Afghanistan is not an Arab country, and has a large, educated expatriate population. It is also, for the most part, a tribal society. The women of Afghanistan are probably the most enthusiastic supporters of political reforms because they were so totally oppressed, by the Taliban fundamentalist Islamo-Fascists, in every way, sexually, educationally, politically, economically ...

However, don't be lulled into believing that the transformation of Afghani society will be easy or is destined for success. The country is still for the most part run by competing warlords, Taliban supporters have not left, Iran and anti-Musharef Pak elements are committed to bringing down Karzai and destroying the new Afghan government. Nonetheless, there appears to be a substantial portion of the population which is enormously relieved by their deliverance from the totalitarian terror regime of the Religious Fascists who long for the day when sports stadiums no longer host soccer matches but hangings and beheadings, when women are restored to their proper role as slaves ... I hope for the best but the contest isn't over.

Perhaps this belongs in the "beer" thread:

Saturday, October 23, 2004 (Jakarta):


Muslim militants in Indonesia's capital vandalized a café popular with expatriates because it was serving beer during the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, police and one of the militants said today.

The Star Deli was closed when around 300 members of the Islamic Defenders Front arrived just before midnight Friday.

They smashed its windows, chairs and neon signs advertising beer, said Mary Gregory, the cafe's owner.

Alawi Usman, a spokesman for the group, admitted vandalizing the establishment.

"We are against immorality," he said. "We are doing this for the future of the country's youth."

No one was injured in the attack, which police did nothing to stop, Usman said. Police confirmed the raid occurred, but declined say why they did not try to prevent it.

Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim nation, but its government is secular. It has significant Christian, Buddhist and Hindu populations.

Islamic militancy has risen in recent years and Al-Qaida-linked terrorists have carried out three bloody attacks, including the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings.

The Islamic Defenders Front was formed in 2000. It has a history of vandalizing entertainment centres during Ramadan. Many analysts say that extorting money from frightened bar owners is its primary motive. (AP)

Yes, we get the TV ads too, but most of those are for the presidential race. Not as much for the lesser races.

I'd never heard of Operation Northwoods before today. It was a document, officially titled "Justification for U.S. Military Intervention in Cuba", drafted by the Joint Chiefs of Staff under JFK describing various illicit methods for gaining public support for an invasion of Cuba. Of particular interest are pages 10 - 15 of the document. (It was declassified in 2001 prior to 9/11. Thank you, Freedom of Information Act!). You can access it here in PDF form.

Thankfully, the document was rejected by Robert McNamara, but even so, it's extremely scary to think that there were, and most likely still are people in the government who come up with scenarios like this.

Operation Northwoods is one case where the conspiracy theorists werer proven correct. To what extent is our foreign policy still subject to influence by the military-industrial complex?

Why I believe in our President

I believe in President George W. Bush. I've always believed him...

Nice informative links, pmbuko. Thanks.
It appears that they made the right call in scrapping that "plan". Even though Cuba is our ideological enemy, time has shown that Castro poses no threat to the US (once the Soviet missile deployments were halted).


"Thankfully, the document was rejected by Robert McNamara, but even so, it's extremely scary to think that there were, and most likely still are people in the government who come up with scenarios like this.

Operation Northwoods is one case where the conspiracy theorists werer proven correct. To what extent is our foreign policy still subject to influence by the military-industrial complex?"

I see no problem with exploring all options - brainstorming if you will - when it comes to securing our nation's interests.

The biggest conspiracy I see right now is that of our press in their efforts to see Kerry elected President.

To what extent do you think our foreign policy is subject to influence by the military-industrial complex?

the fancy labels like "military industrial complex" are indicative of manipulation in and of itself. I though some of you were smarter than this.

Fancy labels? Indicative of manipulation? I suppose Dwight D. Eisenhower himself was tring to control the masses with fancy labels.

Gimme a break.

Quotes of the day:

Bush: "For a political candidate to jump to conclusions without knowing the facts is not a person you want as your commander in chief."

Wesley Clark: "President Bush couldn't be more right. He jumped to conclusions about any connection between Saddam Hussein and 911. He jumped to conclusions about weapons of mass destruction. He jumped to conclusions about the mission being accomplished. He jumped to conclusions about how we had enough troops on the ground to win the peace. And because he jumped to conclusions, terrorists and insurgents in Iraq may very well have their hands on powerful explosives to attack our troops, we are stuck in Iraq without a plan to win the peace, and Americans are less safe both at home and abroad. By doing all these things, he broke faith with our men and women in uniform. He has let them down. George W. Bush is unfit to be our Commander in Chief."

heres a funny one for ya..

i am sure we will see more of this as the election gets closer. give it a few seconds to play.

bigjohn