November 24, 2005
BETTER HURRY, BEFORE MURTHA SURRENDERS TO THEM:
Some Iraq insurgent groups want to talk (QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA, 11/24/05, Associated Press)
Several insurgents groups have contacted President Jalal Talabani's office in the past few days, with some saying they are ready to lay down their arms and join the political process, the presidential security adviser said Thursday. [...]Talabani said last weekend in Egypt he was ready for talks with anti-government opposition figures as well as Baathists. He called the Sunni-led insurgents to lay down their weapons and join the political process.
"Many groups have called and some of them clearly expressed the readiness to join the political process," al-Samaraei said. This shows that "the initiative was welcomed by Iraqis."
In the western province of Anbar, members of some militant groups told the AP that they had been in talks with Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Chalabi for about two weeks but would not say how they were going.
MORE:
Jordan King Calls for All-Out War on Islamic Militancy (Fox News, November 24, 2005)
Jordan's King Abdullah II urged his new prime minister Thursday to launch an all-out war against Islamic militancy in the wake of the triple hotel bombings earlier this month that killed 63 people.Posted by Orrin Judd at November 24, 2005 12:33 PMIn a letter to newly appointed Prime Minister Marouf al-Bakhit, Abdullah said the Nov. 9 bombings "increase our determination to stick to our reform and democratization process, which is irreversible."
"At the same time, it reaffirms our need to adopt a comprehensive strategy to confront the Takfiri culture," Abdullah said, referring to the ideology adopted by Al Qaeda and other militants who condone the killing of those they consider infidels.
Abdullah said the strategy should "not only deal with the security dimension, but also the ideological, cultural and political spheres to confront those who choose the path of destruction and sabotage to reach their goals."
This is going to make some peoples' plastic turkey tough to swallow today.
Posted by: John at November 24, 2005 1:25 PMThe sad, and frustrating fact is that no one on the Left will acknowledge being wrong about Iraq, Bush et al. It'll be just like the Cold War, Reagan, Hiss etc. Down the memory hole. And 20 years from now, they'll just repeat the same malevolent malarchy with some other Republican president and some other battle against fascists. I guess with should just be thankful that fewer and fewer folks in this country pay attention to the nutters and dead-enders in academia, the press, etc.
Posted by: Jim in Chicago at November 24, 2005 1:54 PMThey will not acknowledge it (except for the rare exceptional individual, perhaps).
But their discrediting in the eyes of the man in the street---assuming this happens---should prove solace enough.
Onward. Slinking or proud. But onward.
Posted by: Barry Meislin at November 24, 2005 3:56 PMAbdullah knows that he is the target in Jordan. His father had to crush the PLO, and he is going to have to crush Al Qaeda, if he wants to live for a while longer.
Posted by: Robert Schwartz at November 25, 2005 2:50 AM