US generals, admirals ‘will quit’ if Bush orders Iran attack

SOME of America’s most senior military commanders are prepared to resign if the White House orders a military strike against Iran, according to highly placed defence and intelligence sources.

Tension in the Gulf region has raised fears that an attack on Iran is becoming increasingly likely before President George Bush leaves office. The Sunday Times has learnt that up to five generals and admirals are willing to resign rather than approve what they consider would be a reckless attack.

“There are four or five generals and admirals we know of who would resign if Bush ordered an attack on Iran,” a source with close ties to British intelligence said. “There is simply no stomach for it in the Pentagon, and a lot of people question whether such an attack would be effective or even possible.”

A British defence source confirmed that there were deep misgivings inside the Pentagon about a military strike. “All the generals are perfectly clear that they don’t have the military capacity to take Iran on in any meaningful fashion. Nobody wants to do it and it would be a matter of conscience for them.

“There are enough people who feel this would be an error of judgment too far for there to be resignations.”

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article1434540.ece

NY Times

Bush to Warn Pakistan to Act on Terror
By DAVID E. SANGER and MARK MAZZETTI
President Bush will send a tough message to President
Pervez Musharraf that U.S. aid could be cut unless he
becomes more aggressive in hunting Al Qaeda leaders.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/26/world/asia/26pakistan.html?th&emc=th

What?  It just occurred to him?

 

Making the Return Trip: Elderly Head Back North
By SAM ROBERTS
For the first time since the Depression, more Americans
aged 75 and older have been leaving the South than moving
there.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/26/us/26seniors.html?th&emc=th

We used to joke about this; the reality is a bit different, economy-wise.

 

Surveying ’08 Field, Governors Urge Moderation
By ROBERT PEAR
Democratic governors at the meeting of the National
Governors Association pleaded with their presidential
candidates to focus on a pragmatic agenda.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/26/us/politics/26govs.html?th&emc=th

Yeah, facilitating Armageddon is so over.

Is the Administration’s new policy benefitting our enemies in the war on terrorism?

Before the invasion of Iraq, in 2003, Administration officials, influenced by neoconservative ideologues, assumed that a Shiite government there could provide a pro-American balance to Sunni extremists, since Iraq’s Shiite majority had been oppressed under Saddam Hussein. They ignored warnings from the intelligence community about the ties between Iraqi Shiite leaders and Iran, where some had lived in exile for years. Now, to the distress of the White House, Iran has forged a close relationship with the Shiite-dominated government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

Source: The New Yorker : fact : content

Party Talk

…If the next few months produce an obvious and relatively intact nominee, fine. Gore can stay active in his new role, and perhaps carry that role further, as a kind of climate czar in a Democratic Administration. But, as someone once said, stuff happens. The campaign may get nasty quickly. Clinton’s Iraq position may prove untenable in any of its iterations. Obama’s youthful charisma may look like inexperience after prolonged exposure to electoral gamesmanship. David Geffen might grow claws. A year is a very long time in politics, especially in the circular shooting contests that the Democrats so often convene. …

Source: The New Yorker : talk : content

Dazu Rock Carvings

   The masterpiece of China’s exquisite grotto art, Dazu Rock Carvings is a shining star in the stereological art treasure. It enjoys equal popularity with Dunhuang frescos and forms the trilogy with Yungang and Longmen Grottos. Having epitomized the art of grotto carvings in China, Dazu Rock Carvings has not only elevated grotto art of a certain time but also become an everlasting art monument in the rock carving field of our country.

   Dazu Rock Carvings is the general name of over 50,000 carved figures of religion in 74 different places within Dazu County. … http://www.ccqtv.com/20040510/49375.shtml

Visit the site and check out the photos.

Baha’is’ gift-giving festival brightens end of winter

Ayyam-i-Ha is a time of gift-giving, performing acts of charity and attending social gatherings. Many Baha’is also decorate their homes with lights, banners and flowers. Baha’is tend to downplay the gift-giving part of Ayyam-i-Ha and focus on the spiritual aspect of the holiday by getting together with family and friends for devotions and special meals, and participating in projects to help those in need. … http://www.bahai.us/node/186

Churches back plan to unite under Pope

Radical proposals to reunite Anglicans with the Roman Catholic Church under the leadership of the Pope are to be published this year, The Times has learnt.

The proposals have been agreed by senior bishops of both churches.

In a 42-page statement prepared by an international commission of both churches, Anglicans and Roman Catholics are urged to explore how they might reunite under the Pope.

The statement, leaked to The Times, is being considered by the Vatican, where Catholic bishops are preparing a formal response. … Churches back plan to unite under Pope-Comment-Faith-TimesOnline

Iraqi woman comments on rape charges against Al Maliki cops

As expected, Al Maliki is claiming the rape allegations are all lies. Apparently, his people simply asked the officers if they raped Sabrine Al Janabi and they said no. I’m so glad that’s been cleared up. …

No Iraqi woman under the circumstances- under any circumstances- would publicly, falsely claim she was raped. There are just too many risks. There is the risk of being shunned socially. There is the risk of beginning an endless chain of retaliations and revenge killings between tribes. There is the shame of coming out publicly and talking about a subject so taboo, she and her husband are not only risking their reputations by telling this story, they are risking their lives.

No one would lie about something like this simply to undermine the Baghdad security operation. That can be done simply by calculating the dozens of dead this last week. Or by writing about the mass detentions of innocents, or how people are once again burying their valuables so that Iraqi and American troops don’t steal them.

It was less than 14 hours between Sabrine’s claims and Maliki’s rewarding the people she accused. In 14 hours, Maliki not only established their innocence, but turned them into his own personal heroes.

I wonder if Maliki would entrust the safety his own wife and daughter to these men.  http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/

Al Qaeda Resurgent – New York Times

Almost five and a half years ago, America – united by the shock of 9/11 – understood exactly what it needed to do. It had to find, thwart and take down the command structure of Al Qaeda, which was responsible for the deaths of 3,000 innocent people on American soil. Despite years of costly warfare in Afghanistan and Iraq, America today is not significantly closer to that essential goal.

At a crucial moment, the Bush administration diverted America’s military strength, political attention and foreign aid dollars from a necessary, winnable war in Afghanistan to an unnecessary, and by now unwinnable, war in Iraq. Al Qaeda took full advantage of these blunders to survive and rebuild. Now it seems to be back in business. … Al Qaeda Resurgent – New York Times

The Stuff Sam Nunn’s Nightmares Are Made Of

A decade after leaving the United States Senate, where he spent years as chairman of the Armed Services Committee, Nunn posed one, overriding question about his list of things we’ll wish we had done if a doomsday should ever come: “Why aren’t we doing them now?” In a sense, his own answer has been to help found and run the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a Washington-based foundation largely bankrolled by Nunn’s friends Ted Turner and Warren Buffett. In what may be the most ambitious example of private dollars subsidizing national security, the N.T.I. is trying to fill in the gaps where government is failing to reduce nuclear threats. In other words, to do the things now that we would otherwise wish we had done.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/25/magazine/25Nunn.t.html?th&emc=th

Sorority Evictions Raise Messy Issue of Looks and Bias – New York Times

Worried that a negative stereotype of the sorority was contributing to a decline in membership that had left its Greek-columned house here half empty, Delta Zeta’s national officers interviewed 35 DePauw members in November, quizzing them about their dedication to recruitment. They judged 23 of the women insufficiently committed and later told them to vacate the sorority house.

The 23 members included every woman who was overweight. They also included the only black, Korean and Vietnamese members. The dozen students allowed to stay were slender and popular with fraternity men – conventionally pretty women the sorority hoped could attract new recruits. Six of the 12 were so infuriated they quit.

Source: Sorority Evictions Raise Messy Issue of Looks and Bias – New York Times

Well, that’s 40 years that I know of where nothing’s changed…

Ill. Senate OKs Stem Cell Research

Supporters say embryonic stem cells could yield treatments for a wide variety of diseases, including diabetes and Alzheimer’s. They argue the cells are taken only from embryos created for in vitro fertilization that would otherwise be discarded.

“They go into the public sewer system. I really believe my maker would want me to use these embryos to sustain and improve human life,” said one supporter, Sen. Kirk Dillard, R-Hinsdale.

Source: Ill. Senate OKs Stem Cell Research — Friday, Feb. 23, 2007 — Page 1 — TIME