Top Commander Says 'Time Is Short' in Iraq, Stabilizing Iraq will require "new and different actions" to improve security and promote political reconciliation, the Navy admiral poised to lead American forces in the Middle East said Tuesday.

Adm. William Fallon, at his confirmation hearing, also told the Senate Armed Services Committee that it may be time to "redefine the goals" in Iraq. And he said he believes Iran would like to limit America's influence in the region.

"I believe the situation in Iraq can be turned around, but time is short," he said.

Fallon, 62, who currently is commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific, said he saw a need for a comprehensive approach to Iraq, including economic and political actions to resolve a problem that requires more than military force.

"What we have been doing has not been working," he said. "We have got to be doing, it seems to me, something different."

Fallon said that "we probably erred in our assessment" of the Iraqi government's ability to rebuild its society and establish a peaceful order after the overthrow of President Saddam Hussein nearly four years ago.

"One of the things in the back of my mind that I'd like to get answered is to meet with the people that have been working this issue - particularly our ambassadors, our diplomats - to get an assessment of what's realistic and what's practical," .

"And maybe we ought to redefine the goals here a bit and do something that's more realistic in terms of getting some progress and then maybe take on the other things later," he added.

Later, he made similiar remarks that suggested an effort to tamp down expectations of sudden success in Baghdad as a result of Bush's troop buildup.

"I think that we would probably be wise to temper our expectations here, that the likelihood that Iraq is suddenly going to turn into something that looks close to what we enjoy here in this country is going to be a long time coming," Fallon said.

Negroponte told the panel that Syria is allowing 40 to 75 foreign fighters to cross its border into Iraq each month and repeated the charge that Iran is providing lethal help to insurgents fighting U.S. forces in Iraq.

Negroponte gave only mild endorsement, however, to the administration's diplomatic hands-off policy toward Damascus and Tehran. Negroponte would lead the department's Iraq policy if confirmed.

Fallon and Negroponte's confirmations were not expected to rouse Senate protests, despite bitter opposition in Congress to Bush's plan to send 21,500 more troops to Iraq.

Public sentiment has turned strongly against a war that has dragged on for nearly four years with more than 3,000 American dead and violence unabated by insurgents and sectarian militias.

President Bush nominated Fallon to replace Army Gen. John Abizaid, who is retiring after nearly four years as commander of Central Command.

Several Senators asked Fallon his views on Iran, which the Bush administration accuses of meddling in Iraq's internal affairs and supplying weapons for use by insurgents against American and Iraqi soldiers.

Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., asked what he thinks are the intentions of the Iranian government, with regard to security in the Gulf region.

"They are posturing themselves with the capability to attempt to deny us the ability to operate in this vicinity," Fallon said, adding that there is room for diplomatic efforts with Iran because it also has an economic stake in keeping open the commercial shipping lanes of the Gulf.

"They are aware of our strike capabilities," he added, and are looking for ways to either neutralize those U.S. capabilities or to keep U.S. forces at bay.

Fallon said he has not been ordered to update the Pentagon's contingency plans for war with Iran.

Fallon said he did not know how many extra troops will be needed in Iraq to successfully implement the new strategy Bush announced Jan. 10. Bush approved the deployment of an additional 21,500 troops between now and May.

Asked by Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., chairman of the committee, whether the flow of additional U.S. troops would be tied to progress by the Iraqis on political and other commitments they made to Bush, Fallon said he had not yet studied the plans in detail, given his continuing responsibilities as Pacific Command chief.

"I'm surprised you don't have that understanding going in, frankly," Levin said.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the senior Republican on the committee, said he hoped Fallon intended to give Congress his unvarnished view of conditions in Iraq and elsewhere in his Central Command region.


"Too often administration officials came before this committee and the American people and painted a rosy scenario when it was not there," McCain said, referring to Iraq.

"We need candid assessments, and you'll get them from me," Fallon said.

Some were surprised when Bush chose Fallon to lead Central Command, in light of the protracted land wars it is fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. He would be the first Navy admiral to hold the position.

The Central Command is responsible for U.S. military operations and relations in 27 countries stretching from the Horn of Africa, through the Middle East to Central Asia, including Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., who recently returned from a trip to the region, said only another 200,000 or 300,000 U.S. troops would make a substantial difference in Iraq.

Last Friday the Senate approved, 81-0, Bush's nomination of Army Lt. Gen. David Petraeus to be the senior U.S. commander in Iraq. Petraeus, who is replacing Gen. George Casey, would report to Fallon.

President Bush should clean up the mess he made in Iraq and bring American troops home before he leaves the White House in 2009, Sen. Hillary Clinton said yesterday.
Clinton fired her rhetoric-raising broadside at Bush and the Iraq war on her first swing through Iowa as a presidential hopeful, painting herself as tough, warm and presidential all at the same time.

"The President has said this is going to be left to his successor," she said at a rally in Davenport. "I think it's the height of irresponsibility, and I really resent it.

"This was his decision to go to war; he went with an ill-conceived plan, an incompetently executed strategy, and we should expect him to extricate our country from this before he leaves office," the former First Lady said.

White House spokesman Rob Saliterman criticized Clinton (D-N.Y.) for "a partisan attack that sends the wrong message to our troops and the Iraqi people."

One questioner challenged Clinton to explain her vote in late 2002 to authorize the war. She said Congress was "misled" at the time by the President.

"He took the authority that I and others gave him, and he misused it," she said. "And I regret that deeply. And if we had known then what we know now, there never would have been a vote, and I never would have voted to give this President that authority."

Dawn Trettin, 33, and her son Ramon Briones, 18, who has joined the Army, said they liked what they heard from Clinton. Trettin, though, teared up when someone in the crowd told her son not to go to Iraq.

"I don't want to just pull out and leave it in chaos," she said, though she was waiting to make up her mind on whom to vote for next year.

Her son, who said he liked Clinton's depth, was ready to commit after hearing her pitch. "I liked her," he said. "I would vote for her."

Clinton is leading her Democratic rivals in national polls, but she is not the front-runner in Iowa. If Iowa's first-in-the-nation caucus was held now, she would lose to 2004 vice presidential nominee John Edwards. She also trails former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama in state polls.

She completed a two-day swing through the state last night in a bid to close the gap and tried to erase the perception among many Iowans that she can't win, talking to them in small groups in living rooms and by the thousands in large halls.

The reception was strong, and Camp Clinton liked what it saw.

"We are thrilled with the weekend," said Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson.

Clinton also focused on middle-class issues like making college more affordable and obtaining universal health care coverage.

She promised to try to at least get universal coverage for kids during her next two years in the Senate.

Today, she's picking up the war theme theme again in Texas, attending the dedication of Brooke Army Medical Center's $50 million Center for the Intrepid. The 60,000-square-foot physical rehabilitation center is for veterans injured in the war.

Alexander the Great
July, 356 BC–11 June 323 BC
http://en.discuss.takingitglobal.org/thread/19451

Alexander fighting Persian king Darius III. From Alexander Mosaic, from Pompeii, Naples, Museo Archeologico Nazionale.
Place of birth Pella, Macedon
Place of death Babylon (Most probable)Wars of Alexander the Great
Chaeronea – Granicus – Issus – Tyre – Gaugamela – Hydaspes River

Alexander the Great (Greek: É™€É¡ÉøV ?É…€ÉÃÉøÉÀɬɜÉÕV,[1] Megas Alexandros; July 356 BC–June 11, 323 BC), also known as Alexander III, king of Macedon (336–323 BC), was one of the most successful military commanders in history. Before his death, he conquered most of the world known to the ancient Greeks, never losing a battle. Alexander is also known in the Zoroastrian Middle Persian work Arda Wiraz NÇmag as "the accursed Alexander" due to his conquest of the Persian Empire and the destruction of its capital Persepolis. He is known as Eskandar-e Maqduni (Alexander of Macedonia) in Persian, Dhul-Qarnayn (the two-horned one) in Arabic, Alexander Mokdon in Hebrew, and Tre-Qarnayia in Aramaic (the two-horned one, apparently due to an image on coins minted during his rule that seemingly depicted him with the two ram's horns of the Egyptian god Ammon), al-Iskandar al-Kabeer in Arabic, Sikandar-e-azam in Urdu, Skandar in Pashto. Sikandar, his name in Urdu and Hindi, is also a term used as a synonym for "expert" or "extremely skilled".

Following the unification of the multiple city-states of ancient Greece under the rule of his father, Philip II of Macedon (a labour Alexander had to repeat twice because the southern Greeks rebelled after Philip's death), Alexander conquered the Persian Empire, including Anatolia, Syria, Phoenicia, Judea, Gaza, Egypt, Bactria and Mesopotamia and extended the boundaries of his own empire as far as the Punjab. Before his death, Alexander had already made plans to also turn west and conquer Europe. He also wanted to continue his march eastwards in order to find the end of the world, since his boyhood tutor Aristotle told him tales about where the land ends and the Great Outer Sea begins. Alexander integrated foreigners (non-Macedonians, non-Greeks known as the Successors[2]) into his army and administration, leading some scholars to credit him with a "policy of fusion." He encouraged marriage between his army and foreigners, and practiced it himself. After twelve years of constant military campaigning, Alexander died, possibly of malaria, typhoid, or viral encephalitis. His conquests ushered in centuries of Greek settlement and rule over distant areas, a period known as the Hellenistic Age, a combination of Greek and Middle Eastern culture. Alexander himself lived on in the history and myth of both Greek and non-Greek cultures. After his death (and even during his life) his exploits inspired a literary tradition in which he appears as a legendary hero in the tradition of Achilles.
http://en.discuss.takingitglobal.org/thread/19451

Harper's apology 'means the world': Arar, Maher Arar said his innocence has been confirmed by the formal apology Prime Minister Stephen Harper issued to him on Friday.

"This means the world to me," Arar said at a press conference in Ottawa Friday afternoon.
Earlier Friday, Harper apologized and offered a $12.5 million compensation package to Arar and his family for the "terrible ordeal" they suffered after Arar spent nearly a year in a Syrian jail.
"On behalf of the government of Canada, I wish to apologize to you…and your family for any role Canadian officials may have played in the terrible ordeal that all of you experienced in 2002 and 2003," Harper said.

"I sincerely hope that these words and actions will assist you and your family in your efforts to begin a new and hopeful chapter in your lives," he said.
Arar said the apology and package will allow him to finally put his difficulties aside.

"The struggle to clear my name has been long and hard," he said. "I feel now I can put more time into being a good father [to my children], and to being a good husband and to rebuilding my life."
He said he is thankful for the Canadians who supported him and helped him get home. He said he's also grateful to the previous federal Liberal government, which called a inquiry into his case, and the current Conservative government, which is implementing the recommendations of the inquiry.
Arar said he will use the compensation money to contribute to Canadian society.
"This struggle has taught me how important it is to stand up for human rights," he said. "I feel proud as a Canadian and I feel proud of what we've been able to achieve."

Harper, who made the announcement in the foyer of the House of Commons in Ottawa, said the settlement negotiated with Arar includes $10.5 million for pain and suffering along with an estimated $2 million for legal fees.
Arar, a Canadian citizen born in Syria, had been seeking $37 million in compensation and an official government apology.

Initially, Arar had wanted to sue the government for $400 million but later lowered the amount. Harper said the $10.5 million is roughly what Arar would have received through a lawsuit.
Harper also said that Canada has sent letters to the U.S. and Syrian governments to object to Arar's treatment.

"We cannot go back and fix the injustice that occurred to Mr. Arar. However, we can make changes to lessen the likelihood that something like this will ever happen again," he said.
Arar now lives in Kamloops, B.C., but was in Ottawa on Friday to hear the government's announcement.

In 2002, the engineer was living in Ottawa and returning from a vacation when he was arrested during a stopover at New York's JFK Airport. U.S. authorities deported him to Syria, where he was tortured.

Inquiry found Arar had no terrorist links
Ottawa set up a judicial inquiry into the case, led by Justice Dennis O'Connor, after Arar returned to Canada more than a year later.
O'Connor released his report in September 2006, concluding that Arar had no links to terrorist organizations or militants.
He also concluded the RCMP had provided misleading information to the U.S. authorities, which may have been the reason he was sent to Syria.

The government intends to implement the report's recommendations to ensure such an incident does not happen again, Harper said.
Earlier this week, U.S. Ambassador David Wilkins criticized Ottawa's efforts to have Arar removed from a U.S. security watch list, saying Washington alone will decide who to let into the country.
The prime minister said the government will continue to press the U.S. to remove Arar from his watch list.

"We believe the evidence is clear that Mr. Arar has been treated unjustly," Harper said.
The NDP said Friday's apology and settlement was overdue, saying Arar's wife Monia Mazigh should receive credit for pushing the government to acknowledge its role.
"From the beginning, New Democrats, along with countless Canadians from every corner of this country, stood side by side with Ms. Mazigh in her battle to bring her husband home to justice and to his family," said New Democrat MP Alexa McDonough.

A U.S. politician, meanwhile, said Friday after the apology was issued to Arar that it is time for the U.S. to look at its role in the Arar affair. 
Senator Patrick Leahy, a Democrat who represents Vermont, said the U.S. government could have treated Arar differently than it did.
"The question remains why, even if there were reasons to consider him suspicious, the U.S. government shipped him to Syria where he was tortured, instead of to Canada for investigation or prosecution."

Bush Says 'I'm the Decision-Maker' on Iraq, President Bush, on a collision course with Congress over Iraq, said Friday "I'm the decision-maker" about sending more troops to the war. He challenged skeptical lawmakers not to prematurely condemn his plan.

"I've picked the plan that I think is most likely to succeed," Bush said in an Oval Office meeting with senior military advisers.

The president had strong words for lawmakers on both sides of the aisle who are lining up to support resolutions opposing his decision to send 21,500 troops to Iraq. He challenged them to put up their own ideas. "Some are condeming a plan before it's even had a chance to work," he said.

Bush said lawmakers agree that failure in Iraq would be a disaster and that he chose a strategy that he and his advisers thought would help turn the tide in Iraq.

The president met with Army Lt. Gen. David Petraeus, newly confirmed by the Senate to command U.S. troops in Iraq.`I'm the Decision-Maker,' Says Bush on Iraq
He asks skeptical lawmakers not to prematurely condemn his plan.

Senate Seeks a New Strategy in Iraq

Previous 1/4 Next
"My instruction to him was 'Get over to the zone as quickly as possible, and implement a plan that will achieve our goals,'" Bush said.

"You're going into an important battle in the war on terror," he told Petraeus.

During a photo opportunity, Bush was asked about stepped-up activities in Iraq against Iranian activities thought to be fueling the violence.

Bush defended the policy, but said it is no indication that the United States intends to expand the confrontation beyond Iraq's borders.

"That's a presumption that's simply not accurate," Bush said.

But added: "Our policy is going to be to protect our troops. It makes sense."