Will there be war becuase of trade difficulties and will this destabilize national economies thus leading to war?

This may instead be disinformation to conceal a focusing of intelligence assets on Iran, i.e., the Trenton task force.

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http://www.waynemadsenreport.com/

April 26, 2006 -- LATE EDITION Recently reassigned Deputy White House chief of staff Karl Rove volunteered to testify this afternoon before a grand jury investigating the leaking of the name of covert CIA officer Valerie Plame Wilson to the media in an effort to discredit Ambassador Joseph Wilson and his conclusions that the Niger-Iraq uranium claims by the Bush administration were false. Rove was before the grand jury, without his lawyer in attendance, from 12:30 to at least 4:00 pm. Informed sources speculate that Rove only agreed to testify because he and his attorney Robert Luskin have received a "target letter" from Fitzgerald, an indication that at least one indictment is forthcoming. Rove's lawyers and political friends are spinning the story that Rove is being cooperative with special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald and has not received a target letter. Anytime major media reporters refer to "legal sources," they are talking about Rove's attorneys and GOP friends. The prosecution side has been noted for a total lack of leaks to the media. Last week, in court filings by Fitzgerald, Rove was named as a "subject" of the investigation for the first time. After securing a conviction against former GOP Governor George Ryan in Illinois last week, Fitzgerald's renewed efforts in the Leakgate case resulted in the current flurry of activity related to Rove.

Rove: Legal trouble looming in CIA Leakgate case

Rove's appearance before the grand jury meeting at the E. Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse, the scene of the indictments in Watergate and the Iran-Contra scandals, was his fifth. Rove's last appearance before the grand jury was in October 2005. That was a few just prior to the garnd jury indicting Vice President Dick Cheney's Chief of Staff I. "Scooter" Libby on five counts of criminal activity. Today, Rove prepared for his grand jury testimony by meeting with his attorneys while President Bush was announcing the appointment of Fox News' Tony Snow as the new White House Press Secretary. Snow's appointment is an indication that the White House, anticipating major legal problems on the CIA Leakgate front, felt it necessary to fire Scott McClellan, viewed as a disingenuous amateur, by an experienced Fox-trained spinmeister and propagandist like Snow.

U.S. intelligence community insiders also speculate that CIA Inspector General official Mary O. McCarthy was fired on orders of a White House already aware that Rove would soon be indicted in an effort to demonstrate that even the CIA leaks classified information about itself. McCarthy, who denies she was the source for the Washington Post's story on secret CIA torture prisons in Eastern Europe, was, nevertheless, fired a week before she was eligible for retirement. However, the White House and right-wing media spin machine beat the drum that McCarthy admitted leaking the information following a polygraph.

An indictment of Rove will largely remove him from engaging in dirty political tricks in an attempt to keep the Congress from going to the Democrats in November election. Rove's recent reassignment by new White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten was seen as an attempt to reduce Rove's visibility but keep him engaged in the GOP election strategy. An indictment of Rove would effectively remove him from both the White House and the GOP political campaign.

Mr. Arkin isn't the only one frustrated by our country's refusal to either invade Pakistan and root out the terrorists or to bring enough pressure on the Pakistani government to do so.

Unfortunately, neither party is all that interested in doing so. If we had put an end to Bin Laden and the Al Qaeda leadership at Torah Bora the GWOT would have ended with a whimper, not a bang; there would have been no subsequent invasion of Iraq.

It made sense for the Taliban to flee to Pakistan, but who is giving them the material support to conduct attacks in Afghanistan? The Pakistan intelligence service and Al Qaeda are pretty good guesses. Pakistan's intelligence service is the real face of Pakistan's foreign policy and it is not above exploiting radical Islam for territorial gain (be it Kashmir or Afghanistan).

Since the big shots in Al Qaeda got away, they still have links to the Arabian peninsula and money. They are also financing the Taliban.

The war in Afghanistan was a distraction to the administration as the long term goal was to take out Hussein. Capture or kill the Al Qaeda leadership too soon and no one would have supported an invasion of Iraq.

Amazing how public enemy number one (Bin Laden) became unimportant and Hussein, falsely linked to 9-11, became public enemy number one.

Reading a good book entitled "American Theocracy." It really is all about oil.

What our nation needs to do is become energy independent. We produce 9 million barrels per day, but consume 21 million. The government needs to make independence on foreign energy an immediate goal using currently available technology. Mandate to the car manufacturers a 50 mile per gallon passenger vehicle. Institute a program of coupons based on the 50 mpg goal.

Use a ration card/coupon system to help manage it and to give consumers choice (RV, boat industries). Consumers can buy ration cards at a reasonable cost based on their driving needs, but predicated on averaging 50 miles per gallon. If they choose to do drive something more costly they can be given the option of purchasing exponentially higher priced coupons.

Our nation has two fifths of the world's vehicles. If we reduced our consumption by 12 million barrels a day down to what we produce think of the effect on greenhouse gases. The strategic importance of foreign oil would be nil as we wouldn't care. The extra money now available to finance radical Islam would dry up.

What this administration has offered is no real plan to wean us off our dependence on foreign oil and that is what's needed.

but yah know, the truth is you're not a good guy either...

you're like the old guy that hangs around during the inquisition as people are being dragged off and tortured, that says...in order to make people feel better:

"it's the will of gawd, there's nothing we can do...they're evil"...

well, in that particular case I believe it was the will of the pope and had nothing to do with gawd, I think if you had asked gawd, the pope would have been a stain on the bottom of his foot....and the inquisition was an _abomination_....

that they church hasn't apologized for that I've noticed....but then that would mean they could be wrong, and that they're not really working for gawd...

I know this will seem jumbled and over your head, it's called an analogy....but

there's always a certain class of people, slow ones that help the leaders of the countries or churches or satanic orders to feel good about themselves, sorta like opie taylors but not so nice or thoughtful...and you're one of them..

I know this is going to go over your head, but don't worry about it, you'll get it next lifetime...

as I said, you don't need to respond to me, just keep on chuckling and shuffling...nodding your head and smiling...

just do it at someone else...you're dead to me.

.

Man, Arkin needs a spam filter on this forum bad. Not that I always agree with Archimedes, but at least he doesn't fall into the conspiracy trap and his opinions are always relevant and well written. Him and Sgt. Hartmann from yesterday.

I do think that maybe Somali and Paksitani pirates is a problem the Navy can handle by itself, without SOCOM's help. SOCOM is desperately needed elsewhere to fight Al Qaeda. Even though I'm sure that these pirates may be loosely connected to Al Qaeda at some level but I would highly doubt that SpecOps is needed here. I think this is a bit of an overreach on Rumsfeld's part as he tries to transform the military at a fundamental level. Still don't understand why we expect perfection, since we never get it.

Actually Archimedes....
My response as 'Much a-do about nothing' was to prove to you that while you may not be 'informed' as to what the facts are, the truth can easily be deduced by a clear pattern.
In my case, I maintained my writing style and tone.

It clearly demonstrates that you are unable to see rational patterns and goes a long way in showing your short-sidedness.

While I won't put all of those who share your opinion in the same boat, it is clear that a lack of attention to the details is what is missing from the speculation/opinion of those who support Bush & co.

In Bush's case, the pattern of deception, corruption and deceit is clear. The evidence is in the details.

By the way.....if you are so for what your fearless leader is doing, why are you not picking up a gun and being one of his grunts?

I end the discussion here......

"The Washington Post reported in November that the CIA had been interrogating some of its most important al-Qaeda captives at a Soviet-era compound in Eastern Europe as part of a covert prison system that at various times has included sites in several democracies in Eastern Europe. The Post did not identify the Eastern European countries at the request of senior U.S. officials, who said the disclosure could disrupt counterterrorism efforts in those countries and elsewhere and could make them targets of possible terrorist retaliation."

Yeah, right. So what else has the Post decided not to tell us "at the request of senior U.S. officials"? What else is the Post hiding based on some unproven argument that disclosures "could disrupt" counterterrorism efforts and "could make" some countries targets for retaliation.

This is something that could be said about almost any disclosure.

The fact that your government is violating international law and the laws of countries whose governments have made this "deal with the devil" surely merits reporting without censorship "at the request of senior U.S. officials."

Disgusting.

No one likes us-I don't know why
We may not be perfect, but heaven knows we try
But all around, even our old friends put us down
Let's drop the big one and see what happens

We give them money-but are they grateful?
No, they're spiteful and they're hateful
They don't respect us-so let's surprise them
We'll drop the big one and pulverize them

Asia's crowded and Europe's too old
Africa is far too hot
And Canada's too cold
And South America stole our name
Let's drop the big one
There'll be no one left to blame us

We'll save Australia
Don't wanna hurt no kangaroo
We'll build an All American amusement park there
They got surfin', too

Boom goes London and boom Paree
More room for you and more room for me
And every city the whole world round
Will just be another American town
Oh, how peaceful it will be
We'll set everybody free
You'll wear a Japanese kimono
And there'll be Italian shoes for me

They all hate us anyhow
So let's drop the big one now
Let's drop the big one now

Credit: Randy Newman

I'm sorry, I was obviously too many steps ahead for you. Where do you think the 12-20 million number comes from? The feds, that's who. Monitoring and apprehending are two different things. All our border security measures are designed to monitor who comes over the border, not to seal it off. The 9/11 Comission's one dimensional thinking on the issue is painfully naieve and ignores a reality that even George Bush comprehends, which is that those 12-20 million illegals play an important and vital economic role in this country and that it is better to just watch them come in instead of wasting energy trying to stop the inevitable. You see, we know as well as we'll ever know who is coming over the border, we just don't waste time stopping every one of them.

12 ro 20 million illegal aliens have nothing to do with the fact that any

_terrorist_

that wanted to come in could.

that our borders are undefended against terrorists.

that the 9/11 Commission formed to make recommedations to how to avoid another 9/11 said that the Presidents lack of response "bordered on the criminal."

as I said earlier, you can't debate or dialogue because you can't make connections.

if the information is framed slightly differently than you've learned to think,

it doesn't exist....it's like talking to grandma about where her teeth are...

babbling it aint.

my impression of you is that you're not a thinker, you're a parroter....as long as I chose a topic that has been covered by someone you know you can respond.

but something simple like,

12 to 20 million illegals coming into the United States without a problem...doesn't set any bells off for you..

ciao buddy, don't call me I'll call you don't bother to respond anymore, thanks.

.

Well, what you call straight ahead every English Dept. in the country calls proper. What that says about your intellect I don't know. I apologize if I mistook you for someone else, but to me babbling is babbling, regardless of creative use of the underscore. And what do impovershed Latinos have to do with terrorists? This is exactly the type of unrelated factoid which you and others love to post here but always seem to fail in every way to logically connect the very dots you drew. I mean, is that what you want, American soldiers fighting poor Mexican construction workers in the name of fighting terror? How absurd! Our liberal border policy, while a legitimate security concern, says little about our overall efforts in the WOT. You should remember that the 9/11 hijackers were here on student visas which they overstayed. They didn't come through Mexico but rather exploited our openess and welcoming of foreign students. And no, your strange AL Capone statement is not my logic at all. My logic is simply that the conspiracy arguments posted by you and others are poorly correlated and loosely strung together from context-free snippets of fact which barely imply anything much less prove it.

that's "Mind of Mencia" Carlos Mencia,

an LA "Beaner" as he phrases it, has his own show on comedy central...like Chappeles but with a little bit more "south of the border, raunchy" flavor..

but it's not because I am one, it's because it's not an issue and shouldn't be...

you should watch "Mind of Mecia" once in awhile and get out of your white bread politically correct while you're being raped by the people that are making you color within the lines while they don't

mentality.

.

Way further east, the Strait of Malacca, where about half of world petroleum exports must pass, and the eastern Indian Ocean + South China Sea, have long been centers of piracy.

How does security for shipping (especially oil + LNG tankers) in that huge area compare to the Horn of Africa, Persian Gulf, G of Oman situation?

"Taco Boy Attorney General Gonshillazz"??? Gonshillazz is pretty funny, but Taco Boy is racist garbage, in my book.

Arkin,
Get a b.s. filter for the comments, please. The Post has a well-reasoned set of guidelines for comments, plese enforce it. Having to read through the rants and personal attacks here gets old. Anyone offended by that? Then you should probably look in the mirror.

Aamir Ali,
Americans are occupying Iraq, rightly or wrongly, as foreigners in a foreign land. Are you applying the same label to the urban-based Pakistani government trying to control the largely rural western provinces? Is that what the situation is--a case of internal imperialism by a government with no mandate to govern in a large portion of its territory? I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on that.

I'm not the only one that doesn't sign his posts...

you're responding to two people.

at least I have enough sensitivity to recognize people by how they write, their tone and ability.

you're not even close to me in intellectual ability, I don't write straight ahead as it bores me....you apparently are too stupid to see intelligence when it thumps you in the head, steals your car, and runs up your credit card using your name.....

you wouldn't even see the analogy that I just made as being connectable to the current administration and their propaganda machine that you're a part of...

loose conspiracy story....you know what is annoying

al capone wasn't a crook until they caught him for tax evasion right?

is that your logic you little softshelled turtle?

until they get someone that will turn states on Negroponte or the Bushes...

they're not crooks?

pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeezzzzzzzzzzzze...

you feel that the truth is something that can't be arrived at mutually...

and if calling you a spineless turtle is what makes you wake up to the fact that you are, well then that's good isn't it?

and what is Negroponte to you?

you don't engage in debate, you mock, ignore and then sell the same old $hit and call it shinola...

you want me to talk to you about that?

answer one point:

what does it say about the United States WAR ON TERROR!!!!!!!!!!!!!

that we have 12 to 20 million illegals that have gotten in in the last five years?

eh, spineless turtle?

come on, don't wait 2 hours to reply do it.

a country should be able to control it's borders unless it's convenient that they don't

don't bull$hit americans...or you'll be eating your turban.

I never related pirates to 9/11, all I said was that with 9/11 came a new paradigm in US security strategy, one of refusing to tie our own hands because of political weakness. And while Negroponte is the DNI, conspiracy theories concerning his integrity have little or nothing to do with whether or not SOCOM should be taking over anti-pirate operations in places where local governments refuse to deal with the problem. And how dare you of all people call anyone a spineless turtle when you don't even post your own name nor have you, in any of your posts, had the cahones to engage in a reasoned, rational, and logical debate instead of your usual name calling and wierdo conspiracy theories. Your posts are barely even coherent and I need my hand held?? Look pal, you need to go upstairs and ask your mom for some money so you can finish school and get your own place and live in the real world with the rest of humanity. Substituting loosely connected conspiracies for reason and logic is weak man, very weak.

Americans cant control Iraq with 150,000 troops. Dont lecture Pakistanis.

are we in Iraq for oil?

let's ask the Director of Intelligence for the United States...

john q. publik: are we in Iraq for Oil?

Negroponte: (what would you like me to say george h.w. bush...)

george h.w. bush: (no)

Negroponte: NO!

d o y o u

w a n t me to talk

more sloooooooooooooooooooooooooooooolwy?

I _don't_ expect you to see anything

_wrong_

with a proven liar being the head of intelligence....

I mean if you want to rob a bank having an inside man that is actually president of the bank is a good thing right?

and if you care about the people of the country instead of your pension, you'd be pointing out what I am, you spineless turtle.

.

Get the story straight man.....
You are reporting history, which has more to do with organized crime (hired guns) than a 'war on terror'.

By the way Archimedes, trying to associate 9/11 with pirate patrols.... Weak man, very weak.

do with your purpose in life witless.

Negroponte is the director of intelligence right?

and the News about Pakistan?

and the News about Mary McCarthy?

do I need to hold your hand while you go to the bathroom too archie?

.

Ah yes, Pakistan is getting something in return for cooperation in the WOT and it's fishy. Why, because we couldn't get their help for nothing? News Flash! The world doesn't work that way. If we want Pakistan's help we need to make it worth their while. And yes, this may involve doing something we find distasteful, but this is the way the world works. The rules are the same for countries and individuals. I personally detest going to work, but I go so that I can be able to do what I want later. Who is this no-name guy anyway, the third Grimm Brother? And what exactly does this article have to do with Negroponte anyway? Please stop posting replies that are irrelevent to the topic, it is annoying. Oh, and do learn how to spell and compose complete sentences.

what is it, what is it getting from this exchange with the United States...

something fishy is going on here,

we throw a couple of bombs into their country....and get a report later...

"yeah, you killed some of your enemies!"

what is that about?

Historian,
What is Waziristan and all of western Pakistan right now if not a pirate colony? That the outlaws who've taken over there come from a culture that isn't like to foster a Madagascar-type pirate eutopia shouldn't obscure the connection. The real thing is not so romantic as the myth, is it? Many of their spokesmen already have the shoddy prosthetics and beards; perhaps Al-Qaeda spokesmen should follow the comic strip writer Wiley's ("Non sequitar") wry suggestion and start wearing parrots on their shoulders as P.R. props?

But as myths go, my God, what a terrific recruting tool for the Navy: "It's not just a job, it's a daily battle against pirates!"

Perhaps cynicism is justified here. But as Arkin himself notes, piracy is a real problem in the region, and this could be legitimate. Alas, we cannot be sure.

This deserves watchfulness but, as of yet, it does not deserve denunciation.

Why would we want to look for terrorists in western pakistan?

I mean, why look where they actually exist? If we did, we'd have to abandon our President's goal of toppling iran and domino-effecting democracy into and across the middle-east, and actually go fight terrorists in Pakistan where they come from. Hell, we might even have to go to fight the other bastion of Al qaida - Saudi Arabia

It is not just William Arkin, entire US news media is a partner with Bush administration to minimize Pakistan's culpability in world-wide terrorism ever since Pakistan was forced to join US fight against terrorism. There were more than 200 evidentiary references, many of them quite specific and damning to Pakistan in 9/11 Commission report but not a single US newspaper bothered to compile or list them. But same news media went after a few references in 9/11 Commission report about Iraq and Iran. That report contained less than 100 references to Iran and Iraq combined, most of them speculative.

Afterall Pakistan created Taliban movement and government. Pakistan planned, financed and facilitated 9/11 attacks. But Bush administration censored most of the evidence proving Pakistan's culpability from 9/11 Commission report. Similarly Pakistan is being given a free pass about nuclear proliferation. Nobody even in Pakistan believes Musharraf's claim that Pakistani government had nothing to do with nuclear proliferation. But world news media is deafeningly silent over the subject.

I challenge the premise of this piece. It implies that piracy is somehow the worst, or certainly a very bad, thing that could happen in eastern Africa.

If one reads the extremely well documented book on the history of piracy along the west cost of Africa; "Honour Among Thieves" by Jan Rogizinski, one might be surprised to find that the pirates acted quite democratically amongst themselves.

Given the dysfunctionality, or absence, of Somalian central government, perhaps a pirate colony would constitute a significant improvement.

According to the historian(s), the pirate communities of Saint Mary's (near Madagascar), Reunion and Mauritius were quite successful for their time.

In an eerie comparison, along the east coast of Africa, during the late 17th century, democratic piracy competed with warlordism for the "hearts and minds" of the inhabitants.

Warlordism eventually won, then was overtaken by the colonial powers.

"hider of illegal covert activity in Honduras"

stood between the world and Iraq as ambassadour in 2004

and now stands between

intelligence and the

United States Citizenry

as Director of National Intelligence,

when he has been known to lie before Congress as a way of getting what he wants...

it would seem like bush has found a career politician who has made a life out of "looking the other way," when illegal activities go on....and getting paid for it...

he's a George H.W. bush man all the way...

Mary McCarthy is a scam to take the heat off of the presidency for his leak to "get even" and discredit people that don't do what he tells them to,

even if it's not in the interest of National Security.

and that goes for Taco Boy Attorney General Gonshillazz, "I don't need to take an oath, because I don't want to be responsible to the American people, that's why I keep smiling at you...I've got my thumb up your a$$..."

I think Arkin hits it right on the head in identifying Pakistan's unwillingness and inability to patrol its own territory as being the main problem. Previous administrations (Bush I, Clinton) really just threw up their hands at this problem, mainly over fears of international and domestic political repercussions, and the US suffered for it. With 9/11 it became obvious that we needed to address this problem and could no longer use the excuse that our hands were tied, since in reality they were not. Bush II made the ultimately unpopular but wholly necessary decision that the US would no longer sit by while Al Qaeda and our other enemies take advantage of this lawlessness and lack of centralized authority. We have the means, both conventional military and SOCOM, to deal with these threats and there is no good reason why we shouldn't, especially when it means protecting American lives here at home. This approach is not without consequences, as is evident today, but those consequences are something we must be willing to accept if we really want our government to deal with our enemies in a meaningful way.

The writer seems to have some special affinity for Pakistan, a country led by a military dictator loved by Bush and company for doing thier dirty work for the unending US war on terror. But unless I fail to see something, it would take a strong stretch of imagination to link piracy with Pakistan, as the title "Pirates! Just what Pakistan Needs" suggests but there is no link or relevance mentioned in the text. Or may be the author wants to see some pirates around Pakistani waters.

Avast ye maties! Arrrrrrr!

The US can't enter Somali waters because there's no Somali government??? Isn't that all the MORE reason for the US to enter Somali waters? Besides, no harm, no foul... what's the Somali government going to do if the US Navy enters its waters, complain? The Somali government doesn't exist, making complaints rather impossible. So only pirates are allowed in Somali waters.... good logic, America. Yeah, I'd say this is indeed going to be a "long war." Geez.......

The link for the AFIN news story about the Pakistani rear admiral is wrong. The correct link is:

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Apr2006/20060424_4907.html