closing the door of the stable down the street

US immigration officials in Southern California have detained hundreds of Iranians and other Muslim men who turned up to register under residence laws brought in as part of the anti-terror drive.

Reports say between 500 and 700 men were arrested in and around Los Angeles after they complied with an order to register by 16 December.

The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) is refusing to say how many people were arrested but said detainees were being held for suspected visa violations and other offences.

The arrests sparked angry protests in Los Angeles by thousands of Iranian-Americans waving banners which read "What's next? Concentration camps?" and "Free our fathers, brothers, husbands and sons".

Official radio in Iran also reported the arrests and the protests, which it said were mounted by families of the detainees who converged on Los Angeles.

Under the new US immigration rules, all male immigrants aged 16 and over from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan and Syria had to register with authorities by Monday unless they had been naturalised as citizens.

Immigrants from other mainly Muslim states have been set later deadlines for registration...

See, what the families don't understand is that this is for all of us. I mean, if this had happened on September 10, 2001

well, the terrorist attacks would have still happened, because we wouldn't have gotten any of the hijackers, because they weren't from those countries. Most of them were Saudis, but for some reason we're not rounding them up.

Never mind.

OK, I am now officially shocked and awed

UMM QASR, Iraq The U.S. military came up with a solution yesterday for the penniless people of this port town begging for water: Sell it.

Despite general mayhem at distribution points - including knife fights - the Army has struck a hasty agreement with local Iraqis to expedite distribution of water to the roughly 40,000 living here.

Under the deal, the military will provide water free to locals with access to tanker trucks, who then will be allowed to sell the water for a "reasonable" fee.

"We're permitting them to charge a small fee for water," said Army Col. David Bassert.

"This provides them with an incentive to hustle and to work," said Bassert, an assistant commander with the 354th Civil Affairs Brigade.

He said he could not suggest what constitutes a reasonable fee and did not know what the truckers were charging. He said the tradition here of haggling at markets would help the system work.

"People know when they're being gouged - we'll deal with it," Bassert said...

...Several Iraqi-Americans originally from this region, who are working as interpreters and guides with the U.S. military, were incensed at what they consider an attempt to jump-start a free-market economy during a crisis.

"This is bull----," said an Iraqi-American who asked to be identified only as Ahmed. "They are selling water and this is crazy. Nobody has any money, nobody knows what is money [to use] - Iraqi money, American money, nobody knows."

A British military spokesman angrily objected to the water deal. The British control the city of Umm Qasr while the Americans are in charge of the port.

"We're not going to have any charging for water. What kind of an aid plan would that be? These people don't even have shoes," the spokesman said.

Ahmed and the others said they had seen fights with fists and knives among desperate locals trying to get water from the truckers.

The reports could not be independently confirmed because a promised military escort for reporters into town never took place.

Officers said the trip was canceled because of widespread clashes between remnants of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's supporters and British troops, although no firing could be heard and the Iraqi-Americans who spent the afternoon in town said no clashes had taken place...


Saddam Hussein has been supplying these people (occasionally) with water by tanker truck.

Who do you think owns the tanker trucks?

Hint: the balls in the pocket thing only works if the people whose hearts and minds you want are still alive.

note: I saw this on someone's blog, but my history file is acting up and I don't remember whose. If you let me know, I'll credit you.

also

I can't seem to get their permalinks to work properly, but digby's post on, um, post-war Iraq (looks like Ms. Bodine is a protege of the neo-cons and she's out) and Very Very Happy's platonic dialogue ad absurdum on the evil french are must-reads.

I'm thinking either "the fog of war" or "big fat lie"

Busy, Busy, Busy watches a piece of propaganda climb out of the NewsMax ooze and reach the airy summits of the Washington Times.

Those muslim terrorists who forced those people in the van into the checkpoint? Didn't happen.

We now return you to your war, already in progress.