Replies to post #6276 on Foreign Correspondence

[otraque]

Me always snoopy on this guy Muqy:) His latest.
via Juan Cole site who i would guess is the translator.

the arabic http://www.azzaman.com/azzaman/http/display.asp?fname=/azzaman/articles/2006/02/02-26/9985.htm


<<Muqtada calls for Sunni-Shiite Marches, Prayers
Wants Pan-Islamic Resolution for US Withdrawal

Al-Zaman / AFP report that [Ar.] young Shiite nationalist leader Muqtada al-Sadr, having arrived at Basra on Sunday from Iran, called for a joint peaceful demonstration involving both Shiites and Sunnis that demands the departure of US, British and other foreign troops from Iraq and calls for concord between Sunnis and Shiites.

Muqtada once again blamed the United States for the destruction of the Askariyah Shrine at Samarra.

Sadr said before a big crowd of his supporters in the southern Gulf port, "I call for a united, peaceful demonstration in the capital, Baghdad, which you will organize at a specific time, involving Shiites, Sunnis and others, in which you will demand the withdrawal of the Occupying forces, and call for mutual love among you." He made an attempt to rein in the Mahdi Army militias [plural in the original Arabic report], whom Sunnis accuse of burning Sunni mosques in Baghdad after the Samarra attack.

Muqtada said, "The leaders of Friday prayers throughout Iraq, from the north to the south and from east to west, must call for this peaceful demonstration among all sections of the Iraqi population, who much not be divided as to battle cry. The Iraqi people is one, from north to south."

Muqtada also called for holding "joint Friday communal prayers with both Sunnis and Shiites in the mosques," affirming that "there are no Sunni or Shiite mosques; you are a single people." He added, "We want the Occupation forces out, even if on their own timetable, in an objective fashion, as they say." He said, "Our Iraq is passing through a big crisis, insofar as enemies are entering among brethren, and spreading turmoil among you."

Muqtada wondered aloud, "Do you want to give aid to the enemy? Do you want to render the Occupier victorious? Do you wish to make Satan triumphant, or do you wish to help the Truth?" He added, "If you burn down mosques, are you helping falsehood or the truth? Do you wish to help falsehood?" He shouted, "No, no to falsehood!"

Al-Sadr said, "Do not forget the plotting of the Occupation, for if we forget its plots, it will kill us all without exception." He went on, "Sometimes they curse the Messenger of God [Muhammad] and defame him [with their cartoons], and sometimes they blow up our Imams. This series of attacks is not the first and it will not be the last. The attacks will continue. Beware, and be responsible. Religion is your responsibility, mosques are your responsibility, the Muslim people is your responsibility, so do not attack the secure houses of God. Love one another and be brethren of one another so that our Iraq will be secure and stable and independent. We want the expulsion of the Occupier and not the American ambassador."

A spokesman for Sadr in Najaf, Sahib al-`Ameeri, said that Muqtada's primary mission is to restore order so as to preserve the unity of the Muslims and to protect their holy places.

Another Sadr spokesman, Aws al-Khafaji, said that he had decided to appoint a committee to oversee his supporters. He forbade the Mahdi Army from wearing black, the symbol of their sectarian commitment to the messianic Twelfth Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, whom many of them expect to return momentarily. (The Askariyah Shrine in Samarra, blown up last Wednesday, is associated with the Twelfth Imam and his father and grandfather.)

Some Sunni Arabs were not mollified. A spokesman for the (fundamentalist) Iraqi Accord Front, Abdul Salam al-Zawbai, said that what had happened was a shock, since no one had believed that elements of the [Shiite] Mahdi Army [of Muqtada al-Sadr] were capable of committing such deeds. He stressed that no one can at the same time participate in the political process and at the same time carry a weapon and possess a militia. This contradicts the first principles of democracy and the rule of law. He said that Muqtada al-Sadr now has an obligation to conduct himself like the other parties and become a power within the government. He called on al-Sadr to transform his militia into a political organization.

With regard to the issue of the Mahdi Army, Sadr spokesman Sahib al-`Ameeri said that some supporters carried arms as individuals, not as an organized armed militia that has received training. He said those Sadr supporters carried arms to protect their own homes. He added that the "Mahdi Army" represents a school of thought, not a political party. It tries to spread the ideas of Muqtada al-Sadr. He denied that it held regular meetings, rather said it held occasional gatherings.

[CoalTrain]

At that time, it was sharply criticized as technically flawed (it runs at a record depth of 2,150 meters below the sea) and politically inopportune (since it was said to dangerously increase Turkey's dependence on Russia's gas supply).


A mile below the the BOTTOM of the sea? Or the top?.. Hmmm..... either way I gotta wonder if it is bunker buster bomb proof. As bad ass as a nuke might be a mile of water will adsorb a hell of a lot of heat and hold a hell of a lot of radiation, and I do believe the heat and radioactive steam would tend in the upwards direction of the sky rather than down towards the pipeline. The Greeks and the Italians would love that Idea. Just shows to go ya how brilliant Bush´s "we dont need no stinking allies in the war" strategy is. I do believe in war time I´d bet on this pipeline over an oil tanker. LOL!

[Amaunet]

Turkey, Israel make undersea connections
By Jay Bushinsky
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Published April 30, 2006



JERUSALEM -- Leaders in Israel and Turkey envision a network of four underwater pipelines for transporting Russian oil and natural gas, with feeder lines to Jordan, the Palestinian Authority and Lebanon.
The joint Turkish-Israeli development plan holds the promise of accelerating economic growth in the Middle East. A $50 million feasibility study is financed by the Luxembourg-based European Investment Bank, officials from Turkey and Israel say.
India is a main backer of the proposed network of pipelines because of the energy needs of its fast-growing economy.
Delivery of oil and natural gas by means of pipelines that traverse Turkey and Israel through conduits beneath the eastern Mediterranean is considered more practical than an overland route across turbulent Central Asia.
"Turkey gets most of its natural gas from Russia," said Gabriel Levy, a senior official at the Israeli Ministry of Infrastructure here, noting that a pipeline conveys the gas beneath the Black Sea to Ankara, the Turkish capital. "Russia and Turkey decided they should have another customer."
Israel would be a major beneficiary of a pipeline network, Mr. Levy said. He predicted that by 2010, 40 percent of Israel's energy needs will be filled by imported natural gas.
In Tel Aviv, the Turkish Embassy's deputy chief of mission, Mehmet Kemal Bozay, also was enthusiastic about a "long-range project" that eventually could serve Lebanon, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority as well.
A seasoned diplomat who served in Tehran and at U.N. headquarters in New York, Mr. Bozay stressed the ecological advantages of using pipelines rather than tankers to transfer crude oil from country to country.
"We don't want any more tankers sailing through the Bosphorus," he said, referring to the congested international waterway that separates the European and Asian segments of Turkey.
Gazprom, the giant Russian energy conglomerate, also backs the multiple pipelines scheme. As the world's leading exporter of natural gas and the eighth-biggest oil company, Gazprom has eyed Israel as a potential market.
Israel already imports a substantial percentage of its crude oil from Russia; it is processed at giant refineries outside Haifa.
The chairman of Gazprom's management committee, Alexey Miller, conferred recently with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on the supply of Russian oil and natural gas, as well as transshipment of oil to India.
"[Mr.] Miller suggested that the projected conduits have feeder lines to other prospective regional recipients, providing Israel agrees," Mr. Levy said.
Mr. Olmert and Mr. Miller agreed that shipment through Israel would be less costly than through the Suez Canal, which can accommodate tankers carrying a maximum of 220,000 tons of oil.
Israel's Eilat-Ashkelon Pipeline Co. proposed to Indian authorities that it could serve as the overland carrier of Russian crude bound for the Indian market.
Pipelines also could be used to transport water. Soaring fuel costs for seaborne water tankers prompted cancellation earlier this month of a Turkish-Israeli agreement for Israel to buy 50 million cubic meters of water a year from Turkey for the next 20 years.
Shipment by tanker, as originally contemplated, would make Turkish water cost twice as much as water desalinated in Israel.
Mr. Bozay also foresaw creation of a regional electricity grid, enabling Turkey and Israel to supply one another with surplus power.
"We have been checking the crush hours in both countries," he said, "and are investigating the technical requirements for electricity cables and transmissions to connect the two countries."
Mr. Levy and Mr. Bozay said cooperation between stable countries could serve as a tool to cool down regional crises.
"Civilian projects enhance peace," Mr. Levy said.



http://washingtontimes.com/functions/print.php?StoryID=20060430-010130-7755r