Who’s Really Morally and Intellectually Challenged?
Saturday, September 2, 2006 by the _Miami Herald_
( /opinion) (Florida)
by Joseph L. Galloway
Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld
took to the road this week trying to sell the message that Iraq is
part of the waron terrorism and that anyone who thinks differently is
morally or intellectually challenged.
With the president himself batting clean-up on Thursday, the dynamic
duo and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made the rounds of the
conventions of the biggest national veterans’ organizations — the
Veterans of Foreign Wars in Reno, Nev., and the American Legion in
Salt Lake City — peddling the Bush administration’s beleaguered line
of bull to guaranteed friendly audiences.
Rumsfeld’s message to the American Legion was that critics of the Bush
administration’s policies on Iraq and terrorism were guilty of “moral
or intellectual confusion about what is right or wrong.”
Cheney’s sound bites out of the Reno gathering of the VFW included
assertions that the federal-court ruling that warrantless wiretapping
was unconstitutional was ”dead wrong.” That ”sound policies by the
president” have prevented any more terrorist attacks on the United
States since 9/11 and that the terrorists, whom he declared ”in the
last throes” last year, are now “weakened and fractured, yet still
lethal.”
These statements reflect the administration’s persistent moral or
intellectual confusion about what is and isn’t true. From Rumsfeld,
Cheney and Bush, we hear how well things are going in Iraq, under new
democratic local management.
– In fact, Iraqis are dying by the thousands every month,
Iranian-backed Shiite Muslim militias are growing stronger, ordinary
Iraqis are lining upfor passports to flee a civil war that the
administration won’t admit is happening and the American death toll is
rising above 2,600.
– In fact, we are bogged down in a no-win, no-way-out war in part
because our military commanders have been browbeaten into fighting it
on the cheap, with perhaps half the number of troops they needed to
get a grip on a fractious people before the place dissolved into
anarchy, sectarian bloodshed and revenge-taking.
Rumsfeld, Cheney and Bush claim that their invasion of Iraq has made
us safer.
– In fact, Hezbollah has survived an ill-conceived and
U.S.-backedIsraeli campaign in Lebanon, Iran is defiantly pursuing
nuclear weapons, the Taliban and al Qaeda are on the march in
Afghanistan and terrorist cells keep popping up in Western Europe and
elsewhere.
We can’t win in Iraq with the current U.S. force, strategy and
tactics, even using the White House’s fluid definition of victory,
which currently is that we’ll somehow train and equip Iraqi soldiers
and police who will take control of the country and allow us to begin
bringing our soldiers home.
Those Iraqi soldiers who are taking over security in broad stretches
of the country ran out of ammunition this week in a fierce gun battle
with militiamen and were executed by their captors. Other Iraqi units
refused orders to deploy to Baghdad in the wake of the debacle.
So what’s the administration to do to divert the attention of
Americans on the eve of a mid-term congressional election and looking
hard at the presidential sweepstakes in 2008? If I were betting on a
likely next move, I’d put some money on a really big ”wag the dog”
scenario. I’d suggest that some people high in government are going to
start cooking the intelligence on Iran, just as they cooked the
intelligence on Saddam Hussein’s ties to al Qaeda, chemical and
biological weapons and ”re constituted” nuclear program, none of
which actually existed.
Our leaders know that the U.N. Security Council, where Russia and
China are sure to veto actions against their business partner Iran,
will never approve tough sanctions on Iran. If they can squeeze
U.S. analysts hard enough or have some Iranian exiles (sound
familiar?) cook up dubious intelligence about an Iranian
nuclear-weapons program, they might have an excuse for a preemptive
attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Have the neoconservatives learned nothing from Iraq, Afghanistan and
Lebanon? Yes, I fear that it could be so. If we go down that road,
gasoline is going to cost more than Chanel perfume by the gallon, the
entire Middle East will go up in flames and the conflagration will
wipe out our moderate Arab friends. We will end up in even deeper
kimchi than we are already in.
Joseph L. Galloway is former senior military correspondent for Knight
Ridder Newspapers and co-author of the national best-seller “_We Were
Soldiers Once … and Young_
( 9411585/commondreams-20/ref=3Dnosim)
.”

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA
—————————————— —-
PRESS AND INFORMATION DEPARTMENT
Government House # 2, Republic Square
Yerevan 0010, Republic of Armenia
Telephone: +37410. 544041 ext 202
Fax: +37410. 562543
Email: [email protected]
PRESS RELEASE
01-09-2006
Vladimir Karapetian, Acting Head of Press and Information Department,
Responds to ‘Haylur’ News Program
QUESTION: MediaMax says, Azerbaijan did not let the European Union
monitoring group visit Nakhichevan in order to investigate the reasons for
the destruction of the Armenian cultural monuments in Nor Jougha. It is
clear that in its attempt to erase traces of Armenians’ historical presence
in Nakhichevan, Azerbaijan will impede international monitors’ visits. What
is the Ministry’s reaction?
MR. KARAPETIAN: It’s not the first time that the Azerbaijani side creates
obstacles for missions wishing to visit Nakhichevan. Moreover, Azerbaijan
does its best to cover up the traces of destruction and to distract the
international community’s attention from their successful demolition of
Armenians’ spiritual and cultural legacy.
Various foreign experts and the international news media reported that the
Government of Azerbaijan absolutely willfully planned and implemented the
eradication of more than 2,000 Armenian gravestones.
That action, together with the ongoing efforts anti-Armenian propaganda is
evidence that Azerbaijan continues to believe that forceful means are
preferable and therefore, creates obstacles for those, like the European
Parliamentarians, who wish to see and assess the situation for themselves.
Nonetheless, we believe the international community will continue to report
on and condemn the destruction of the Armenian cultural heritage in
Nakhichevan.

Today, Azerbaijan
Sept 2 2006

Armenian official discusses Kars-Akhalkalaki-Baku railroad project
with Chinese Ambassador

02 September 2006 [12:23] – Today.Az

Togran Torosian, Speaker of Armenian National Assembly and Chinese
Ambassador Zuo Xueliang, Ambassador of China, discussed the issue of
China’s participation in the construction of
Kars-Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi-Baku railroad.

The Press Service of RA Parliament informed that Mr. Torosian
approved the participation of China in development of cooperation
with the countries of the region. Besides, the Speaker expressed hope
that Beijing has chosen the most optimal variant that connects Europe
with the Eastern Asia by railway.
The sides also discussed issues of activating the inter-parliamentary
relations. Mr. Zuo Xueliang passed the invitation of the speaker of
Chinese Parliament to visit China. He emphasized the importance of
the coming visit from the viewpoint of developing the bilateral
relations. In his turn, Torosian added that soon the Chinese
inter-parliamentary delegation will visit Yerevan.
The sides emphasized also the developing inter-party relations,
particularly, that between the republican Party of Armenia and the
Communist Party of China.

IranMania, Iran
Sept 2 2006

Iranian Armenian Sports Olympiad to start Sep 6
Saturday, September 02, 2006 – ©2005 IranMania.com

LONDON, September 2 (IranMania) – The 39th edition of Iranian
Armenians’ Sports Olympiad will kick off in Tehran on September 6,
MNA reported.
Ararat Cultural-Sports Club is to host the annual event that will run
until Sept. 16.
The organizing committee head Armen Khachikian said 10 teams from
Tehran, 10 non-Tehrani sides, and a track-and-field from Republic of
Armenia will compete in the event.
According to him, the competitions include football, volleyball,
basketball, table tennis, athletics, swimming, tennis, and Chess.

TREND Information, Azerbaijan
Sept 2 2006

PACE Ad Hoc Committee on Nagorno-Karabakh to meet in October

Source: Trend
Author: A.Ismayilova

02.09.2006

Samed Seyidov, the head of the Azerbaijani delegation at the PACE,
told Trend that a meeting of the PACE Ad Hoc Committee on
Nagorno-Karabakh will be held in October 2006.
Seyidov said that the agenda of the meeting will include an issue on
the first visit of the Ad Hoc Committee representatives to
Azerbaijan. They will discuss an issue on a tour of Azerbaijan,
Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh by Rassel Johnston, the head of the Ad
Hoc Committee. The visit is to take place by the end of 2006.
He stressed that the PACE autumn session will not discuss issues
directly concerning Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani delegation will put
forward an issue on fires in the Occupied Territory of Azerbaijan.
The issue on fires will also be raised at special meetings and
gatherings of the Committee, Seyidov added.
PACE reporters, Andreas Herkel and Tony Lloyd will visit Baku in
November. They will produce a report of their visit and submit it to
the Monitoring Committee.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Eurosport, France
Sept 2 2006

Darchinyan’s Punch is Pound for Pound Power
Promoter Gary Shaw is finding it very difficult to get a unification
world title bout for his charge Vic “Raging Bull” Darchinyan. Such is
his power that it is not a stretch to suggest he will be a pound for
pound top ten contender over the next twelve months.
By Paul Upham: While promoter Gary Shaw is finding it very difficult
to get a unification world title bout for him, IBF/IBO flyweight
world champion Vic “Raging Bull” Darchinyan just wants to keeping
fighting and knocking opponents out.
His brutal stoppage wins over Diosdado Gabi in March on ShoBox and
Luis Maldonado in June on Showtime Championship Boxing in the USA
have marked him as a boxer not to be messed with. Such is his power
that it is not a stretch to suggest he will be a pound for pound top
ten contender over the next twelve months.
“Vic has been devastating this year,” said co-trainer Billy Hussein.
“All of America and Mexico have seen what Vic is made of now. He has
got a lot of power and I think a few of the boxers at flyweight are
running scared.”
Shaw tried unsuccessfully to entice undefeated WBO champion Omer
Narvaez 22-0-2 (15) into a match with the “Raging Bull” on October 7.
Despite flying all the way to Argentina from his home in New Jersey,
Shaw was turned down flat by Narvaez and his team.
“If Narvaez doesn’t want to fight me, I can’t force him,” said
Darchinyan 26-0 (21). “He is scared. He doesn’t want to lose his
world title to me. Who would not want fight on a big card in Las
Vegas on the Showtime television network?”
30 year-old Darchinyan will now face 26 year-old Glenn Donaire 16-2-1
(9), a Filipino based in Los Angeles, on October 7 in Las Vegas, USA
at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. It will be the main support bout
to Diego Corrales vs. Joel Casamayor III at lightweight on Showtime.
“I saw one of his fights on tape,” said Darchinyan, “Glenn is a hard
puncher. His right uppercut is probably his best punch. So I am
working hard to get ready for the fight. I want to put on another
great show. I want to be impressive so that it is easier for my
promoter Gary Shaw to make really big fights for me.”
“I have no doubt Donaire will be a tougher opponent than either Gabi
or Maldonado,” said Hussein. “He saw Vic beat up his mate Gabi and
asked for a shot at him. He’s very dangerous and I know he will come
to fight on the night.”
The Armenia born Australian citizen, who represented his native
country at the 2000 Olympic Games, will leave Sydney on Wednesday and
fly to Las Vegas where he will join his trainer Jeff Fenech, who is
currently working with former undisputed heavyweight boxing world
champion Mike Tyson. Known at one time as the ‘baddest man on the
planet’, 40 year-old Tyson is currently preparing for a farewell
world tour of exhibition bouts with Fenech in his corner.
“As a boxer he was a great fighter,” Darchinyan said of Tyson. “I
have met him a few times and he is a good person. He is a quiet
person. I am hoping he can help me. I have good punching power now,
but hopefully Mike will be able to give me a few more ideas on ways
to knock my opponents out.”
Billy Hussein is expecting Darchinyan to become one of the biggest
names in boxing over the next two years.
“He is a flyweight, but he has unbelievable power,” he said. “I can
see Vic moving up and winning world titles in three or four weight
classes. The more people see him, the more they will want to see him
again. He is going to be a massive attraction in the USA over the
next few years.”
With his reputation confirmed as the biggest hitting flyweight boxer
in the world, Darchinyan is now finding other world title holders are
reluctant to step into the ring with him. He hosted the Sydney media
at his new restaurant business, “VIC’S CAFÉ” in The Italian Forum on
Norton Street, Leichhardt on Wednesday and revealed his plans for
many more world titles.
“I’m going back to America to show that I am a worthy champion and to
keep my record in one piece,” he said. “People will see that I am the
best flyweight. If Gary Shaw cannot get me fights for the WBC, WBA or
WBO world titles at flyweight, I will move up in weight and win them
at junior bantamweight.”
If Darchinyan has any say in it, he will continue his charge to more
world titles by adding another knockout to his resume on October 7.
“I know this fight will be another knockout win for me,” said
Darchinyan. “I don’t think I will win by knockout. I know I will win
by knockout. Donaire comes to fight and he punches hard. But not hard
enough to beat me.”
Paul Upham
Contributing Editor
photo: ort_sto956088.shtml

The New Anatolian, Turkey
Aug 17 2006
Opinions
Maps and illusions

by Cem Oguz
I read retired U.S. Col. Ralph Peters’ scholarly article on the
adjustment of Middle Eastern borders on the first day it was published
in the Armed Forces Journal nearly a month ago.
At the time, however, I humbly didn’t deign to touch on that esteemed
and unique piece of mental effort.
The reason I refrained was not because the ideas forwarded by Peters
are absurd. Supposedly Peters is one of those “brilliant” experts in
the U.S. who, in contrast to such illiterate mortals as ourselves, has
managed to grasp precisely the very essence of Middle Eastern dynamics
as well as its problems.
I didn’t comment straightaway because I wanted to see how Washington
would inevitably respond. That response, though amusing and far from
convincing, was not late in coming: The U.S. Embassy in Ankara issued
a statement on Aug. 3 emphasizing that neither the author nor the
publication had any affiliation with the U.S. government and that the
opinions in the article “in no way” reflected U.S. policy.
Can we then consider the file closed?
Not at all
Peters’ line of thinking is increasingly coming to represent a new
trend in Washington: A blindly emotional and idealized Kurdophilism
among a newly emerging, but for the time being very narrow, group,
most members of which have served or are still serving in Iraq, for
the Pentagon in particular. One important element of such sentiments
is unfortunately a rapidly growing Turcophobia, apparently stemming
from turbulences in bilateral relations ever since the Turkish
Parliament’s rejection of the Bush administration’s request to permit
the transit of U.S. troops (March 1, 2003). The fact that Turkey has
been made a scapegoat for failures in Iraq is another factor that
strengthens this psychological state.
Let’s analyze how this line of thinking is trying to justify itself
within the framework of Peters’s arguments in the said article.
According to this eminent Middle East expert, “The region’s
comprehensive failure isn’t Islam but the awful-but-sacrosanct
international boundaries worshipped by [their] own diplomats.”
Presumably, “the most glaring injustice in the notoriously unjust
lands between the Balkan Mountains and the Himalayas is the absence of
an independent Kurdish state.”
So far there is intellectually nothing worth criticizing and the
arguments seem to be nothing more than wishful thinking. The problem,
at least for me, surfaces when Peters unperturbedly dares to claim
subsequently that “the eastern fifth of Turkey should be viewed as
occupied territory.” He eventually elaborates on how the Kurds are
suppressed by Turks. To justify his thoughts in that regard, Peters
chooses to resort to playing that popular anti-Turkish card, namely
the alleged Armenian genocide, saying, “And one haunting wrong can
never be redressed with a reward of territory: The genocide
perpetrated against the Armenians by the dying Ottoman Empire.”
He then astutely argues, “The current human divisions and forced
unions between Ankara and Karachi, taken together with the region’s
self-inflicted woes, form as perfect a breeding ground for religious
extremism, a culture of blame and the recruitment of terrorists as
anyone could design.” However, a “Free Kurdistan, stretching from
Diyarbakir through Tabriz, would be the most pro-Western state between
Bulgaria and Japan.” In fact, “Iraq should have been divided into
three smaller states immediately after Baghdad’s fall.”
He finally lists Turkey as one of the losers in the future he foresees
and forwards the map he suggests as the “new Middle East.” on this
map, Turkey’s entire eastern Anatolian territory is part of “Free
Kurdistan.”
I am pretty sure that my sensible friends, those from the
U.S. included, will criticize me by saying that arguments like Peters’
are nonsense; commenting on them is only wasting time. If it was just
this one map, I could definitely agree with them.
A short while ago, I saw a map which I was told was hanging on the
walls of official buildings in northern Iraq. Much to my “surprise,” I
found out that the map Peters suggests is almost the same as the one
prepared by our Kurdish neighbors. The only exception is their
inclusion of Hatay, a city just next to Syria, into greater Kurdistan
as well. Those who know how lobbying in the U.S. political system
works would better understand what kind of relationships might have
played a role behind the collusion of both maps.
The solution the U.S. government has suggested for terrorist Kurdistan
Workers’ Party (PKK) bases in northern Iraq is always the same:
Cooperation with the Iraqi authorities, our Kurdish friends
included. At a recent press conference, U.S. Ambassador to Ankara Ross
Wilson stated that the U.S. government would be following up in the
coming days “with the same sense of urgency” that Turkey attaches to
ending PKK terrorism. He, too, suggested consultations as well as
cooperation between the U.S., Turkish and Iraqi
authorities. Nevertheless, he also confessed that the meetings of this
trilateral mechanism “have not been as productive as [they] would have
liked them to be.”
Could Mr. Ambassador please tell me whether he sincerely believes that
these meetings in such circumstances will yield any results? If one of
these meetings is held in northern Iraq in the coming days, will these
maps hang on the walls of the office where the delegations will
gather? In what respect is the situation different from Syria where
maps claiming Hatay as part of their territory were hanging on the
walls of official buildings? Given this backdrop, is trust indeed
possible?
Last, but not least, will our American friends, who have repeatedly
accused the Turkish state of acting too passively to rising
anti-U.S. feeling in Turkey, be lifting a finger to deal with the
growing anti-Turkish bias in their own country? Or are such absurd
considerations indeed part of plans for “a new Middle East”?

The New Anatolian, Turkey
Aug 29 2006
Opinions
Do we have to go to Lebanon?

by Nursun Erel

In Turkish there is an expression “to be like a muhtar (district
official),” which is used to describe people who know a lot about
everything and who always get firsthand information. Yesterday I had
to visit our district muhtar for some paperwork, and he knows that I’m
a journalist so the moment I entered his office he started talking:
“Congratulations to Recep Bey (meaning Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan) on his success, as the Cabinet decided to send our troops to
Lebanon. But I have an idea, would you be interested in hearing it?”
I said yes, so he went on:
“Let’s first convince all the Justice and Development (AK) Party
deputies in Parliament and then all the AK Party members in Turkey to
have their sons take part in the peacekeeping force. If they really
think that this would bring some prestige to Turkey’s image, let them
do this first.”
He continued in that vein while preparing my papers. Without
commenting on his words, I thanked him and left his office. I took a
taxi afterwards. The driver had just been reading from daily Bugun,
whose headline that day read, “Mehmetcik gidiyor” (Turkish soldiers
are going). As he drove me to the office he said, “Sister, how come
the prime minister dares to do such a thing? If his son was a soldier,
do you think he would send him there?”
Just two of these anecdotes are enough to understand the Turkish
public’s opinion towards the new task to be given soon to Turkish
soldiers. The AK Party heads expect some gains from such an action,
especially from their foreign colleagues, but I’m afraid they will
lose much in the eyes of the people.
Also, I don’t believe that this is going to be easy for the
government; I mean the motion debate is expected to be tough in
Parliament because I keep on hearing negative assessments from many AK
Party deputies. Parliament Foreign Affairs Commission head Mehmet
Dulger’s words (in TNA Monday) were very clear:
“Turkish soldiers may face resistance in Lebanon because we’re Sunni
but the Lebanese are mostly Shiite. Plus there are all kind of
extremist minorities in Lebanon like Armenians and Greek Orthodox
groups. They would never welcome a Turkish presence in Lebanon. This
is a kind of a war that was almost predestined, developed and
strategically designed long ago. The U.S. is one the players, and it’s
clear this is part of their grand plan for the Mideast. More and more
Turkish and American interests in the region are at odds, our policies
and theirs on the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Israeli
aggression, and Iran and Syria aren’t parallel. So once we work with
the U.S., our interests are being harmed. The U.S. could be here for
50 years but our neighbors will always be there.”
Trying to asses all these different opinions, I wanted to talk to
military men too so I called up a retired air force general. Once upon
a time he actively served the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK), even as a
jet pilot. He was known for his courageous stance, but on the Lebanon
issue his views were surprisingly contrary to the others. This is
what he had to say to me:
“I don’t share the opinions that going to Lebanon would be harmful for
us. On the contrary, I believe that it’s essential for Turkey. Why?
Haven’t we sent our troops to various places in the world before, even
to Afghanistan and Somalia? But Lebanon is closer to us; it’s our
neighbor so it would be a sin to avoid such a historic task.
“What about President Sezer’s words? Well they first surprised me
because I thought maybe such a negative decision was taken on National
Security Council (MGK) grounds. But then I noted that the task given
to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) wasn’t clear
enough at the time, perhaps he thought Turkish troops would
riskclashes in Lebanon. Later it became clearer that the task is only
a peacekeeping responsibility. On the other hand, Lebanese society is
not so dependent on religious or ethnic identities and that is why I
don’t share the fears of some that Turkish soldiers will face
resistance from Shiites.
“Also it is quite obvious that the U.S. is trying to rearrange the
Middle East and they want Turkey to actively take part in such a
project. I firmly believe that Turkey mustn’t be an outsider in the
project. Sooner or later a new Middle East will be created and if we
take part in these efforts now, in the future we will have a say too.
“Lastly, there can’t be any question about the position of the
TSK. They are under the orders of the Turkish government. Once the
task is given they will try to carry it out to the best of their
ability, no matter who commands the Chief of Staff. As far as I can
see, the TSK is ready for such a task.”

EMBASSY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICANEWS RELEASE
1 AMERICAN AVENUE
YEREVAN, ARMENIA
TELEPHONE (+374 10) 464700
FAX (+374 10) 464742
E-MAIL: [email protected]
September 1, 2006
There has been a great deal of media commentary in recent days about an
alleged tape that the U.S. Ambassador is said to have conveyed to President
Kocharian implicating a government minister for corruption. We are unaware
of the existence of any such tape, and have not conveyed any tape to the
President. We have a continuing dialogue with Armenian government officials
at many levels on the well-known problem of official corruption. When we
become aware of credible allegations of corruption, we of course convey this
information to appropriate Armenian officials at a high level. We strongly
urge Armenian officials to investigate and prosecute corruption allegations,
and especially those involving government ministers or other senior
officials. Armenia cannot develop into a fully successful democratic and
economically sound state without assurance of integrity at all levels of
government.

ITAR-TASS, Russia
Sept 2 2006
Nagorno-Karabakh marks 15th anniversary of independence

YEREVAN, September 2 (Itar-Tass) – Nagorno-Karabakh marks its 15th
anniversary of independence on Saturday.
Nagorno-Karabakh was founded on September 2, 1991.
`The declaration on Nagorno-Karabakh independence is a brave
political and legal act, which was adopted in compliance with the
fundamental norms of the Constitution of the former Soviet Union and
international law,’ Nagorno-Karabakh President Arkady Gukasyan said
in Stepanakert.
`Now our efforts are aimed to settle the conflict with Azerbaijan,’
Gukasyan said. In his view, `the settlement of the Karabakh conflict
is possible on the basis of mutual compromises. In order to reach any
compromise the leadership of both sides should show goodwill.’
Gukasyan confirmed that Karabakh is ready to hold a direct and
constructive dialogue with Azerbaijan without any preconditions.
`No one doubts that Nagorno-Karabakh became a real state,’ Abkhazian
President Sergei Bagapsh said in his greetings message.