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BURMA'S BLOODY CRACKDOWN
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LARGEST DEMONSTRATIONS IN 20 YEARS
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TOP:
Monks march towards the Shwedagon pagoda as onlookers join and form a human chain to protect the monks from government forces. BOTTOM: By Sept. 25, an estimated 100,000 had joined the peaceful protests, but in the following days Burma cracked down, killing up to 200 demonstrators and arresting hundreds more. (PHOTOS: Narinjara News, Myo Khin/Mizzima News,
civilian photographer)
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Burma's Buddhist monks have turned an on-going protest against steep hikes in fuel prices into a religious and moral showdown with the country's oppressive military regime. The protests took root September 21, as hundreds of monks, clad in their distinct dark orange robes, marched through a heavy monsoon downpour and flooded streets to the most sacred Buddhist temple, the Shwedagon pagoda.
Five days later, the confrontation turned deadly. A scene unfolded near the pagoda as a group of monks marching down the street were stopped by armed riot police. The men in robes responded in a peaceful gesture, kneeling before their adversaries and asking permission to enter the pagoda. The retort the monks got was a blunt one from a member of the armed riot squad: "We have orders to shoot"
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Lieberman-Kyl amendment designates part of Iran military as terrorist group
Any Iranian role in Iraq war now said to have a "very specific strategic purpose"
Nukes aren't an issue, but if they were, they shouldn't be, 'cause they aren't for you
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2005 execution of Ayaz Marhoni and Mahmoud Asgari, both gay teenagers
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What he meant to say is "we have no (more) gays"
"Gay" is viewed as Western perversion, different from accepted long-term same-sex relationships
Increased poverty, widespread corruption, a breakdown in the rule of law and a paralyzed judiciary
Question if negotiations with "moderates" could actually aid hard-core Taliban
Militants mostly control Afghan border area
"Don't Tase' me, bro!" instantly became catchword for abuse
Bush's party fizzles, although it was meant to trump UN's summit earlier in the week
Bush doesn't even attend summit
After Baghdad firefight that left 8 civilians dead
Was a fixture in Pentagon-escorted Congressional and media tours of Anbar
"No Middle Way" campaign aims to block U.S. pullout
Marine rampage slaughtered 24 civilians, including children as young as 2
Dismisses government, installs unknown as prime minister
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The launching "Brand Petraeus" and providing Bush with some upbeat Iraqi news (Sunnis in al-Anbar Province ally with U.S.) and numbers (violence down in August) were the two necessities of the summer. In July, the celebrity surge general, who had already shown a decided knack on earlier tours of Iraq for wowing the media, was loosed. Petraeus, in turn, loosed all his top commanders to enter vociferously into what previously would have been a civilian debate over U.S. policy and the issue of "withdrawal." This campaign, by the way, represents a significant chiseling away at traditional prohibitions on U.S. military figures entering the American political arena while in uniform.
THE WAR IN IRAQ
POLITICS AS USUAL
