He did this the last time the refugee issue came up. I'm not sure whether he's being impertinent or intentionally misleading, or is just confused - or perhaps has reformed and is now trying to provide arguments for the American side. The last may seem unlikely, but it might also explain why he's constantly putting up examples of work by blatantly dishonest and obviously foolish anti-war zealots like William Rivers Pitt and Simon Tisdall. The fact that there are refugees from Iraq - 20 - 25% of the Iraqi citizenry resided abroad prior to the war - has nothing to do with actual population flows as a result of the war. You'll note the article states that the occupying powers are actually having to request that the expatriates not be repatriated at this time. There are probably some difficulties dealing with everyone who wants to come back. There are probably also very well-justified suspicions that the Iranians would use a mass repatriation to infiltrate radical Islamist agents.
Afghanistan: Poor security threatens reconstruction, elections â Aid agencies KABUL, AFGHANISTAN â AP World News via NewsEdge Corporation: International charities operating in Afghanistan warned on Friday that deteriorating security conditions were hurting reconstruction efforts in the war-shattered country and could seriously impede elections next year. The Agency Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief, an umbrella organization representing 60 aid groups, issued a statement pleading with the international community to deploy forces to Afghanistan's lawless regions. Currently, international peacekeepers are confined to the Afghan capital of Kabul. Afghan President Hamid Karzai also has made repeated requests for more troops to be deployed outside the capital. But most countries have refused, saying they cannot afford to send more forces. Since the collapse of the Taliban regime in 2001, security has steadily deteriorated in much of Afghanistan. This has largely been blamed on heavily armed warlords â all of whom belong to the government. The warlords have so far refused to give up their private armies, routinely wage territorial battles, terrorize local residents and seriously hamper reconstruction efforts. "Increasing violence in the country is undermining the reform process ... impeding reconstruction and threatening upcoming elections," Kevin Henry, a director of CARE, a U.S.-based aid organization and a member of ACBAR, said in a statement. "The international community must zero in and solve security problems so that the Afghan people can have increased confidence and trust in the road to peace," he said. Countrywide elections, which are to be held next year and have been touted by the United Nations as a giant step toward democracy in Afghanistan, are threatened by the lawlessness that exists in most of Afghanistan, ACBAR said. The United Nations and other international agencies have suggested that a "disarmament, demobilization and reintegration" process should be in place before elections go ahead, but delays to those plans have caused consternation. "Concerns are deepening regarding the viability of holding free and fair elections in June 2004," Barbara Stapleton, ACBAR's advocacy and policy coordinator, said in a statement. As a precursor to disarmament â originally slated for July 1 â Defense Minister Mohammed Fahim was supposed to make the Tajik-dominated defense ministry more representative of Afghanistan's other ethnic groups. But he has been reluctant to make any changes. Fahim's Tajik-dominated militia moved into Kabul after the U.S.-led coalition defeated the Taliban in 2001. The United Nations agreement brokered in Bonn, Germany, in 2001 to set up Karzai's administration called for all militia to withdraw from Kabul before the deployment of international peacekeepers. Fahim refused and the United Nations relented. International aid organizations have reduced their operations in some parts of Afghanistan, and feuding warlords have caused aid agencies to withdraw from parts of northern Afghanistan. Little international assistance is reaching eastern and southern regions of Afghanistan, where coalition forces are still hunting Taliban and al-Qaida fugitives. << Copyright © 2003 The Associated Press >> [07-26-03 at 12:16 EDT, Copyright 2003, The Associated Press, File: h0725054.101] Story date: 26 Jul 2003 World News
I think we'll see Bush's approval rating at much lower levels before the next election. Don't know if he can be beat, though. g
IMHO.....Bush is going to get his second term. The Democrats are not putting their best candidates up for election. Not one I would vote for. Probably saving the good ones for 2008. I am an independent and have no party allegiance.....I pick the best person for the job. Bob is a lifelong republican.
GW will get the second term. UNLESS some huge scandal unfolds. Money is no object. Public has never been more gullible. Media under full Command. ECONOMY IS DOING MIRACLES. Fed printing paper like it's the end of the world. Is it?:eek: Democrats have nothing to show for. They might as well roll over and cease to exist. Nooooooooo way jose......them libs are needed more than ever We need dem leftists, we must I repeat we show we have choices.. or do we? Necon cabal is a shoe in.. live with it
there is no doubt in my mind that bush is a one termer unless there is a credible liberal independent third candidate that could siphon away democrat votes. i voted for Bush and have regretted it ever since 9/11. the jobless recovery will take it's toll on this pres. ba-bye dub.
who has only been in the Presidential race for less than a week, is already TIED with President Bush! http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...ap/20030922/ap_on_el_pr/democrats_bush_poll_1
1984-type double-speak in full flower. Question is...can we turn back? Frightening administration...end justifies the mean...lies flow freely....that old 'liberal press' seems nowhere to be seen. Neocons and whacko right wingers in full control. They may stop at nothing to maintain control. Manufactured crises? If nothing else, such lopsided government is BAD for the economy...always had been. Not to mention what is happening to the environment and structure of society. g