CALIFORNIA YANKEE

Another Connection

Fox News has posted a new Harmony Document, one of the millions of documents captured in Iraq and Afghanistan by American forces that are only now being released. The documents are important because they provide a window into the Saddam regime's activities prior to the war and can potentially shed light on Saddam's Human Rights atrocities, connections to terrorism and what happened to Iraq's WMD programs.

The newly released document appears to provide evidence that in 1999 the Taliban welcomed "Islamic relations with Iraq" to mediate among the Taliban, the Northern Alliance and Russia, and that the Taliban invited Iraqi officials to Afghanistan. The document comes from a notebook kept by an Iraqi intelligence agent. It provides evidence of a cooperative, operational relationship agreed to at the highest levels of the Iraqi government and the Taliban. The notebook deals extensively with meetings between Maulana Fazlur Rahman, an Al Qaeda/Taliban supporter, and Taha Yassin Ramadan, the former vice president of Iraq, and other unnamed Iraqi officials:

According to Fox, Ramadan also was Saddam Hussein's chief enforcer. He is discussed in a 2002 BBC article that stated "Washington showed considerable interest in him well before the Iraq war this spring, after opposition forces claimed he hosted Usama bin Laden's deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, in Baghdad in 1998. He currently is under detention and facing trial in Baghdad along with Saddam. Also present at the discussion recorded in the notebook is Maulana Fazlur Rahman, a Pakistani cleric described in another 2002 article from the BBC Profile: Maulana Fazlur Rahman as "A pro-Taliban cleric in Pakistan … one of the two main contenders for the post of the country's prime minister." The BBC also said that "Maulana Fazlur Rahman … is known for his close ties to Afghanistan's ousted Taliban regime."

You should read the entire document. Here is a teaser:

Fazlur Rahman: Gwadar is the shortest road for them and we spoke with the Afghani government. I met Mullah Omar the leader of Afghanistan and he welcomed the establishment of Islamic relations with Iraq and we foresee to tell them about our needs and they would like to have contacts with Russia but they feel that the Russians (unclear) with Afghanistan, they go to America (RR: probably means that the Russians side with the US against the Taliban). And they (RR: probably the Taliban) say that now we do not feel that Russia is our enemy and we do not know why they support the Northern Alliance (RR: non-Pashtun Afghani militant groups seeking to topple the Taliban). They (RR: probably the Taliban) want Iraq to intervene with Russia.

Fox also provides analysis which reasons that the Taliban (and therefore al Qaeda) was looking to Iraq for help, and was happy to establish "Islamic relations" with Iraq. This connection further refutes the oft repeated mantra that Saddam's secular regime couldn't have cooperated with Islamic extremists like the Taliban and al Qaeda:

This document appears to provide evidence that in 1999 the Taliban welcomed "Islamic relations with Iraq" to mediate between the Taliban, the Northern Alliance and Russia. It seems to provide evidence that the Taliban invited Iraqi officials to Afghanistan. According to this notebook, the Taliban did this via Maulana Fazlur Rahman. The notebook later mentions that another man, Fazlur Rahman Khalil, was visiting Iraq as well, although no transcript of that meeting is provided.

There is another document in the Saddam archive that mentions the relationship of Fazlur Rahman to the Taliban and Saddam. It was captured in Afghanistan and used by the U.S. Army in a report about Al Qaeda. The document is posted under the identifying Harmony number AFGP-2002-601693 at the West Point Combating Terrorism Center. The posted translation is described as a July 26, 2002 four-page typed letter from Abu Mus'ab to Abu Mohammed (apparently Al Qaeda or Taliban operatives) in reply to his inquiry about the status of jihad, or holy war, in Afghanistan:

After my release I found that people came from the Sudan and everywhere, and began fighting alongside the Taliban movement, which for Pakistan was a substitute for Hikmatyar. Everyone, even children in the streets knew that they were created and controlled by Pakistan. Their leader Fadhlurahman is a friend of Banazeer, Saddam and Qaddafi. They comprise of the veteran sheikhs (religious scholars) from the schools of Mujaddidi and Mohammed Nabi such as Sheikh Mohammed ‘Omar the movement leader

The U.S. government has recently released a trove of the captured documents on the Pentagon's Foreign Military Studies Office Web site. Unfortunately, the government has left the organization, translation, and analysis of the documents to others.

Ray Robison, currently a military operations research analyst is one of those working to translate and analyze the captured documents. Robison worked as part of the CIA-directed Iraq Survey Group (ISG) that examined efforts by Saddam Hussein to build and hide weapons of mass destruction, among other objectives.

Robison is now translating and analyzing scores of the unexplored trove of documents from Saddam's regime in a FOXNews.com series: The Saddam Dossier.

Edwards Leads Among Iowa Activists

A new Iowa Poll finds John Edwards leads potential Democratic presidential candidates among Iowans who say they are likely to take part in the January 2008 caucuses:

Edwards 30%

Clinton 26%

Kerry 12%

Vilsack 10%

Daschle 3%

Feingold 3 %

Warner 3 %

Bayh 2 %

Clark 2 %

The remaining 9% were unsure or prefer someone else.

This is the first poll that I have seen which did not find Senator Clinton leading the pack of 2008 Democratic presidential wannabees.

Former Senator and vice presidential nominee, John Edwards of North Carolina was the runner-up in the 2004Iowa Democratic caucuses has been a frequent visitor to the state since then. Edwards has made five trips to Iowa this year, following four Iowa trips in 2005 — the most of any 2008 Democratic presidential prospect.

According to the Des Moines Register, the poll shows 42 percent of likely caucus participants hold a very favorable opinion of Edwards, while only 3 percent have a very unfavorable impression of him.

Clinton's second place finish is sure to dull her image as the front runner. Nevertheless, finishing only four percent behind first place is no small accomplishment. Clinton hasn't courted Iowans in the traditional way. Last summer, as other potential 2008 presidential candidates were making their first sojourns to Iowa, Clinton did something a little different. She brought Iowa to Washington. Clinton has entertained several key caucus-state activists and donors at her home on Embassy Row. Robert Novak has reported that prominent Democrats advised Clinton that, if she runs for president in 2008 as expected, she should avoid the Iowa caucuses as the first competition for the Democratic nomination because any Democrat must run well to the left to win the Iowa caucuses.

The poll results are bad news for Vilsack, suggesting he is not really Iowa's favorite son.

The poll was conducted May 29 to June 1and has a margin of error of 4.9 percent. Like all polling at this stage of the 2008 presidential campaign the results are little more than entertainment for political junkies and should be taken with a generous grain of salt.

Nidal Wins French Open

Rafael Nadal Defeated Roger Federer 1-6, 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 (4) to win the French Open.

Roger Federer against the world: 198-9

Roger Federer against Rafael Nidal: 1-6

Photo by REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer.

Lessons From Bilbray's Victory

According to Rick Amato, the lessons to be learned from Republican Brian Bilbray' victory over Democrat Francine Busby in the election to replace California's Duke Cunningham boils down to this:

Illegal immigration mattered a lot, ethical problems mattered a little and the campaign skills between the two candidates varied noticeably.

[. . .]

A conservative message on illegal immigration communicated without gray areas, a well-organized and well-run campaign led by an experienced campaigner.

As Bilbray's campaign manager says, President Bush should reconsider his support for the Senate's so-called immigration reform bill. Mr. Bilbray opposed the Senate bill, while Mrs. Busby supported it.

Even worse for the Democrats, Busby and the Democratic national did all they could to sell their culture of corruption mantra. It didn't work.

Busby was her own worst enemy. When a recording surfaced, just days before the election, of Busby's infamous "You don't need papers for voting" speech, it was all over. As reported by San Diego Union-Tribune:

If an election can turn on a sentence, this could be the one: “You don't need papers for voting.”

[. . .]

Busby said she was invited to the forum at the Jocelyn Senior Center in Escondido by the leader of a local soccer league. Many of the 50 or so people there were Spanish speakers. Toward the end, a man in the audience asked in Spanish: “I want to help, but I don’t have papers.”

It was translated and Busby replied: “Everybody can help, yeah, absolutely, you can all help. You don’t need papers for voting, you don’t need to be a registered voter to help.”

Amato writes that Busby may have painted the entire Democratic Party into an illegal-immigration corner:

Democratic candidates in congressional races across America now must demonstrate they are not pandering to illegal immigrant groups, while at the same time courting their favor -- a position Mrs. Busby found herself in days before the election, as her rhetoric became more and more conservative.

Bilbray's victory is more evidence that President Bush, the Senate, business leaders and immigrant rights activists are too far ahead of the American public on what to do about the ever increasing flood of illegal aliens.

As I have posted before, history has proven that legalization of illegal aliens is a mistake. The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 made nearly 4 million illegals eligible for legal residency. That policy was an obvious failure because now there about 12 million "undocumented workers" In the U.S. If these millions of illegal aliens are legalized now, then we should only expect that twenty years from now we will have to consider legalizing 30 million more.

Granting amnesty, or legalizing illegal aliens, as the Senate bill does, encourages the violation of our laws, and perpetuates illegal immigration. The message legalization sends is get into the U.S. any way you can, eventually the U.S. will make you legal. Apparently, Bilbray voters agree.

Life Is Good

A new Rasmussen poll finds Americans feel good about life.

Two-out-of-three Americans (68%) rate their own life as good or excellent, while 22% rate their own life as fair and 9% say life is poor.

Those working are happier than retirees:

Retired Americans are less likely than working Americans to rate their own life as excellent. Among those who are working, 44% of Entrepreneurs say their life is excellent. That view is shared by 34% of Government workers and 29% of those who work for a private sector employer. Only 24% of retirees share that level of optimism.

Men are happier than women:

Thirty-three percent (33%) of men say their life is excellent along with 26% of women. Married Americans are more upbeat in their assessments than those who are not married.

Republicans are happier than Democrats:

Eighty percent (80%) of Republicans rate their life as good or excellent. That compares to 66% of Democrats and 65% of those not affiliated with either major party.

Black Americans are happier than white Americans:

Seventy-four percent (74%) of black Americans rate their life as good or excellent along with 68% of white Americans and 57% of all other Americans.

Thirty-somethings are the happiest:

Thirty-somethings appear to be the happiest age group. But, while those over 65 are less likely than younger adults to rate their life as excellent, they are more likely than any other age group to say their life is good. All in all, 69% of America’s senior citizens say their life in either good or excellent.

Mark Noonan writes that this poll doesn't indicate any strong discontent among the general population and that does not bode well for the Democrats because contented people tend to keep things as they are. Mark has exactly right.

How good is your life?

Sexual Desire Is Genetic

Your sexual desire, or lack thereof, could be determined by your genes.

Scientists, at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem discovered that individual differences in human sexual desire can be attributed to genetic variations:

The study is the first to provide data to show that common variations in the sequence of DNA impact on sexual desire, arousal and function, the researchers said.

According to Professor Richard Ebstein, the presence of a certain gene can make people a little bit less functional in terms of arousal while the presence of another rare gene gives people an edge in those areas.

The effect is small, but significant, as it shows that sexuality is not completely psychologically determined.

Professor Ebstein hopes this study will not only open up new ways to tackle and treat sexual problems, but will also discourage people with lower sexual drives going to the therapists’ office.

Terror Threatens Americans In China

The U.S. government warned Friday of possible terrorist threats to Americans in China.

The notice, posted on the website of the U.S. Embassy in Beijing and transmitted by e-mail to American citizens, stated:

The United States Government has received unconfirmed information of a possible terrorist threat against U.S. interests in China, especially in the cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. This threat also may exist for places where Americans are known to congregate or visit, including clubs, restaurants, places of worship, schools or outdoor recreation events.

American citizens in China are advised to be aware of their surroundings and remain alert to possible threats.

According to the Associated Press, embassy spokeswoman Sheila Paskman said the possible threats were specific to China and not part of a larger regional or worldwide alert.

"This is China-specific," she said, declining to elaborate.

Americans were not being urged to alter their travel plans or normal business, she said.

"This particular notice is simply asking people to be aware of threats," she said.

China has largely escaped terrorism by international groups.

Reuters reports "the embassy issued a similar notice in China in November, warning at that time that police had told them Islamic extremists could be planning attacks on luxury hotels in China." It retracted that warning a day later, saying Chinese authorities concluded the source of the information was not credible.

If you were American in China how would you respond to this warning?

Terrorism Deniers

James Lileks pushes back against the looney left blame America first crowd suffering from terminal Bush Derangement Syndrome:

You're an enlightened world citizen. Your T-shirt says "9/11 was an inside job." You're pretty sure we're living in a fascist state, that President Bush taps the Dixie Chicks' phones, Christian abortion clinic bombers outnumber jihadis, and the war on "terror" is a distraction from the real threats: carbon emissions and Pat Robertson. Then you learn that 17 people were arrested in a terrorist bomb plot. How do you process the information? Let's take it step by step.

Gosh, that's horrible, you think. But no -- that's what they WANT you to feel. Recall the prime directive: Question Authority (unless he's a college professor). The plotters must have been impoverished olive farmers radicalized by the removal of Saddam Hussein. Why, if someone came in and toppled your president, you'd go to their country and ... well, you'd thank them. Unless they did it for the wrong reasons! Then you'd blow something up. Like an SUV dealership. At night. Anyway, you understand; you care a lot about Iraqis these days. You think about Iraq more than China, to be honest, but it's not as if you'll scrape off your "Free Tibet" bumper sticker -- unless it's to make room for "Free Darfur." Or "Hands Off Darfur," depending.

Wait a minute: The "terrorists" were Canadian? You can understand someone blowing up trains in Spain and London. They sent troops to an illegal war cooked up by neocons who want to kill brown people for Exxon and Jesus, or something. You can understand, reluctantly, blowing up teens in an Israeli pizza parlor, because the Jews took the West Bank from the sovereign, ancient nation of Palestine. (How can a liberal socialist country behave so poorly? The world is full of mysteries.) But Canada? Isn't Michael Moore from Canada? You can get medical marijuana from married gay doctors in Canada, and no one has guns. You console yourself: Maybe they were really planning to attack the U.S.

You realize the suspects were all Muslim, and you dread the inevitable pogroms. Haven't been any yet, but any day now. You read that a mosque was vandalized in Toronto after the arrest, and you feel a certain grim relief. Finally, racism! Banners. If you're going to have a march, you'll need banners.

There is more, read the whole thing. Those who inspired Lileks's essay wear the same hateful blinders as those moodbats who deny the Holocaust and disseminate drivel such as this.

Hamas Calls Off Truce With Israel

MSNBC reports Hamas says it will no longer honor a truce with Israel:

“The earthquake in the Zionist towns will start again,” said a leaflet distributed by the militants at a Hamas rally Friday night. “The resistance groups ... will choose the proper place and time for the tough, strong and unique response.”

[. . .]

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri confirmed the militant group, which won a parliamentary election in January and now heads the Palestinian government, would renew its attacks.

Hamas' statement came after Israel shelled suspected rocket launching sites in Gaza. Palestinian officials said the artillery hit a family beach picnic, killing seven people, including three children.
The Israeli army said it attacked northern Gaza Strip areas that Palestinian militants use to fire homemade rockets at Israel. According to MSNBC, one artillery strike appeared to go dramatically off course.

Israel frequently targets sites used by Palestinian militants to fire rockets toward Israel.

Earlier today, Palestinian militants promised to avenge the death of Abu Samhadana, the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority's security chief, in an Israeli air strike yesterday:

"God willing, our retaliation shall come," Abu Sharif, a leading commander, said from a loudspeaker car as it drove around Gaza in the aftermath of the strike.

It will not be by statements, but by rockets toward Sderot and all the Zionist community. It will be by self-sacrificing martyrs who will blow up themselves in every corner.

Abu Samhadana was a key figure in Palestinian rocket attacks against Israel and suspect in a deadly bombing of a U.S. convoy in Gaza in 2003.

39 Million Enrolled In Medicare Drug Plan

38.7 million people now have Medicare drug benefit coverage.

The Associated Press reports the enrollment numbers are in line with what the administration projected in January 2005:

At the time, it said about 43 million Medicare beneficiaries would be eligible and that about 39 million would participate — either voluntarily or through automatic enrollment, or drug coverage would continue through their former employer.

Even though the participation estimates were right on, the premium costs are lower than estimated:

Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt said an analysis of the enrollment numbers showed that people chose plans that charged the lowest premiums — $23 on average vs. original estimates of $37.

"I'd just like to stress what good news this is for our seniors and the Medicare program," Leavitt said in announcing the enrollment numbers. "Competition works. The costs are lower and enrollment in Medicare drug coverage is stronger than expected."

Many of my conservative friends are unhappy about the cost of this program. But because of this program, the first comprehensive prescription drug benefit ever offered under the Medicare program, Medicare beneficiaries can now get help in paying for prescription drugs.

In 2000, both George Bush and Al Gore promised a Medicare drug benefit. At the time, millions of seniors were having difficulty paying for their drugs, the cost of which was growing at the rate of 10 percent a year. The 2000 campaign promise has now become a reality as President Bush’s Medicare drug benefit, passed by Congress in November 2003, comes into effect.

Before Medicare's drug benefit, more than half of those on Medicare either lacked drug coverage or had inadequate coverage. Medicare's drug benefit is not perfect, but it's better than no plan at all, and is a step in the right direction.

President Bush's opponents continue to rail against the Medicare drug benefit. But as I posted in April
A survey conducted for AARP, found nearly eight-in-ten, (78 percent) of those enrolled in a Medicare prescription drug plan are satisfied. In AARP's press release about the survey, AARP Director of Health Strategy Cheryl Matheis said:

Because people are now using their new drug plans, AARP is hearing stories of savings everyday. "Only a few short months ago, we were hearing stories from people who had to make difficult choices to afford their prescription drugs. Now the choice has become which of the many drug plans is best for me?" noted Matheis.

Forty percent of those surveyed thought they would need to give up something if Medicare had not added the new prescription drug benefit.

The Medicare drug benefit is the most significant improvement to senior health care in nearly 40 years. President Bush deserves credit for delivering on his 2000 campaign promise.