Vital Perspective

Companies doing business with sponsors of terror

Thanks to Judith for pointing this out.  The SEC publishes a list of companies that do business with state sponsors of terror .Of course, our so-called friends the Saudis, oil tick sponsors of Wahhabi Islam and Islamist terror, aren't considered a state sponsor of terror by our government, so companies that do business with them aren't listed.  But this list is useful anyway. You can make a difference with your investment decisions and purchase choices - for maximum impact let the companies know why you are taking your business elsewhere.

Companies that do business with Iran

Companies that do business with Sudan

Companies that do business with Syria

Companies that do business with North Korea

UPDATE: Well, look at our spineless political class: Congressional pressure forced SEC to remove the above lists. SEC withdraws list linking companies to terrorism

Within the last week, both the chairman and the ranking Republican member of the House Financial Services Committee had written to the SEC criticizing the list. The chairman, Barney Frank, Democrat of Massachusetts, called the list "unfair and perhaps counterproductive." He said some companies "apparently have investments that are so negligible they could not be considered material either to investors or the economy of the terrorist financing state." The ranking Republican of the committee, Spencer Bachus of Alabama, said "this initiative appears to have been ill-conceived and poorly implemented."

Assad chooses soccer over Pelosi

From the Washington Post ("As any diplomat with knowledge of the region could have told Ms. Pelosi, Mr. Assad is a corrupt thug whose overriding priority at the moment is not peace with Israel but heading off U.N. charges that he orchestrated the murder of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri...Ms. Pelosi's attempt to establish a shadow presidency is not only counterproductive, it is foolish."), to the Syrian Reform Party ("Assad could not have been happier because Syrian women, seeing a US official confirming what their husbands, the Imams in the Mosques tell them, and the society at large imposes on them through peer pressure will see in her wearing a Hijab as a confirmation of the societal pressures they are constantly under. No one will ever know how many women took the Hijab on after seeing Pelosi wearing it. The damage Speaker Pelosi is causing with her visit to Syria will be felt for many years to come."), much has already been written about Pelosi's shameful "photo-ops with dictators" tour of the Middle East. We have one tidbit to add, via the excellent MEMRIBlog: Assad letting Pelosi know exactly where she ranks in his order of priorities: "It is not possible. I cannot meet you today. I have a very important guest from Turkey; and tonight we will watch together a soccer game. I cannot come to Damascus before he leaves. We may meet tomorrow."

Walid Jumblatt is a funny guy

On February 14, 2007 Lebanese Druze Leader Walid Jumblatt had the following to say to Syrian dictator Bashar-Al Assad (aka the opthamologist):   "oh tyrant of Damascus, you ape unknown to nature, you snake from which even the snakes have fled, you whale vomited by the ocean, you wild desert beast, you creature that is only half-man" (he also indulges in the standard Middle East rhetoric by calling him an "Israeli product", which Basher may have found more insulting, but at least he didn't call him a shoe)

In a Feb. 23 interview, Jumblatt decided to apologize...(drumroll.....)

Report: Bush Administration Has Plans to Topple Assad Regime in Damascus

Time magazine says it has obtained a secret document that outlines efforts by President Bush to topple the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad. The plan focuses on providing support for dissidents and groups opposing Assad with the aim of fomenting his downfall. The report sees elections set for March 2007 as "a potentially galvanizing issue" for critics of the regime.

Time reports that because the plan is ultimately a secret effort to influence a foreign government, critics inside the Beltway argue that it requires the White House to inform congressional intelligence committees. That, arguably, would call into question the use of publicly appropriated funds for a covert operation. A key element of the plan focuses on election monitoring. According to the document, "Any information regarding funding for domestic [Syrian] politicians for elections monitoring would have to be protected from public dissemination."

Florida Senator Ignores Warnings Ahead of Meeting with Assad in Damascus

Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) met Syrian President Bashar Assad earlier today, a week after the Iraq Study Group recommended the Bush administration engage Syria to help stabilize Iraq. Nelson was named to the Senate Intelligence Committee this week and said he was on a fact-finding mission to the region.

Members of Congress have shunned Syria since the assassination in neighboring Lebanon of former PM Rafik al-Hariri in February 2005. The State Department and White House both cautioned Nelson over meeting Assad, who supports Hamas and Hezbollah. Later this month, it is expected that Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) will also visit Damascus.

Nelson and Assad discussed instability in Lebanon, Iraq and the Palestinian territories, the official news agency SANA said. "There was mutual interest to activate dialogue and putting in place mechanisms for cooperation," the agency said.

Bush Calls on Syria to Stop Using Hezbollah to Intimidate Siniora Government

President Bush has just released the following statement on Syria and Lebanon through the office of Tony Snow:

The United States supports the Syrian people's desire for democracy, human rights, and freedom of expression. Syrians deserve a government whose legitimacy is grounded in the consent of the people, not brute force.

The Syrian regime should immediately free all political prisoners, including Aref Dalila, Michel Kilo, Anwar al-Bunni, Mahmoud Issa, and Kamal Labwani. I am deeply troubled by reports that some ailing political prisoners are denied health care while others are held in cells with violent criminals.

Syria should disclose the fate and whereabouts of the many missing Lebanese citizens who "disappeared" following their arrest in Lebanon during the decades of Syrian military occupation. The Syrian regime should also cease its efforts to undermine Lebanese sovereignty by denying the Lebanese people their right to participate in the democratic process free of foreign intimidation and interference.

The people of Syria hope for a prosperous future with greater opportunities for their children, and for a government that fights corruption, respects the rule of law, guarantees the rights of all Syrians, and works toward achieving peace in the region.

The meat of this statement is the last sentence in paragraph three, where Bush says that "the Syrian regime should also cease its efforts to undermine Lebanese sovereignty by denying the Lebanese people their right to participate in the democratic process free of foreign intimidation and interference." Translation: Stop using Hezbollah, which has brought Beirut to a standstill for the past thirteen days, to try and overthrow the democratically elected Siniora government.

Trilateral Terror Conference in Damascus: Hamas Leaders Meet With Assad

Palestinian PM Ismail Haniyeh and Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal are meeting in Damascus today with Syrian President Bashar Assad. Several hours ago, Haniyeh said that in all the time he has served as prime minister, he has never acted against Palestinian armed groups or prevented them from carrying out operations, and that his government did not condemn the resistance but embraced it.

Haniyeh emphasized that the Palestinian people would not give up a single grain of the land of Palestine, nor would it relinquish the right of return for Palestinian refugees. He added that Syrian President Bashar Assad had promised him that all Palestinian prisoners would be released from Israeli jails.

Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal added that that the hudna, like violence, was a Palestinian tactic in the conflict with Israel. Even the establishment of a Palestinian state in Gaza and the West Bank will not move Hamas to recognize Israel, as Palestinian lands would still remain "occupied," Mashaal told the Lebanese newspaper Al Safir.

Meanwhile, MediaLine reports that the Israeli media is rife with speculation that the Haniyeh - Meshaal meeting signals that an agreement to return kidnapped soldier Cpl. Gilad Shalit to Israel in return for more than a thousand Palestinians is near. A staged release is expected with Palestinian women and children to be set free before Shalit is returned. The final stage will see hundreds of Palestinian men, many serving long terms for terrorist acts, released.

Palestinian PM Haniyeh in Damascus for Talks with Assad on Unity Government

Palestinian PM Ismail Haniyeh met Syrian President Bashar Assad on Monday to discuss efforts to form a unity government, the official SANA news agency said. "The meeting affirmed the need to support the Palestinian people fully and work on breaking the siege imposed on them," the agency said. "Shoring up Palestinian national unity is also paramount in delicate circumstances such as these."

Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal lives in Syria along with several other high-level members of Hamas, which is locked in a dispute with Fatah over forming a new government. Palestinian politicians say Syria has been gently pushing Hamas to compromise on the government issue, but Hamas leaders say the group is entitled to key positions in the government that reflect its dominance in parliament. On Friday, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said that Hamas was to blame for the failed talks on a Palestinian unity government

Former Secretary Powell Urges U.S. to Engage Diplomatically with Iran, Syria

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell does not believe the U.S. will attack Iran and says Washington should speak to Tehran and Syria. Powell made those remarks during the Leaders in London Business Forum on Thursday. "Iran is a regional power and it will have to be dealt with. We should find ways to speak to them and also speak to the Syrians," he said.

Obviously, Powell does not speak for President Bush anymore, but he could not see any circumstances which would cause a military conflict between the U.S. and Iran. "We all agree that it's not a good thing for Iran to develop their nuclear program if it could develop nuclear weapons, but the United States is not going to attack Iran," he said. Instead, Powell said, the Bush administration would have to work with the UN and Russia to keep Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

Baker Commission to Recommend Israeli Concessions to Entice Syria, Iran

The New York Sun is reporting that it has obtained a confidential memorandum that indicates the Baker-Hamilton Commission will call for concessions by Israel to be the key to enticing Syria and Iran to participate in an international conference on Iraq.

According to the Sun, the revelation comes from Ray Close, a member of the panel's expert advisers, who is an advocate for renewed American diplomacy with Iran and Syria. According to Close, the proposed regional talks would focus on finding "a comprehensive resolution to the Israel-Arab crisis through a process of reasonable compromise and accommodation between Israel and its Arab neighbors."

Jordan's King Abdallah II told his parliament on Tuesday that when he meets with President Bush this week, he will push the American leader to focus more on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which he called the "core" issue in the Middle East.