Thursday, October 09, 2003

Campaign Launched to Regulate Arms Trade. For farmers in Uganda, AK-47 assault rifles are used instead of spears. In Somalia, weapons are so common that some children are named 'Uzi' or 'AK.' In countries such as Iraq, there is more than one gun per person. These findings were included in a report released Thursday by Amnesty International, Oxfam and another group as they launched a campaign in more than 50 countries aimed at controlling what they call a dangerously unregulated global arms trade that routinely allows weapons to reach repressive governments, human rights abusers and criminals. The report said the possession of increasingly lethal weapons is becoming an integral part of daily life in many parts of the world. It also said that the U.S.-led war on terror, launched after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States, has 'fueled weapons proliferation rather than focusing political will on controlling arms.' [FirearmNews.com] These so-called "human rights" groups are revealing their true agenda when they express dismay that ordinary Ugandan farmers own rifles. The Ugandan government, in case they've forgotten, murdered 300,000 unarmed Ugandan citizens. 3:02:39 PM    comment () "Don't Send Our Sons to the Iraqi Hell". That's what they are chanting in Turkey, as polls show over two-thirds of the public oppose sending troops into the neighboring country. Thousands hit the streets to protest and police arrested some 60 Kurdish activists. Still, that stabilizing influence of pre-emptive war should break out any day now. [Hit & Run] The Turkish government wants to send troops Iraq in exchange for a multi-billion dollar bribe loan from the Feds. However, Turkey is a democracy, so if they go through with the deal they may well find themselves unemployed in the next election. 2:50:37 PM    comment () A NOTED HAWK GETS READY TO BAIL. Noted hawk Ralph Peters is very, very angry -- as well he should be: JUDAS drove a hard bargain compared to President Bush. At least the great betrayer got 30 pieces of silver. All Bush is going to get for delivering the Kurds unto their enemies will be 10,000 Turkish troops - who will act solely in Ankara's interests, not in the interests of Washington or the people of Iraq. Bush's desire for Turkish forces is craven. Hoping to reduce U.S. troop commitments as an election looms,... [The Light of Reason] This is hardly surprising. It's been obvious from the beginning that the one thing that was absolutely certain about the conquest of Iraq was that the Kurds would lose the freedom they'd gained after the Gulf War. 9:38:56 AM    comment ()

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