Say Anything Blog

Wonder if this is how the media in America will characterize this story.

UK to withdraw troops from Bosnia
British jeep in Skopje
British troops had been supporting the Dayton Peace Accord
Most of the UK’s remaining troops in Bosnia-Hercegovina are to be withdrawn, defence minister Adam Ingram has said.

More than 600 troops, mostly Welsh Guards, will come home due to the improved security situation, he said.

A small number of staff officers will remain in Sarajevo, and Britain will contribute to the pan-Balkans Operational Reserve Force.

The troop withdrawal is part of a larger reduction of international forces from 6,000 to 2,500 troops.

In a statement to the House of Commons, Mr Ingram admitted there were high levels of small arms and light weapons in the country, but there were international initiatives to reduce these.

‘Approaching normality’

He added: “It is clear that the Bosnia-Hercegovina is becoming increasingly safe. In recent years there have been increasing indications of a security situation approaching normality.”

But he said military operations had not been without significant loss.

A series of commemorative events are to be held to honour the 55 British personnel who died and the thousands who served there.

If Bosnia are incapable of taking more control of their own affairs at a political level, how confident are you that they can do it on a military level?
Liam Fox
Shadow defence secretary

End of a long road in Bosnia

Although the EU peacekeeping force Eufor is being reduced, the international community overseeing the 1995 Dayton Peace Accord said it was retaining the office of the High Representative until June 2008.

It said the reforms it wanted had not yet been fully implemented.

Shadow defence secretary Liam Fox said: “If Bosnia are incapable of taking more control of their own affairs at a political level, how confident are you that they can do it on a military level?”

‘Job well done’

He said neighbouring Serbia was still unstable and that there was a suspicion that more troops were being freed up for Afghanistan.

But Mr Ingram said that charge did “not add up” and said he was surprised Dr Fox had not recognised that there had been “marked progress”.

For the Liberal Democrats, Nick Harvey added: “The House should be celebrating the statement today as a sign of success and a job well done.”

Around 250,000 people died in the inter-ethnic war of 1992-95.

Initially British troops served with the United Nations, and then under Nato command until Eufor took responsibility for safeguarding peace in 2004.

The chairman of Bosnia’s tripartite presidency, Nebojsa Radmanovic, said the country could now ensure stability and reform by itself.

On Wednesday the EU said Eufor would be reduced but a “robust military presence” would remain and troop levels would be increased “if needed” over the next six months.

Conservative MP Tory Tobias, who served in Bosnia, welcomed the statement but there were “lessons to be learned”.

He said in Bosnia, there was one Nato soldier for every square kilometre while in Afghanistan, there was one for every 600 sq km.

That was why the UK faced “so many challenges” in the country, he said.

h/t BBC.  And here is a link to see where Brits are operating.

After reading this, tell me gang, am I the only one that believes Mr Sutter should be sitting in a cell wearing an orange jumpsuit.

Ex-CIA official urges silence after spy ‘sting’

By Bill Gertz
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
February 27, 2007

A former high-ranking CIA official refused FBI appeals for help in tracking Chinese spies and urged others via e-mail not to cooperate because of the recent prosecution of former Defense Intelligence Agency analyst Ron Montaperto.
Robert G. Sutter, a former national intelligence officer for East Asia and holder of a security clearance, told a mailing list of current and former government officials that a 2003 FBI “sting” operation against Montaperto, who was convicted in June of mishandling classified documents, raised fears that he and other officials could be damaged for discussing their contacts with Chinese officials.
The FBI and other U.S. counterintelligence agencies are stepping up efforts, including outreach to academics, to counter Chinese intelligence efforts after a string of damaging spy cases over the past five years, U.S. officials said.
Mr. Sutter, a Georgetown University professor, stated in the e-mail sent two weeks ago that he had met then with two “relatively young” FBI agents who asked for his help “regarding activities of Chinese officials that I judged might be deemed matters of espionage.”
“They also seemed to want and need some educating on policies and priorities of the Chinese administration, and the state of play in U.S.-Chinese relations,” he stated.
Mr. Sutter has specialized in Asian affairs for 33 years at CIA, Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress and State Department intelligence bureau. He did not return telephone calls or e-mails seeking comment.
FBI spokeswoman Debbie Weierman declined to comment on the FBI’s outreach on Chinese intelligence, but she said generally “we do contact a number of people ... to better know our domain.”
Mr. Sutter’s e-mail was sent to an exclusive list of some 30 current and former officials, including Lonnie Henley, acting national intelligence officer for East Asia, and Dennis Wilder, White House National Security Council staff Asia director.
The Washington Times obtained a copy of the e-mail from a member of the group.
Mr. Sutter stated that his recent meeting with FBI agents was similar to debriefings in the 1970s and 1980s, when he volunteered to share intelligence on meetings with European and Chinese officials.
“My reaction this time was very different than my reaction in the 1970s and 1980s,” he stated. “I still have a security clearance, but this time I said almost nothing about China.”
“What I did talk about was the credibility of the FBI “ Mr. Sutter said. “I referred at some length to the Ron Montaperto ‘sting.’ I told the agents that while they seemed like nice people, and I tried to be cooperative with the U.S. government, I could not trust them or have any assurance that they would not use any information I provided in some way that would hurt me or others.”
Mr. Sutter wrote that the agents then told him that they were “well-versed” on the Montaperto case and said that “the Montaperto sting had indeed closed doors and cut off contacts for the FBI.”
“They went on at some length that the sting had seriously damaged the FBI’s ability to tap U.S. expertise as it sought to deal with Chinese espionage,” Mr. Sutter’s e-mail said.
Montaperto in 2003 disclosed to the FBI and Navy counterintelligence agents during a sting operation that he provided both “secret” and “top secret” intelligence to two Chinese intelligence officers during more than 60 meetings, according to court documents in the case. He pleaded guilty to lesser charges of illegally retaining classified documents, but he admitted as part of a plea bargain to passing the secrets to Chinese intelligence.
The prosecution was a setback for a network of pro-China specialists in government and academia who have sought to play down China’s growing military capabilities and intelligence operations in a coordinated effort they claim is aimed at improving U.S. ties to China.
Mr. Sutter said he wrote the e-mail as a warning to other China specialists, implying that they too should refuse to help the FBI.
“I pass along this account because I believe others will be contacted—the two agents that talked to me said that the FBI is trying to broaden its contacts among China specialists,” Mr. Sutter said.
Former U.S. intelligence officials and academics in the past privately supported U.S. government counterintelligence efforts, and Mr. Sutter’s refusal to help is a sign that the FBI is lacking in its expertise and knowledge about Chinese spying.
Paul D. Moore, a former FBI counterintelligence analyst and specialist on China, said Mr. Sutter’s e-mail highlights one of China’s intelligence-gathering methods.
Chinese agents are “extremely comfortable working in ambiguous situations, [like] ‘I help you, you help me,’ “ Mr. Moore said.
China has successfully “wormed” classified information out of U.S. nuclear-weapons scientists in meetings in China by showing them secret Chinese designs for warheads and then asking if the United States uses similar designs, he said.
“By saying ‘no,’ a scientist is revealing classified information,” Mr. Moore said, and thus risks later prosecution when reporting the encounters.
“Smart people then wonder if they talk to these [FBI] guys they might slice and dice what is said and send it over to the Justice Department for an espionage prosecution,” he said. “When you’re dealing with counterespionage, it will suck you in.”

The man will protect his contacts among Chinese Intel, and refuses to assist US CounterIntel to stop Chinese espionage. Got to wonder how much he is being paid, and by whom.

Will you find this quote “The security plan has given a kind of new hope and new optimism,” Rice said after her meeting with al-Maliki.

“People may now have a little bit of a spur to do the other things that need doing,” she said, adding “we’ve got to be sure not just to concentrate on the security plan. The political side does need to keep pace.”

Not at any other media outlet did I find this quoted. Lets put the money shot in caps. THE POLITICAL SIDE DOES NEED TO KEEP PACE.

Why do no US papers or network news show any of the work or progress on the civic infrastructure? Outside the major urban areas of the Sunni Triangle our media does not care what happens.

So why is an article in the Chinese newsservice Xinhua the only place you can find the US Sec of State once again pushing the Admin’s position that political advances are as important as 21,000 additional MPs,Civil Affairs, and Engineers? Does anyone at the Big 3 even know Condi is in the Mid-East?

Just a note to keep everyone up to speed on the “getting warmer” thingy.

That is the Alleghany River, at East Brady, PA. Looks all toasty and warm, don’t it?
You can see the new bridge in the first one. It is going to open in spring, 2005. PennDOT says so, it must be true!

Is that what these articles are telling us?

From Xinhua,
U.S. top nuclear envoy expects “real changes” in six-party talks
http://www.chinaview.cn 2007-02-03 21:34:08

Related report: Six-party talks - 3rd phase of 5th round

SEOUL, Feb. 3 (Xinhua)—Christopher Hill, U.S. chief negotiator for the six-party talks, said Saturday here that he expects “some real changes” in next week’s six-party talks.

“I am not going to get into specific elements, but I think we need to see some real changes on the ground,” Hill, who is also the assistant secretary of State, told reporters upon his arrival at the Incheon International Airport.

“We’ve had a lot of consultations for this round, and reasonably we can make some progress,” Hill said. “Let’s see if some of those useful, substantive conversations we’ve had can be put to use in negotiations.”

“I think we have to go from having various declarations to having agreement on implementation,” Hill added. “So I am looking for some implementation of the September 2005 agreement, meaning something changes on the ground.”

Diplomats from China, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea(DPRK), the United States, South Korea, Russia and Japan will gather in Beijing next Wednesday to launch the third session of the fifth round of the six-party talks on the nuclear issues on the Korean Peninsula.

Hill will stay in South Korea until next Monday to fine-tune a strategy for the negotiation with Seoul and then fly to Japan.

At a joint statement adopted in the fourth round of the six-party talks on Sept. 19 2005, DPRK agreed to drop its nuclear weapon program in exchange for security guarantee, economic aids and normalization of diplomatic ties with the United States. However, the statement has not been implemented so far.

Related: U.S. hopes to make progress in six-party talks

WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 (Xinhua)—The United States said on Thursday it hopes to make progress when the six-party talks aimed at dissolving the nuclear programs of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) resume on Feb. 8.

“We do believe we have a basis for making progress at this round,” U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said at a briefing.

China hopes upcoming 6-party talks to end in 3-4 days

BEIJING, Jan. 31 (Xinhua)—Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei, who is also China’s chief negotiator to the six-party talks, said on Wednesday that he hopes the upcoming session of six-party talks will accomplish its mission within three to four days.

Wu’s remarks came after the United States and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea ended their second-day of talks on financial issues.

From the Gaurdian, via AsiaPacificNews
U.S. Nuclear Envoy Due in South Korea

Saturday February 3, 2007 6:46 AM

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - The main U.S. negotiator with North Korea was to arrive in Seoul on Saturday to coordinate strategies for upcoming six-nation talks on the North’s nuclear program.

Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill was scheduled to meet his South Korean counterpart, Chun Yung-woo, and other officials during a three-day visit on how to make progress in nuclear talks set to resume Thursday.

Hill will visit Tokyo on Monday for similar discussions before flying to Beijing on Wednesday for the nuclear negotiations.

Hopes are higher than ever that the upcoming discussions with North Korea could yield concrete results amid indications that Washington and Pyongyang have narrowed differences over a key financial dispute that has hindered negotiations.

Before his departure, Hill said in Washington there is a ``basis for making progress at this round.’’

The negotiations - involving China, Japan, the two Koreas, Russia and the U.S. - have made little headway since their first and only agreement in September 2005, in which North Korea said it would give up its nuclear program in exchange for aid and security guarantees.

Progress stalled soon afterward because of Pyongyang’s objection to U.S. financial restrictions targeting the North for its alleged counterfeiting of U.S. currency and money laundering.

At the latest round in December - the first after the North’s October nuclear test - Pyongyang refused to address disarmament issues and demanded the U.S. lift financial restrictions first. The North claims the measures show Washington’s hostile attitude and illustrate its need for a nuclear deterrent.
And AP, via FoxNews
Report: North Korea Would Freeze Nuclear Facility in Exchange for Oil

Sunday , February 04, 2007

AP
ADVERTISEMENT

SEOUL, South Korea —
The main U.S. envoy to North Korea nuclear talks said Sunday the upcoming round could see agreements on initial steps toward the communist nation’s disarmament, but he cautioned it would take longer for the North to completely give up its nuclear weapons drive.

“Frankly, we cannot accept anything less than 100 percent implementation of the September statement,” U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill told reporters, referring to a 2005 pledge in which the North agreed to give up its nuclear program in exchange for aid and security guarantees.

“We won’t get it this month, but maybe we can have a good beginning,” Hill said before a meeting with his South Korean counterpart, Chun Yung-woo, to coordinate strategy ahead of the nuclear talks set to resume Thursday in Beijing.

• Monitor the nuclear showdown on the Korean Peninsula in FOXNews.com’s North Korea Center.

“But, the ultimate task for us is to complete denuclearization, not just begin denuclearization,” Hill said.

Hill’s comments came after a Japanese news report on Sunday said that North Korea is prepared to halt operations at a key nuclear facility in exchange for oil and an easing of U.S. financial restrictions.

Japan’s Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported that North Korea was prepared to close the reactor in its main nuclear complex in Yongbyon and accept inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency—though the reactor itself would remain off-limits.

Asahi quoted former U.S. State Department official Joel Wit, who was in Beijing following meetings with chief North Korean arms negotiator Kim Kye Gwan and other senior officials in Pyongyang days ago.

The North, however, does not intend to close the site used for its October nuclear weapons test, will not allow inspections there, and is not prepared to reveal details of its nuclear weapons program, the report cited Wit as saying.

Hill declined to comment on the report.

At the coming disarmament talks this week, North Korea also will demand it be taken off Washington’s list of states sponsoring terrorism, the report said.

In return, Pyongyang plans to demand energy aid of more than 500,000 tons of crude oil a year to compensate for an aborted project to build two light-water reactors in the country, according to the report.

The North also will insist that Washington take steps to lift financial sanctions against North Korean assets held in Macau, imposed over the communist regime’s alleged counterfeiting of U.S. dollar bills and money laundering activities, the report said.

U.S. treasury and North Korean officials last week wrapped up another inconclusive round of negotiations over the financial sanctions. But U.S. officials have since expressed optimism the financial dispute would not disrupt the main nuclear talks.

Wit was accompanied by U.S. nuclear expert David Albright and traveled to Pyongyang on an official invitation, the report said.

The United States had supplied 500,000 tons of heavy fuel oil annually to the North until Pyongyang received the two light-water reactors as a reward under a 1994 deal to freeze its nuclear program.

The deal was scrapped in 2002, however, when the nuclear crisis re-emerged and North Korea kicked out IAEA inspectors.

The international arms talks, which involve the U.S., the two Koreas, China, Japan and Russia, have made little headway since the 2005 accord, the only agreement reached in the process.

At the latest round of discussions in December, the first since the North’s Oct. 9 nuclear test, Pyongyang refused to discuss disarmament and demanded the U.S. lift financial sanctions first.

Complete coverage is available in FOXNews.com’s North Korea Center.

It would certainly seem so.

A challenge for our left-leaning regulars. Read this article and point out what of this is good for the people of Venezuela.

Chavez to be granted new powers
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez
Critics say Mr Chavez is gathering powers in his own hands
Venezuela’s assembly is holding an extraordinary session in the main square of Caracas which is expected to grant special powers to the president.

If passed, Hugo Chavez will be able to rule by decree for the next 18 months.

His planned reforms would affect the energy sector, telecommunications, the economy and defence, among others.

Mr Chavez has said the legislation will transform the country into a socialist society. Opponents describe the new law as an abuse of power.

Commanding position

It is expected that President Chavez will, in effect, nationalise the oil and gas industries, taking a majority share in their ownership.

That would involve companies like Exxon, BP and Chevron.

It is not certain what, if any, form of compensation those companies might receive.

Mr Chavez has popular support after his re-election victory last year, the assembly is on his side after the opposition boycotted parliamentary elections in 2005, and Venezuela is reaping huge revenues from high oil prices.

He wants to scrap presidential term limits and rewrite the constitution to build what he calls “socialism for the 21st Century”.

Officials say he has no intention of turning Venezuela into a communist state, arguing that freedom of speech and religion will all be safe.

But the US has again been critical of his leadership.

John Negroponte told a hearing to confirm his position as the new deputy secretary of state that Mr Chavez has not been a “constructive force in the hemisphere”.

“He has been trying to export his kind of radical populism and I think that his behaviour is threatening to democracies in the region,” Mr Negroponte said.

Can you say “El Presidento” for live?

I knew you could!

Over the years I have seen reups done in some strange places, this one is way cool!

Talk about do as we say not as we do.
South Dakota Senate Panel Recommends Censure for Senator Accused of Groping Male Page

Oh. My. God!!  The Sun gets warmer and cooler?!?!  And humans are not the cause?!?!?! How could this be!

Ok, seriously, this turned up in my bloglines feed a couple of days ago. The opening line is just priceless.

Is it possible that Iran is involved in supporting terrorists in the Middle-East? What an odd notion!

We are heading to DC for the holiday, and Friday I will spend at Arlington. Hope everyone has an excellent Thanksgiving. Even those I disagree with.

” /> We will be a long time finding a dog to match Gunther. She was much too smart for her own good, thankfully, agressive with that just so edge of control. She was an excellent judge of character, if she did not like you then off the property you went, whole skinned or bleeding, it was entirely your choice.

There were times I seriously did not like her, overall it balanced out.  She is, and will be, missed.

I have been a bit behind on my reading of late and missed posting on John Keegan’s article in the New York Sun yesterday. Never fear! I got it in the Telegraph this morning. Be sure to check out the comments with the Telegraph piece, that is a feature more news papers need.

For those of you not familiar with Mr Keegan’s work, get so. His analysis of matters political/military are extremely insightful and well written, for a civ. He has written a great deal on the cause and effect of war and political infighting.

I would suggest Faces of War as a good starting point. It gives a broad perspective on the effects of warfare on society at 3 points in western history. From there you can move into his more specific works, as well as his published papers from universities and the War College, as well as West Point.

And a big hattip to Scott and Paul over at powerline, fellow fans of Sir John!

I was getting these pics ready to send to Gorilla Glue and figured it would be a good test to post them here.  And to tell everybody to buy Gorilla Glue products, they work!

I am in the process of putting in a stone patio and walkways, crawling around on gravel and stone all day. Did not want to ruin all my work pants so I was wearing the ones with torn knees already, and put duct tape over the holes. Two days working in this pair and the tape is not peeling off.

Inside or out.

And this is what I was crawling over.

This stuff works, and how!

Thanks to John over at Powerline. I just saw this in my RSS feed and it is hilarious. Go check it out. The RNC has got to get together with this man, he is a genius!