Everyone is going to try to blame the Anti-War Movement for all this. "W"rong !! I also resent any authority military or otherwise BLAMING people who seek peace through peaceful demonstation for the dangers soldiers face in Iraq. We are not there and to blame people who feel differently is to blame the victim. It is pathological and belongs no where in public debate. Our first amendment rights are there for a reason and peaceful assembly is one of them. If all we did was kowtow to this administration every one of our young adults would be fighting wars forever and our country would be at perpetual debt. We would lose completely any quality of life and this country would become competely demoralized.
The issue of Iraq is a matter that manifested out of this corrupt administration. To continue this disruption to the Middle East is wrong. These attacks are more demonstration of the instability there. How is Palestine and Israel every to settle into a peace if these militants continue to cause violence and problems.
The USA has a mission in Afghanistan to capture or kill Osama bin Laden and stabilize that country while ridding it of it's opium economy. Beyond that our military belongs nowhere in the Middle East in a substantial force but only supportive if at all !!
Attacks in the Middle East
Determined Iraq war protestor spoils Bush vacation
Jean-Louis Doublet
AFP
August 15, 2005
'SEND OUR KIDS HOME': Anti-war protester Cindy Sheehan, a mother who lost her son US Army Specialist Casey Austin Sheehan who was serving in Iraq, holds up a cross bearing her son's name as the motorcade of US President George W. Bush passes by her protest in Crawford, Texas on August 12.
(REUTERS)
Crawford, TX, USA -- The determined protest by the mother of an American soldier killed in Iraq has given US President George W. Bush little escape from politics during an August vacation at his beloved Texas ranch.
Barely two weeks into Bush's holiday, the ongoing vigil by Cindy Sheehan outside the gates of the president's Prairie Chapel ranch against the Iraq war has captured the attention of a nation increasingly uneasy with the course of the war.
http://www.metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20050815-125957-4573r
The Quandary Called Iraq
Dr. James Zogby, jzogby@aaiusa.org
There is growing concern being voiced in the US over the quandary called Iraq. At issue is both the Bush Administration’s handling of the war and the role that Iraq plays in shaping the president’s overall vision for the Middle East.
The problem for Bush is not just that the war is going badly, but that he can’t find a way to make it right, and is no longer able to use spin to convince the public otherwise. As a result, a strong majority of Americans are losing confidence in the ability of the administration to find a successful outcome to the war. Recent polling, for example, shows that almost two-thirds of the public disapproves of the president’s handling of the war effort, with an equally high percentage now saying that the war was not worth fighting in the first place.
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7§ion=0&article=68690&d=19&m=8&y=2005
Moroccan jailed in 9/11 retrial
Mounir al-Motassadek admitted knowing the 9/11 plotters
Moroccan Mounir al-Motassadek has received a seven-year jail sentence after being found guilty in Germany of belonging to a terrorist organisation.
Motassadek, 31, became the first person to be convicted over the 11 September 2001 attacks but the 2003 verdict was overturned and a retrial ordered.
Motassadek has admitted he was friends with three of the 9/11 hijackers.
But after a year-long retrial, the court in Hamburg has ruled there was no proof that he knew about the plot.
After his original conviction was quashed by Germany's Supreme Court last year, the retrial heard new evidence - excerpts of interviews with key al-Qaeda suspects provided by the US.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4164780.stm
Russia ready to extend loans to Jordan - Putin
SOCHI, August 19 (RIA Novosti) - Russia is ready to extend loans to Jordan on favorable terms to develop cooperation between the two countries, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday after a meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan. "The Russian government is ready to consider extending financial assistance to develop bilateral ties," Putin said. "It would involve some hundred million dollars."
According to the Russian president, Jordan's annual trade with Russia amounts to $50 million, compared to $1 billion with the United States, $500 million with China, and $370 million with Saudi Arabia.
"It is a small figure," he said. "We can surely reach more significant
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20050819/41186820.html
'Peace Mom,' her mother ill, leaves camp
(AP)
Updated: 2005-08-19 09:10
The grieving woman who started an anti-war demonstration near President Bush's ranch nearly two weeks ago left the camp Thursday after learning her mother had had a stroke, but she told supporters the protest would go on, reported AP.
Cindy Sheehan told reporters she had just received the phone call and was leaving immediately to be with her 74-year-old mother at a Los Angeles hospital.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-08/19/content_470498.htm
Explosions in Eilat and Aqaba port
By JPOST.COM STAFF
At 9:30 a.m. on Derben Street, in the tourist district of Eilat, there was an explosion under a car, army radio reported.
There were no reported wounded.
Bystanders reported that shrapnel from the explosion flew into a nearby bus.
Around the same time, in the Aqaba port in Jordan, two explosions were heard on an American ship in the port
A number of Americans were wounded.
The reason for the explosions is unknown.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1124417948298
Rocket hits Eilat, said launched from Jordan
By Revital Levy-Stein and Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondents, and Agencies
A Katyusha rocket landed near the airport in Eilat on Friday as at least two rockets shook the nearby Jordanian port of Aqaba near a U.S. military ship, which was not damaged in the attack. Police said the rocket that hit Eilat was apparently fired from Jordan.
A Jordanian soldier was killed in Aqaba, a Jordanian security official said. An Israeli taxi driver was lightly wounded in the Eilat attack.
Investigators do not yet know who is responsible for the attack, but recent intelligence information points to Al-Qaida.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/614827.html
Rockets fired at Eilat airport and Aqaba port
By JPOST.COM STAFF
A Katyusha rocket landed near a car at 9:30 a.m. Friday morning in the tourist district of Eilat.
Local police commander Avi Azulin reported that the rocket did not explode but created a small crater in the road, about 15 meters from the Eilat airport.
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz stated that the rocket was fired from Jordan.
Witnesses claimed that shrapnel from the explosion flew into a nearby bus.
Police have closed off the entire area to investigate the incident.
Activity continued as usual in the Eilat airport. Security levels in the area were increased.
At approximately the same time, a Katyusha rocket was fired an American battleship in the Aqaba port in Jordan, and hit a nearby warehouse.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1124417948754
King, Putin talk Mideast issues, war on terror
Russia calls for Iraq conference, troop pullout timetable
SOCHI, Russia (Agencies) — His Majesty King Abdullah on Thursday met here with Russian President Vladimir Putin for talks on bilateral ties and developments in the Middle East, including the Palestinian situation and Iraq.
The two leaders described the Jordan-Russian ties as "solid and dynamically growing," the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
In remarks to the press following talks in this Black Sea resort, the King said Jordan seeks better economic relations with Russia and an enhanced role of the private sector in both countries.
Acknowledging King Abdullah's efforts to spell out the true essence of Islam as a faith that rejects terrorism, Putin said: "It's inadmissible to allow for any identification of the great global religion of Islam with terrorism." On the withdrawal of Israeli settlers from the Gaza Strip that began this week, Putin, quoted by Agence France-Presse, praised Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon for "demonstrating personal courage and consistency in implementing the decision taken."
http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/homenews/homenews1.htm
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