Apr. 28 - CNN has taken note of the breaking scandal over the U.N. Oil-for-food program by reporting Annan's defence of his and U.N. inaction by claiming they had no mandate to stop the smuggling and the corruption was not under their control. Annan lashes out at oil-for-food critics:

In his strongest comments to date on the burgeoning oil-for-food scandal, Annan said U.N. officials were blamed for Saddam's smuggling of oil and a variety of other misdeeds that they had no way of controlling.

"We had no mandate to stop oil smuggling," Annan told a news conference. "They were driving the trucks through northern Iraq to Turkey. The U.S. and the British had planes in the air. We were not there."

He called some of the comments he read "constructive and thoughtful." But he said: "Others have been outrageous and exaggerated. In fact, when you look at it, if you read their reports, it looks as if the Saddam regime had nothing to do with it. They did nothing wrong. It was all the U.N."

You could have been more honest in the run up to the war instead of claiming that containment was working.

But you did none of those things, and did everything you could to keep Saddam in power and the sanctions in place.

Further down in the page is what will probably be the line of the U.N.'s defenders, that the US and UK held their noses at the corruption in order to keep the sanctions in place.

A stellar piece of reporting by the always objective CNN.

Apr. 29 - 17:17 Ozguru shows the difference one word makes. Wonderful and pointed.

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Apr. 28 - Co-ordinated dawn assaults of suspected separatists armed with machetes and a few guns on 10 police stations and security checkpoints was fought off resulting in over 112 dead in southern Thailand.

Thailand's Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, said that the attackers wanted to steal the weapons and sell them, but weapons and explosives have been stolen in the past and there have been several terrorist attacks by Islamic separatists in the region.

CNN says it was 15 police stations, and 107 attackers, 3 policeman and 2 soldiers were killed.

On Wednesday afternoon, police stormed a mosque in which said a gang had holed up using rocket propelled grenades and tear gas. 30 were killed.

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Apr. 28 - Toronto's Top 5 column.

I'm going with #1, and #2 is why the mute button is used when Clark's mug shows up on the TV.

We hate the flyers,
Bobby Clark's a maggot
A whiny little maggot

(By the end of this round of the play-offs, I might even know all the words to the song.)

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Apr. 28 - Special interest groups in Ontario say that we, the taxpayers, won't mind paying extra money to keep their pet projects afloat (Grits say you want deficit.

The groups, involving a total of 254 people in six cities, ...

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Apr. 28 - The Australian carries an opinion piece by James Morrow on UNSCAM, UN apologists remain silent on oil scandal which raises some points U.N. apologists and the left might eventually have to answer.

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Apr. 28 - Interesting article by Kenneth Timmerman in Insight Magazine, Saddam's WMD Have Been Found, which raises some questions about the stockpiles of pesticides found early on in the war and which continue to be found.

Read also Iraqi Weapons in Syria for a refresher on how the suspicion began - and was seemingly dismissed - that the WMD had been moved to Syria and then a story from April 23, Sudan orders Syrian WMD out of country.

It's tempting to speculate and connect some dots; in fact, it's too tempting by far. Among the considerations are the recent allegations from Jordan that a major chemical attack in Amman originated in Syria, and even more intriguing is that Sudan would demand Syria remove their WMD now, when so many eyes are now on the Sudan because of the ethnic cleansing that has occurred durng their civil war.

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Apr. 27 - The testimony by Claudia Rosett on the U.N. Oil for Food program before the House Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threats, and International Relations is up.

Apr. 28 - 18:13: Dick Morris in today's NY Post writes How to Buy a French Veto:

ANYONE who pines for genuine international multilateralism would do well to follow the bribes now being uncovered in the United Nations' Oil-for- Food scandal.

Why did France and Russia oppose efforts to topple Saddam Hussein's regime? And why did they press constantly, throughout the '90s, for an expansion of Iraqi oil sales? Was it their empathy for the starving children of that impoverished nation? Their desire to stop the United States from arrogantly imposing its vision upon the Middle East?

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Apr. 27 - This is strange even for the kind of barbarism we've seen from the "insurgents" in Iraq - Kidnappers Threaten to Kill Italians in Video:

In the video, the apparent kidnappers vow to kill the hostages in five days unless the Italian people protest against their military presence in Iraq.

One of the odder parts is that it puts the Italian anti-war movement on the spot rather than the Italian government. What is their game? What does this Green Brigade hope to achieve?

But I'm also wondering if a bit of Italian history might figure in to this: an Italian group of ultra-leftists back in the 60's and 70's was called the Red Brigade. They kidnapped Aldo Moro on March 16, 1978, and executed him on on May 9, 1978. (The Moro link makes some assertions about Moro's influence on Italian politics. I'm not familiar enough to agree or disagree, but it is interesting.)

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Apr. 27 - CNN uses the same url throughout the day, so the numbers will have changed since I first saved the link. U.S. forces kill 64 insurgents near Najaf

and yesterday evening, but the same link: US warplanes pounding Fallujah

May their bullets fly true.

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Apr. 27 - NY Times columnist David Brooks takes a look at D.C. in Looking Through Keyholes:

These are the crucial months in Iraq. The events in Najaf and Falluja will largely determine whether Iraq will move toward normalcy or slide into chaos.

So how is Washington responding during this pivotal time? Well, for about three weeks the political class was obsessed by Richard Clarke and the hearings of the 9/11 commission, and, therefore, events that occurred between 1992 and 2001. Najaf was exploding, and Condoleezza Rice had to spend the week preparing for testimony about what may or may not have taken place during the presidential transition.

[...]

This is crazy. This is like pausing during the second day of Gettysburg to debate the wisdom of the Missouri Compromise. We're in the midst of the pivotal battle of the Iraq war and le tout Washington decides not to let itself get distracted by the ephemera of current events.

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Apr. 27 - Sometimes we joke about the pithy responses of Glenn Reynolds, but you can't deny he can be short and direct as in the linked post where someone questions why the USA is seen as eeeevil when so many countries won't decriminalize the murders of women, aka, honour killings.

Apr. 28 - And an even better answer from Kathy, as well as a reminder of what some of those "elites" are from Ghost of a Flea.

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Apr. 27 - Update on the arrests in England last month on terrorism charges: Two men and woman held by terrorist police were released when the court did not approve an application for their further detention:

Warrants for the further detention of the seven men until this Thursday have been issued by Manchester city magistrates. But District Judge Michael Abelson ruled at a specially convened court which sat on Friday and Saturday that there was no right in law to hold the other three.

Conspiracy charges are very difficult to prove.

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Apr. 27 - The three IRA members who had been accused of training Columbian terrorists in bomb-making techniques were acquitted of the charges but the prosecution has filed an appeal.

The news report says the defence destroyed key witnesses on the stand.

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Apr. 27 - Sheesh, and I thought our State Dept. was a total screw-up! Dismay over Blair stance on Mid-East:

Tony Blair's approach to Iraq and the Middle East was savaged last night by 52 senior diplomats, who questioned his support for America's "doomed" policy in the region.

Their unprecedented onslaught came as the Government confirmed it was discussing sending more troops to Iraq to fill the gap left by Spain's withdrawal.

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"I am very proud of my men. They fought like lions," said Capt. Douglas Zembiec.

The above is of a Marine playing "America the Beautiful" on the bagpipes at Fallujah.

Imagine the strains of that song drifting to the Marines with the setting sun. It must have been a quiet moment, a reflective moment for them. They are so far from home, and surely they miss our spacious skies and purpled mountains. Yet they stay, and that song tells us why.

Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!

Until, that is, one Tuesday in September.

We, as a society, may have produced them, but these days they are producing us, and daily, by example, they remind us to be strong and us to be brave. The casualty reports hurt; news of roadside explosions and mortar attacks catch in our throats, but, like them, we must endure.

God bless them all. Never forget them, never take them for granted, never try to diminish their sacrifice with cynical exploitation, and never doubt their dedication.

And never, ever break faith with them.

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Apr. 26 - Updating the story which started April 14 and linked here, here, here, and here, Jordanian officials have released more information (CNN story here and Fox story here) about the attack.

The one who allegedly ordered the attack was Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The confession of the man identified as the head of the Jordanian cell of al Qaeda, Azmi al-Jayousi, was aired on television:

In a nighttime raid in Amman, Jordanian security forces moved in on the terrorist cell. After the shooting stopped, four men were dead. Jordanian authorities said. They said at least three others were arrested, including Azmi Jayyousi, the cell's suspected ringleader, whom Jordanian intelligence alleges was responsible for planning and recruiting.

On a confession shown on state-run Jordanian television, Jayyousi said he took orders from Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a suspected terrorist leader who has been linked to al Qaeda and whom U.S. officials have said is behind some attacks in Iraq.

"I took explosives courses, poisons high level, then I pledged allegiance to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, to obey him without any questioning," Jayyousi said.

Fox reports that he said Zarqawi gave him about $170,000 and he used it in part to purchase 20 tons of explosives. He also said he met Zarqawi in Afghanistan where he studied explosives and met up with him later in Iraq.

Also arrested was car mechanic Hussein Sharif Hussein, who was asked to "purchase and modify vehicles to crash through gates and walls." more...

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Apr. 26 - In preparation for the upcoming visit by PM Martin to D.C. and in the aftermath of Sept. 11, Canada's first security policy is to be tabled this week (Security on front burner.) Uh huh.

In another related story, RCMP commissioner Guiliano Zaccardelli told an international conference on counter-terrorism that Canadians need to begin to assess how best to balance security and privacy, noting that these assessments have yet to take place among lawmakers as well as citizens:

Zaccardelli said Canadians haven't even talked about that balance.

I predict that the upcoming meeting between President Bush and Prime Minister Martin will be spun by the Canadian media as Martin giving Bush advice and offering expertise in whatever the government's Expertise Flavour of the Week might be at the time (I think we can safely rule out balancing security concerns with privacy, though.) The US government will acknowledge the visit, probably in a press briefing, and there won't be much spin but platitudes aplenty: "The President and Prime Minister had a very fruitful discussion ... it was a valuable exchange of ideas ... they got along quite well ... shoulder to shoulder ... the Terrence-Phillip issue didn't come up ..."

Apr. 28 - 17:55: Here's a brief overview of the security plan and there's more in depth at CTV news including this curious bit:

To ensure that civil liberties are protected as the country strengthens its security systems, a new advisory body will be established, called the Cross-Cultural Roundtable on Security.

It will be composed of representatives of cultural groups and religious communities and will provide a forum for concerns about how security efforts may be affecting Canada's multicultural society.

"The National Security Policy protects our collective security interests in a way that reflects core Canadian values of tolerance, openness and respect for fundamental rights and freedoms," said McLellan.

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1 "Zaccardelli said Canadians haven't even talked about that balance." I.e. The Liberal Party hasn't told Canadian what their opinion is, and held them to it, despite vast evidence they are idiots and the opinion is worthless crap. Me, I'm not bitter. Nope.

Posted by: Fred at April 26, 2004 05:00 PM (SPn8I)

2 I sympathize completely, Fred, but I kind of bought into the theory that they really haven't thought much about it. Er, on re-reading that, it too sounds bitter. We're all doomed.

Posted by: Debbye at April 26, 2004 07:21 PM (HdGWA)

3 Just another reason why I'm fleeing to The States as soon as I save enough cash to start over there (heh, starting over there seems the main industry . Hopefully I'll be gone before T.O. turns into sterilization central.

Posted by: Paul at April 29, 2004 03:03 AM (0pAqn)

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Apr. 26 - Georgi Parvanov, the president of Bulgaria, visited Iraq yesterday and his car convoy came under fire near Karbala (Bulgaria president shot at in Iraq.) No one was hurt.

President Parvanov returned to Bulgaria with the body of Sgt. Dimitar Dimitrov who was killed Friday in an ambush in Karbala and some other Bulgarian soldiers suffering from combat stress.

Sgt. Dimitrov is the sixth Bulgrian soldier to be killed in Iraq.

All the Bulgarian soldiers in Iraq have volunteered for the mission.

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Apr. 26 - Eric Scheie started off wondering why the media is ignoring UNSCAM (read through the whole thing which, like all good questions, answers questions unasked) and he follows a path that came up with a link that answers some questions that have been nagging at me for awhile.

There are a lot of people who wanted the U.N. to take the lead in removing Saddam from Iraq for strictly financial reasons: they believed it better that the U.N. foot the bill instead of the entire burden falling on the American taxpayer. That attitude was understandable, but did it reflect reality?

Read this 1998 article at the Cato Institute: The United Nations Debt: Who Owes Whom?. more...

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Apr. 25 - An article about Canadian Arthur Millholland of Oilexco Ltd., who was on the list of oil voucher recipients. (Friends of Saddam: Millholland Says UN Knew links to Axis of Logic which links to a piece in Friday's Globe and Mail Executive says oil-for-food program was rife with corruption.)

Millholland asserts his innocence and that he would never be party to bribery or corruption. The article concludes with a lofty assertion of high principles and decency:

Mr. Millholland has travelled to Iraq several times and he has been an outspoken critic of the sanctions and the U.S. occupation. He said he got Oilexco into the oil-for-food program as a way of helping people in the country and he resents any suggestion that he was an apologist for the Saddam regime.

He said he welcomed the UN review of the oil-for-food program. "It wasn't a total failure from a humanitarian perspective," Mr. Millholland said. "But the other side of it was the corruption of it. The questions from the diplomatic side is, did they know about the corruption and overlook it and say that it was something that was inherent in the system and it was a lesser of two evils. In other words, if you have kids that are dying, do you stop the food going in to stop the corruption and cause more kids to die?"

A real reporter would have asked "And when you found no kids had died because of the sanctions but many died due to the expired drugs and substandard hospital equipment, did you feel like a total idiot?"

Or "When you learned that Saddam had a prison just for children, did you feel the slightest twinge of doubt?"

Or even "Can you describe how you felt when the bodies of children clutching their dolls were unearthed in mass graves?"

The reporter, by the way, is Paul Waldie.

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