Update aboutthat possible Newt Gingrich hiking trip to the northern Iran-Iraq border. It might also help identify him if he takes his hair-dresser along. Oh, and the TV make-up kit: that is an important identification tool, unless he wants to go incognito. All that will also help identify him once the mullahs decide to release him sometime after November 2012 (not that he has a chance, but the mullahs want to relive their Reagan-Carter 1980 glory days).
Cheers
mhg
“I mention this because the Saudi ambassador’s purported fondness for the place is merely the latest instance confirming that Cafe Milano has become the most fashionable restaurant in Washington, DC., without ever entering the usual intermediate stage of becoming one of the best. I mean, there’s nothing wrong with it or anything. Zagat says a bit snottily that it’s got “chow that’s ‘better than you’d expect,'” but shouldn’t the chow be fabulous at such a place? (Zagat also says that “unless ‘your name regularly appears on the Washington Post’s front page,’ prepare for ‘long waits’ and ‘smug’ treatment.”) I can name half a dozen Italian restaurants in DC that offer better food, usually at lower prices. And I don’t get out all that much. Yet celebrities, especially Hollywood celebrities, adore the place. I’m no reverse snob. ………..”
They say Italian food goes best with a good bottle of compatible vino. Of course that is what they say. I wonder if the Ambassador/minion/now celebrity fully enjoyed the fare. And no, I am not hinting that Café Milano, mediocre food and all, was behind the ‘Keystone Cops plot’. Not some kind of twisted publicity stunt, maybe some other kind of stunt. Cheers
mhg
“Iran’s supreme leader and the shadowy Quds Force covert operations unit were likely aware of an alleged plot to kill Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States, but hard evidence of that is scant, U.S. officials said on Wednesday. The United States does not have solid information about “exactly how high it goes,” one official said…………… The U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said their confidence that at least some Iranian leaders were aware of the alleged plot was based largely on analyses and their understanding of how the Quds Force operates. They said it was “more than likely” that Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and Quds Force commander Qasem Suleimani had prior knowledge………….”
Not only does the story of the plot look like a Hollywood B-movie (Reagan peaked too early as an actor). The aftermath is even worse. Now we hear that they think it “likely” but “without hard evidence”, that it was based largely on “analyses and understanding how…”. WTF kind of case is this exactly? Normally any court of law outside the Middle East would blow this case out to the middle of the (Pacific) ocean. Next we’ll hear Tony Blair blowing the trumpet of another Gulf war based on this. This whole thing is moving too fast and furious for total credulity. Cheers
mhg
“Iran has never conducted — or apparently even attempted — an assassination or a bombing inside the US. And it is difficult to believe that they would rely on a non-Islamic criminal gang to carry out this most sensitive of all possible missions. In this instance, they allegedly relied on at least one amateur and a Mexican criminal drug gang that is known to be riddled with both Mexican and USintelligence agents……..”
My ‘educated impression’ is that most people in the ‘wider’ Arab world have strong doubts about all this. By that I mean people from Iraq through Lebanon to Egypt and North Africa. That is among those who care at all: most are too involved in their own struggle against their rulers. Most Saudis tend to believe the story because of the tensions between their country and Iran and also because their major media, like Iranian media, is government-controlled or owned by princes (Alarabiya, Asharq Alawsat, etc, etc). Most people in the Gulf GCC states, with the likely exception of Bahrain, also tend to believe this story. But that is the Gulf: most Sunnis believe anything that is publicized against Iran and most Shi’as suspect anything that is publicized against Iran. As for myself: some aspects of the story just sound too silly, as if written by someone to raise public anger, especially the quote about “who cares if 100 or 150 innocent people die in the restaurant, f–k them!” I just can’t help thinking of the USS Maine and Havana harbor. (I had a very skeptical American history professor as an undergraduate. He was especially hard on the USS Maine incident and Mr. Hearst and his ‘special little Cuban friend’. He just ‘knew’ how the Spanish-American War started. Fortunately, most history professors in the United States tend to be skeptics as well, a very healthy thing). (Clearly his ‘true’ history about Havana harbor made a strong impression on me. I won’t tell you what he called President Polk about the Mexican war). Cheers
mhg
BFF “However, to extend those operations to US territory would represent a significant leap in scope and ambitions. The way the plot was conducted would also suggest that the ruthlessly efficiently QF had lost its touch, being clumsy enough to transfer money from accounts under its control directly to US bank accounts. Robert Baer, a former CIA agent with long experience of observing the QF, said: “This stinks to holy hell. The Quds Force are very good. They don’t sit down with people they don’t know and make a plot. They use proxies and they are professional about it. If Kassim Suleimani was coming after you or me, we would be dead. This is totally uncharacteristic of them.”……… Any remote hope of resumed nuclear talks is dead for now. More sanctions and UN Security Council resolutions will beon the table instead…….…” Okay, an Iranian plot uncovered. Ergo: “More sanctions and UN Security Council resolutions will be on the table”. It is a matter of “cause and effect”, cause and effect. Or is it “effect and cause”? Quite confusing. Reminds me of the USS Maine at Havana Harbor.
“If Iran was indeed willing to attack a Saudi Ambassador and close confidante of the Saudi King on US soil and countenance the death of 100-150 Americans, then the US has reached a point where it must take action. The President’s National Security Council and intelligence teams led by Thomas Donilon must construct a response that is “more than reactive.” This is time for a significant strategic response to the Iran challenge in the Middle East and globally — and if the US does not take action, then the Saudis will most likely retaliate in ways that will escalate the stakes and tensions with Iran throughout the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia. Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad denies any government involvement in this plot — and there no doubt will be much more that surfaces in coming days. But Iran has officially denied any complicity in this plot and has accused the US of fabricating these claims…….”
No, I don’t think the US government has fabricated the story, not at the highest levels. There was some kind of a plot, but it probably was DOA (as in dead on arrival). It was a plot hatched between some idiotic Iranians and some federal agents. Or maybe it was a plot hatched between some rather clever Iranians and some US federal agents. The Iranians may have had relations to elements in the Tehran regime, or they may have had ties to some Iranian groups outside Iran, like the Mujahideen Khalq. The mullahs are not that stupid, they have never done anything like this before, not on US soil. And they have nothing whatsoever to gain by it, au contraire. And all the open ‘simple’ talk about “it matters not if 100 or 150 Americans are killed in the restaurant” sounds worse than Hollywood-ish: it sounds like a children’s horror story. Almost idiotic. The Iranian regime is brutal, but it ain’t stupid or suicidal.
What is interesting is the outcry for ‘revenge’ right away in the media and on the web. All the closer latent hawks see their glory days returning. No doubt if the Iranian regime was behind it, there should be repercussions. As I told some hasty academic tweeters earlier: shouldn’t there be a waiting period before Slim Pickens rides the bomb (over Iran)?
(Re- Slim Pickens: if you haven’t seen Dr. Strangelove, find a copy and see it). Cheers
mhg
BFF This morning I thought of Newt Gingrich, not sure why. I Binges him (I don’t patronize only one search engine) and clicked on his Twitter link. Here is some of what I read:
“If we reestablish the constitutional basis of America this election will be historic-your help at newt.org makes big difference”
“The tea party movement should seek to educate the protesters-the tea party has it right-return to constitutional government”
“Looking forward to the debate tonight. But today I’m taking questions from you. Use #LeadNow to ask me about the issues.”
As I read his seriously witless remarks (tweets), my thoughts traveled back toward my home region, back to the Middle East, moving along the coast of my (Persian-American) Gulf and farther north, well past the Gulf. I focused on the common northeastern border between Iraq and Iran. I wondered if Newt Gingrich has given up on the idea of taking a hike along the Iraqi-Iranian border (in the Kurdish region). (Actually it was my suggestion to him, my contribution to his campaign posted here last week). It would be a great way to shore up his (non-existent) foreign policy credentials before the Iowa Republican caucuses. Nothing like a hike straddling the Iranian border, preferably in an undersized business suit that would accentuate his body curves. The mullahs may be thrilled: the prize this time would not be three crazy hapless students seeking innocent adventure. Newt, like most Republican political and radio warriors, never served in the military. They are so good at evading service yet sound more patriotic than Democrats who did. He will come out of Tehran almost as another John McCain but not as thin and not as injured. Of course the cuisine in Iran, even in Evin prison, is better than the Hanoi Hilton. Cheers
mhg
“Osama bin Laden, hunted as the mastermind behind the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil, has been killed, President Obama announced tonight……..”
“Same US military unit that got Osama bin laden killed Anwar al-Awlaki. Anwar al-Awlaki, a US-born al-Qaeda leader linked to terrorist plots in the UK and US, has been killed in a drone strike in central Yemen, the country’s military has announced…….”
“A senior leader of the militant Haqqani network, Haji Mali Khan, has been captured in Afghanistan, the Nato-led international force Isaf has said. He was detained during an operation by Afghan and coalition forces in Paktia province on Tuesday, Isaf said. He was heavily armed but did not resist, it added……”
So this “Manchurian” American president with a Jewish-sounding first name, an African last name, and a decidedly Muslim middle name has bested Dick Cheney in the war against al-Qaeda. I wonder what the Cheneys are up to these days. Cheers
mhg
“Four years after Blackwater’s license to operate in Iraq was revoked over the killing of 17 Iraqis, Xe Services LLC — the company formerly known as Blackwater — wants to return to the country. In an interview published Thursday, Xe President and Chief Executive Ted Wright told The Wall Street Journal that he would like to do business in Iraq again.”Would I like to go back into Iraq?” Wright said. “Certainly.” “Would the Iraqi government accept us in Iraq? That’s really the question.” Wright’s renewed interest in operating in Iraq comes at a time when the U.S. State Department is considering adding 5,000 private contractors to replace some of the U.S. troops that will be withdrawing bythe end of the year………..” Soldiers come back from wars often damaged, wounded, or dead. They come back to a different kind of struggle to survive. They are hailed as heroes. Cheered for a few minutes, handed over to the dubious mercies of the bureaucracy, and forgotten. These are the public soldiers, the ones who enlist in the regular, low-paying military. Then there are the ‘private’ soldiers, the ‘corporate’ soldiers, the so-called contractors. The well-connected “contract” corporations, the former Blackwater and Halliburton and others, are the ones who receive the benefits of the “stimulus” spending of the wars in the Middle East.
Speaking of private armies: the Roman Republic at one point of its history was dominated by ‘private’ legions which it used to wage its wars. These legions belonged to certain leaders (Pompeii, Julius Caesar, Crassus, etc). These worthies waged war with soldiers that they recruited for their own ‘Roman’ legions, and these legions were loyal to the leader who owned them, mainly because he also paid them. It was also during that period that Rome experienced sporadic civil wars that got worse with time. During periods of civil strife the legions fought on the side of their respective ‘leaders/owners’. Ancient Rome did not have exactly the type of corporate structure that exists today. Cheers
mhg
“The Palestinian leadership yesterday accused the US Congress of inflicting “collective punishment” upon its people by holding up almost $200m in aid earmarked for the West Bank and Gaza by the Obama administration. The freeze on funds earlier allocated for the financial year which ends today is the first concrete Congressional reprisal against Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to come to light since he angered US legislators by pursuing his application for full UN membership last week. The unpublicised block has been in force since August and was imposed in response to the then planned UN recognition bid,………”
The Palestinian Authority (PA) is often accused by its opponents of doing the bidding of the United States government and the Israeli Likud government. Apparently the PA felt that its authority over Palestinians was slipping, it had to do something to slow this trend. In a desperate move it applied for UN recognition. It did this just at the beginning of the U.S. electoral cycle and in a year when extreme right-wing Republicans control the U.S. Congress, with Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a well-known right-winger and avid Likudnik, as head of the Foreign Affairs Committee. They might as well have elected Bibi Netanyahu as chairman of the committee.This is not a time when most politicians in Washington show any courage for peace, if ever. Cheers
mhg
Rattlesnake Ridge 
BFF