The Secretary of Statements issued this prophetic missive to the masses:
Condi: No VE day for Iraq
Even assuming Iraq forms a national government, there will be no sudden stop to violence such as the V-E Day that formally marked the end of World War II in Europe, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday.
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Yeah, and using that analogy, there was no Pearl Harbor either. Shh, don't tell Dick, he's still milking it for all it's worth.
China's President (really Dictator, thanks for the semantics though) Hu is here to meet with the guy who says he is President (and really wants to be Dictator) of the Free World, and my-oh-my there was a lot of speculatin going on:
- US/China Meet 'Historical'
- Awaiting China’s Hu, unavoidable topic is Oil
What an opportunity for American foreign policy to shine! So here's the summary of that historic meeting:
- Bush, Hu Break No New Ground
- Bush, Hu: no breakthroughs
Uh, yay for historic meetings!
Which would cement the fact that things such as good friend Japan's problems weren't discussed:
Japan: 107 alerts on Chinese spy planes
By HIROKO TABUCHI, Associated Press Writer Associated Press
April 20, 2006
TOKYO (AP) - Japan has scrambled fighter jets 107 times this year to intercept suspected Chinese spy planes, a top general said Thursday, amid growing concern in Tokyo over China's arms buildup.
The 107 alerts in the first three months of 2006 - the most in at least a decade - were a dramatic increase from the previous year, when fighters scrambled only 13 times against Chinese planes, said Gen. Hajime Massaki.
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Good photo op, though.
I will give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he wanted to have serious talks, but as Senator Joe Biden says, "No one believes the President". He's talking specifically about foreign countries, but listen up, Joe, WE don’t believe him either.
However, let's look at a few things we should be concerned about with China:
China's alliance with Russia:
Russia, China join BRICS alliance
China allied with Russia, Russia's alliance with Iran:
Russia will deliver Air Defense system to Iran
MOSCOW, April 19 (RIA Novosti) - The chief of the General Staff said Wednesday that Russia would honor its commitments on supplying military equipment to Iran.
"We discussed supplies of military equipment to Iran, including the Tor M1, in the framework of bilateral cooperation, but it does not fall into the category of strategic weapons," Army General Yury Baluyevsky said after talks in Moscow with NATO Supreme Allied Commander in Europe General James Jones.
"And I can assure you it will be delivered under the control of the relevant organizations," he said.
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Iran ticked at the US, Russia ticked at the United States:
MOSCOW, April 18 (RIA Novosti) - The Foreign Ministry summoned the U.S. ambassador in Moscow Tuesday to hand him a note of protest against a seminar in Washington which it said called for new terrorist attacks in Russia.
"The organization of such events in the United States contradicts the country's international obligations in the sphere of counter-terrorism," the ministry said.
A seminar entitled, Sadullaev's Caucasian Front: Prospects for the Next Nalchik, took place in Washington on April 14 under the aegis of Jamestown Foundation, an American non-governmental organization. The Russian Foreign Ministry said the floor had been given to speakers who called for new terrorist acts in Russia.
"Such concessions on the part of Washington to Chechen militants and separatists also run counter to the spirit of partner-based bilateral anti-terrorist cooperation, and damage bilateral relations," the Russian ministry said.
In October 2005, at least 150 militants attacked administrative buildings in the city of Nalchik, the capital of the North Caucasus republic of Kabardino-Balkaria. Russian officials say that during two days of fighting, 35 law-enforcement officers and 12 civilians were killed. A total of 92 militants were killed and dozens captured.
Article
The Jamestown Foundation that is mentioned in the article.
Now check this out on their own webpage under Connections:
Right Web connections
• American Committee for Peace in Chechnya
• Center for Security Policy
• Project for a New American Century
• Freedom House
• Dick Cheney
• Nicholas Eberstadt
• Laurent Murawiec
• Keith Payne
• Nina Shea
• John Tkacik
• Arthur Waldron
• R. James Woolsey
PNAC, Dick Cheney – nuff said, no?
So while we are appealing to Russia about Iran, Cheney's little buddies are muckracking terror hits in Washington against them. Smmmooooth criminals.
Back to Iran, and we find:
Iran Testing New Nuclear Centrifuges
April 19, 2006
TEHRAN: A claim by Iran's president the country is conducting tests on a more sophisticated type of nuclear enrichment centrifuge could – if true – mean Iran has a quicker ability to make fuel for either electrical plants or bombs, analysts feared yesterday.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the Islamic republic was testing the P-2 centrifuge – a more sophisticated type that has quadruple the capacity of the P-1 centrifuge. A day earlier, he had trumpeted Iran's success in enriching a small amount of uranium using a less-sophisticated type of centrifuge.
The president's words were Iran's first acknowledgement it is working with the faster centrifuge – after the country told the UN nuclear watchdog it had given up all such work three years ago.
It is not clear if Iran had been doing work all along on the more-sophisticated model, or had recently restarted such work.
Either way, Mr Ahmadinejad's assertion is sure to raise concerns that Iran might have a more sophisticated program than thought.
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Iran->Russia->China->USA
So, is it possible that Bush's strategy since taking office been actually to contain China?
Taking Aim at the Sleeping Dragon
Well, if there has been such a strategy, the smart money is that George W. Bush had absolutely nothing to do with it. However, he does tend to surround himself with smarter-type individuals. (I know, I know, the pool is endless).
But even the 'smart' ones get caught sometimes.
Here's a fun new political game. Let's connect the following dots:
- The Bush ‘shake up’, Rove takes smaller role.
- Rove is subject in Libby Filing
- Fitzgerald testifies re: Rove Indictment
Okay, I have much more to update but as I am typing this Nikita is literally drooling on my knee. She's wants outside big time.
As Ahnold would say, nahhhh... just kidding. See you in a little bit.
DoD Question of the Day: When filling out forms, we are asked to use a No. 2 pencil because it's most popular. Well, what happened to No. 1? And how is that less popular?
