2008.) In the 1990s, the European bankers used U.S. and NATO forces to dismember Yugoslavia so George Soros and the Rothschilds could gobble up Balkan resources. But that strategy is failing in the Caucasus, where the Russians fought back against the genocidal attack by Dick Cheney's poodle, Mikheil Saakashvili, the New York-trained attorney the CIA got elected as the president of Georgia. And now the people of Ukraine, the “Little Russians,” realizing what the West has in store for them, are rushing back into the Slavic fold and may be only a year or so away from reuniting with their “Great Russian” cousins across the border. What is telling is to watch the Western financier press, chiefly the Washington Post and the New York Times , fume about Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin and his “authoritarian” manner. An example is the article by Times correspondent Ellen Barry on Putin's September 11 press conference in Moscow. She wrote, “In three-and-a-half hours, in tones that were alternatively pugilistic and needy, Vladimir V. Putin tried to explain himself.” I'm sorry, Ms. Barry. You and your editors may think your writing is cute, but Vladimir Putin is the foremost figure on the world stage today. He will remain so after George W. Bush leaves the White House disgraced. Putin is heir to an epochal movement of patriots who began in the 1970s to take back Russia from within. It started with a base of operations within the KGB and the Orthodox Church, led to Gorbachev's glasnost in the 1980s, and culminated in the Second Russian Revolution of 1991. At that point, the Western financiers gleefully rushed in to support an assault from the Russian “oligarchs” who were looting Russia of everything it owned. The oligarchs were the shock troops of a financier assault that had already begun to overlap in the West with the Russian Mafia. Cheered on by the Washington Post and aided by academic advisors from places like Harvard, this international syndicate nearly destroyed Russia during the 1990s. But when Putin was appointed interim president by Boris Yelstin in 1999, and after winning the presidential election of 2000 in his own right, he began to fight back. From the mid-1970s to today, thousands of Russian gangsters, along with many hard-line Bolsheviks/Stalinists, were allowed to emigrate. Many settled in the U.S. and are here today, and many more settled in Israel. In fact, one reason the price of condos in New York, Miami, Tel Aviv, and elsewhere has inflated so much reportedly is the flood of cash from racketeering. The crooks have allied themselves with the Colombian drug cartels and have heavily infiltrated the world's financial systems, even setting up their own banks for laundering money and speculating in the commodities markets. Today, Putin is cleaning out the remaining gangster class. His efforts reached a milestone in January with the arrest in Moscow of Semion Mogilevich, called “the world's most dangerous man.” Putin has declared that the world will not be governed in a “unipolar” manner; i.e. by the U.S. military as the police force for the global financiers. This does not mean Russia has to be our enemy. In fact the world would be much better off, and much safer, if we joined with Russia as allies in keeping the peace. But to do that our system would have to change, because finance capitalism is far too unstable to coexist with other nations as equals. It must either grow or die, because it always needs new victims to pay the interest on its usury practices and to finance its speculative balloons. As a last resort, it needs the kind of financial institution bailouts being engineered by Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson, where the only remaining stopgap is borrowing from public funds and adding to the national debt. Once economic growth stops, as has now happened, and all the bubbles to restart it have blown up, as has also happened, the end really is nigh. Especially if the host—the U.S.—is bankrupt. What is coming at us today isn't just another downturn. If people like McCain adviser Donald Luskin doubt it, maybe, instead of writing campaign propaganda, they should ask the fired CEOs of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the stockholders of Lehman Brothers, whose shares have dropped ninety percent in less than a year, and the millions who are losing their homes. Presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain are calling for “change.” Well, if I were standing on a beach with a 100-foot tsunami roaring in my direction, I would call for change too. Except I would not be standing around arguing about the meaning of the words “lipstick on a pig.” By Richard C. Cook http:// www.richardccook.com Copyright 2008 by Richard C. Cook Richard C. Cook is a former U.S. federal government analyst, whose career included service with the U.S. Civil Service Commission, the Food and Drug Administration, the Carter White House, NASA, and the U.S. Treasury Department. His articles on economics, politics, and space policy have appeared on numerous websites. His book on monetary reform entitled We Hold These Truths: The Hope of Monetary Reform will be published soon by Tendril Press. He is also the author of Challenger Revealed: An Insider's Account of How the Reagan Administration Caused the Greatest Tragedy of the Space Age , called by one reviewer, “the most important spaceflight book of the last twenty years . ” His Challenger website is at www.richardccook.com . A new economics website at www.RealSustainableLiving.com is upcoming with partner/author Susan Boskey. To get on his mailing list, for questions and comments, or to pre-purchase copies of his new book, please write EconomicSanity@gmail.com .

Kheir bro. Yes, we become too busy at times to come to think about the Messenger of Allah SAWS. Indeed, the more we make salaat on his soul, the more we are drawn to Allah SWT, and His devine love, since its said that no one can be a believer without immensely loving the Messneger of Allah, and thae love can only grow from a keen knowledge of his legacy. Allahumma salli calaa Muhammad, wa calaa aalihi wa saxbihi wa sallam. Nur

Reer Guurayaalow Waa bishii Ramadan, Sheitaankii weynaa waa xiran yahay, qalbigaaaga baadh, cadhada , ciilka iyo dakanaha dadkaad u qabto iska cafi, ( Alaa tuxibbuna an yaghfira Allahu lakum?) miyaadan jecleyn inuu Allah ku cafiyo? Nur