We're in Iraq for the oil and we detain illegal immigrants on sight: Who are we?

eek. · Jul 5, 2007

An honest Government, which is definitely a highly unusual and newsworthy subject nowadays.

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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=629 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=3>Australia 'has Iraq oil motive'

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Australia has about 1,500 military personnel in the Gulf

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Australia has admitted that securing oil is a key factor behind its continued troop deployment in Iraq.
It is the first time such an admission has been made, correspondents say.
Defence Minister Brendan Nelson said that maintaining "resource security" in the Middle East was a priority for the government in Canberra.
But he added that the main reason troops were still in the Gulf was to ensure that the humanitarian crisis there did not worsen. 
Australia was involved in the invasion of Iraq in 2003, and has about 1,500 military personnel still deployed in the region. There are no immediate plans to bring them home.
Howard accused
Releasing the government's review of its national security policy, Mr Nelson said that the supply of oil had influenced strategic planning.
"The defence update we're releasing today sets out many priorities for Australia's defence and security, and resource security is one of them," he said.
"Obviously the Middle East itself, not only Iraq but the entire region, is an important supplier of energy, oil in particular, to the rest of the world."
Critics have accused the Australian government of telling lies about Iraq.
Opposition politicians said that back in 2003, Prime Minister John Howard insisted the campaign to oust former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had nothing to do with oil.
They have chastised Mr Howard, accusing him of making up his policy in the Gulf as he goes along.
Anti-war protesters say the government's admission has proved that the US-led invasion was more of a grab for oil rather than a genuine attempt to uncover weapons of mass destruction. But ministers in Canberra have brushed aside the criticism, saying they remain committed to helping the US stabilise Iraq and combat terrorism. They have also stressed that there will be no "premature withdrawal" of Australian forces from the region.
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6272168.stm

eek. · Jul 5, 2007

The libbruls are chipping away at fortress Australia, but it's worth noting
that the number of illegals to Australia was declining.

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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=629 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=3>Tough immigration talk catches on

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</TD><TD vAlign=bottom width=348>By Phil Mercer
BBC correspondent in Sydney

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"We will decide who comes to this country, and the circumstances under which they come" - the uncompromising words of the Australian Prime Minister John Howard, speaking back in November 2001 on the issue of immigration.
His conservative government has a carefully controlled migration system, based on a series of quotas.
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Sudanese children allowed to remain at a Sydney school

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This annual limit is a policy that has been adopted by the Prime Minister's namesake and ideological counterpart in Britain, Michael Howard.
Australia's stance on asylum seekers has also caught the attention of the UK opposition leader.
Anyone arriving in Australia without a proper visa or passport who applies for asylum is automatically locked away while his or her claim is investigated.
Border 'beauty contest'
However, the number of detainees in Australia's network of immigration camps has been slowly declining.
The government points to the success of tough border control measures and the deterrent effect of mandatory detention, which it has justified on health and security grounds.
Critics have branded the policy 'inhumane'.
In Australia, new settlers are split into three categories; those with skills, family reunions and refugees.
This year 13,000 places will be made available for refugees and "others in special humanitarian need".
Economic migrants are the largest group. Most are assessed through a non-discriminatory points system. It is - in effect - a beauty contest for international job seekers.
If you're a young, skilled obstetrician, furniture upholsterer or hairdresser with a good grasp of English then your chances are likely to be good.
Other occupations listed as being particularly in demand are accountants and nurses, jobs worth 60 points.

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Australia demands very high standards of its migrants - perhaps they are too high

Gerard Henderson

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In many ways Australia operates like a big company, recruiting those people it needs, while rejecting those it doesn't.
Arnold Conyer, a specialist in immigration law in Sydney, told BBC News that many applicants face a tough challenge.
"Most people would require 120 points to gain entry to Australia," he said.
"The level is very high at the moment."
Last year more than 110,000 immigrants arrived in Australia, the highest level for a decade.
The largest number came from the United Kingdom, followed by settlers from New Zealand, China and India.
Peter Hendy from the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry said the annual quota should be expanded to 135,000 to maximise the economic benefits.
However, he's argued that overseas workers are not a long-term answer to a shortage of skills in Australia.
"Principally the solution lies within our own population through proper training and making sure skilled workers don't retire too early," he explained to the BBC.
Economic tool
Immigration is clearly seen by the authorities as an important economic tool.
"We've shifted very much to a skilled migration intake", said Australia's Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone, "bringing in people who are under 45, are qualified..and contribute to the Australian economy."
Immigration has been a dominant factor in Australian life for more than half a century.
In that time the population has more than doubled. A quarter of all adult Australians were born overseas and everyone else - apart from aborigines - is related to an immigrant somewhere down the line.
Gerard Henderson from the Sydney Institute told BBC News that the Howard government had done a good job managing immigration but warned that the system may be too rigid.
"Australia demands very high standards of its migrants," he said, "but perhaps they are too high."
Mr Henderson, a former adviser to the prime minister, believes that there's scope for allowing less educated and lower income earners into Australia, especially after unemployment recently hit a 30-year low.
Family reunions are the other major component of the immigration quota.
Applicants can apply to join relatives or partners who are either Australian citizens or permanent residents.
'Heartache' over quota
Critics have said the erosion of this part of the annual intake of migrants in favour of more skilled workers had caused a "huge degree of heartache" for many people.
Ian Rintoul, a spokesman for the Refugee Action Coalition, said that Australia needed to urgently re-assess its immigration policies.
"We could look at a structure which is based upon humanitarian concerns," he insisted, "If we had one that is not based upon the preferred socio-economic profile of the government, we'd have a far better situation."
In Britain, Michael Howard's plans for immigration have proved controversial. In Australia, John Howard has no such worries. Tough talk on asylum seekers has been a vote winner in the past.
Opposition to increased levels of immigration has been muted - for that, veteran conservative Mr Howard can - in part - thank a booming economy. In times of austerity, migrants often bear the brunt of the community's fears and frustrations. This is, however, an age of prosperity for Australia and - for the majority of people here - immigration is not a pressing social or political concern. 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4204915.stm

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Romanowski · Jul 5, 2007

truth is very refreshing

Mike63 · Jul 5, 2007

Sooooooooo STUPID!

WTF do they get for having 1500 shitty dumbass soldiers who do absolutely no fighting!

I say fukk the fukking aussies, give them nothing!

BASEHEAD · Jul 5, 2007

Old news eek

Bush has made the same statements on a variety of occasions.Selective recognition I guess.

Here some news stuff from your boyz.

Al-Qaida video reflects group's troubles

By LEE KEATH, Associated Press Writer2 hours, 22 minutes ago

A new video by al-Qaida's deputy leader Thursday left no doubt about what the terror network claims is at stake in Iraq — describing it as a centerpiece of its anti-American fight and insisting the Iraqi insurgency is under its direct leadership.

But the proclamations by Ayman al-Zawahri carried another unintended message: reflecting the current troubles confronting the Sunni extremists in Iraq, experts said.

The Islamic State of Iraq, the insurgent umbrella group that is claimed by al-Qaida, has faced ideological criticism from some militants, and rival armed groups have even joined U.S. battles against it. A U.S.-led offensive northwest of Baghdad — in one of the Islamic State's strongholds — may have temporarily disrupted and scattered insurgent forces.

"Some of the developments suggest that it (the Islamic State) is more fragile than it was before," said Bruce Hoffman, a Washington-based terrorism expert at the Rand Corp. think tank.

Al-Zawahri "is trying to replenish the Islamic State brand," he said. "It's time to reassert its viability, but how connected to reality that is, is another issue."

In the unusually long video — at just over an hour and a half — al-Zawahri depicted the Islamic State of Iraq as a vanguard for fighting off the U.S. military and eventually establishing a "caliphate" of Islamic rule across the region.

"The Islamic State of Iraq is set up in Iraq, the mujahedeen (holy warriors) celebrate it in the streets of Iraq, the people demonstrate in support of it," al-Zawahri said, "pledges of allegiance to it are declared in the mosques of Baghdad."

He called on Muslims around the world to "support this blessed fledgling mujahid garrison state with funds, manpower, opinion, information and expertise."

But al-Qaida in Iraq — the group that claims allegiance to Osama bin Laden's goals — has been put on the defensive. Some Sunni insurgent groups have publicly split with it, distancing themselves from its bomb attacks on Iraqi civilians and accusing al-Qaida of trying to strong-arm their members into joining.

One influential faction, the 1920 Revolution Brigades, has openly helped U.S. forces in new offensives against al-Qaida in and around Baghdad, and some Sunni tribes have turned against it in western Anbar province.

U.S. forces have focused on al-Qaida-linked fighters in their security clampdowns in Baghdad and so-called "belts" around the city in recent weeks. That has brought an increase in American casualties, but insurgent and militia attacks appear to have fallen.

Still, bloodshed can hit at any time. A car bomb Thursday killed 17 people and wounded 28 when it blasted a photographers' shop in a Shiite part of Baghdad, where a bride and groom were inside getting their wedding photos taken as their relatives and friends waited outside, said an official at the nearest police station.

The bride and groom were among the wounded, with minor injuries, said an official at the hospital where the victims were taken. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press.

North of Baghdad, insurgents attacked an Iraqi police convoy, killing five policemen. Other police in the convoy then opened fire, killing six civilian passers-by, said a police official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the press.

In his video, al-Zawahri did not mention last week's failed car bombing attempts in Britain, which British authorities are investigating for al-Qaida links. That suggested the video, posted Thursday on an Islamic militant Web site, was made before the alerts in London and the airport attack in Glasgow.

But Hoffman said the timing of its release suggested al-Zawahri wanted to use the London attacks to call attention to al-Qaida and portray it as at the head of the global jihad.

The al-Qaida No. 2 laid out a strategy, saying in the near-term militants should target U.S. and Israeli interests "everywhere" in retaliation for "attacks on the Islamic nation" in Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia.

The long-term strategy calls for "diligent work to change these corrupt and corrupting (Arab) regimes." He said Muslims should "rush to the fields of jihad" in Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia "to defeat the enemies of the Islamic nation" and for "training to prepare for the next jihad."

Al-Qaida's declaration of the Islamic State of Iraq last year was a dramatic move aimed at staking out its leadership of Iraq's insurgency. Allying itself with several smaller Iraqi Sunni insurgent groups, it presented the Islamic State as an alternative government within Iraq, claiming to hold territory.

Although groups inspired by al-Qaida have been behind some of the most shocking attacks of the four-year Iraq war — including some against Shiite holy sites — most experts say the fighters comprise only a small part of an insurgency dominated by Iraqi Sunnis.

"The tapes always pretend that everyone is in the al-Qaida column," said Brian Jenkins, a writer and commentator on global terrorism.

He said the al-Qaida leadership's "greatest fear is irrelevance."

Even their declaration of the Islamic State quickly met resistance. Some Islamic extremist clerics in the Arab world said it was too soon to declare an Islamic state because the qualifications were not yet met.

Al-Zawahri dismissed those who refuse to recognize the Islamic State "because it lacks the necessary qualifications" even while he acknowledged it had made unspecified mistakes.

He urged critics to work with the Islamic State "even if we see in it shortcomings," and said Islamic State leaders should "open their hearts" to consultations. "The mujahedeen are not innocent of deficiency, error and slips," he said. "The mujahedeen must solve their problems among themselves."

Rita Katz, director of the SITE Institute, which monitors terrorist-related activity around the world, said she didn't have "any doubt" that al-Qaida in Iraq is linked to bin Laden's network.
"It surely seems today that al-Qaida in Iraq is a branch of al-Qaida's leadership in Afghanistan-Pakistan," she said.

eek. · Jul 5, 2007

old news eek

Followed by a standard Basey/FOX cut and paste :
....al quaeda...drone drone...weapons of mass destruction...drone drone...

"Obviously the Middle East itself, not only Iraq but the entire region, is an important supplier of energy, oil in particular, to the rest of the world."

No mention of Al Kayeeda in there Basey. Just oil.

oil oil oil

BASEHEAD · Jul 6, 2007

Who do you think its being secured against eek?

Heres another c and p from a year and a half ago....Bush will tell you.

Bush gives new reason for Iraq war

Says US must prevent oil fields from falling into hands of terrorists

By Jennifer Loven, Associated Press | August 31, 2005
CORONADO, Calif. -- President Bush answered growing antiwar protests yesterday with a fresh reason for US troops to continue fighting in Iraq: protection of the country's vast oil fields, which he said would otherwise fall under the control of terrorist extremists.
The president, standing against a backdrop of the USS Ronald Reagan, the newest aircraft carrier in the Navy's fleet, said terrorists would be denied their goal of making Iraq a base from which to recruit followers, train them, and finance attacks.
''We will defeat the terrorists," Bush said. ''We will build a free Iraq that will fight terrorists instead of giving them aid and sanctuary."
Appearing at Naval Air Station North Island to commemorate the anniversary of the Allies' World War II victory over Japan, Bush compared his resolve to President Franklin D. Roosevelt's in the 1940s and said America's mission in Iraq is to turn it into a democratic ally just as the United States did with Japan after its 1945 surrender. Bush's V-J Day ceremony did not fall on the actual anniversary. Japan announced its surrender on Aug. 15, 1945 -- Aug. 14 in the United States because of the time difference.
Democrats said Bush's leadership falls far short of Roosevelt's.
''Democratic Presidents Roosevelt and Truman led America to victory in World War II because they laid out a clear plan for success to the American people, America's allies, and America's troops," said Howard Dean, Democratic Party chairman. ''President Bush has failed to put together a plan, so despite the bravery and sacrifice of our troops, we are not making the progress that we should be in Iraq. The troops, our allies, and the American people deserve better leadership from our commander in chief."
The speech was Bush's third in just over a week defending his Iraq policies, as the White House scrambles to counter growing public concern about the war. But the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf Coast drew attention away; the White House announced during the president's remarks that he was cutting his August vacation short to return to Washington, D.C., to oversee the federal response effort.
After the speech, Bush hurried back to Texas ahead of schedule to prepare to fly back to the nation's capital today. He was to return to the White House on Friday, after spending more than four weeks operating from his ranch in Crawford.
Bush's August break has been marked by problems in Iraq.
It has been an especially deadly month there for US troops, with the number of those who have died since the invasion of Iraq in March 2003 now nearing 1,900.
The growing death toll has become a regular feature of the slightly larger protests that Bush now encounters everywhere he goes -- a movement boosted by a vigil set up in a field down the road from the president's ranch by a mother grieving the loss of her soldier son in Iraq.
Cindy Sheehan arrived in Crawford only days after Bush did, asking for a meeting so he could explain why her son and others are dying in Iraq. The White House refused, and Sheehan's camp turned into a hub of activity for hundreds of activists around the country demanding that troops be brought home.
This week, the administration also had to defend the proposed constitution produced in Iraq at US urging. Critics fear the impact of its rejection by many Sunnis, and say it fails to protect religious freedom and women's rights.
At the naval base, Bush declared, ''We will not rest until victory is America's and our freedom is secure" from Al Qaeda and its forces in Iraq led by Abu Musab alZarqawi.
''If Zarqawi and [Osama] bin Laden gain control of Iraq, they would create a new training ground for future terrorist attacks," Bush said. ''They'd seize oil fields to fund their ambitions. They could recruit more terrorists by claiming a historic victory over the United States and our coalition."

Romanowski · Jul 6, 2007

if we are truly worried about securing oil agasint al-quaeda then why do we let the opium grow in afghanistan

production up 2000% since our invasion

which we publicly have said is the way terror is funded

BASEHEAD · Jul 6, 2007

Romanowski said:
if we are truly worried about securing oil agasint al-quaeda then why do we let the opium grow in afghanistan

production up 2000% since our invasion

which we publicly have said is the way terror is funded

Because WE dont control Afghanistan.

Unfortunately theres not much else in the way of a cash crop in Afghanistan and while Im sure some of the proceeds benefit terrorists it also sustains a large % of the countries poor farmers.Very tough situation for the countries leaders.

Poppy production up, life span of Taliban down.