This could strain Chinese-Australian relations a bit:

Quote:


Full article by Paul Maley: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/kevin-rudds-plan-to-contain-beijing/story-fn59niix-1225966044004

Ex Dame Pansi wrote on Dec 6^th, 2010 at 5:16am:


lol lol

None of this will surprise or worry the Chinese.

They, themselves, like to raise the military temperature with the US at every opportunity... At the election of a new US President, at times of political weakness of the US and/or its President.

They're constantly testing the political waters (often implying military force) of foreign will to support Taiwan.

strange allegiance wrote on Dec 6^th, 2010 at 10:03am:


Good. The truth is worth fighting for. It's interesting how in the States, a few Republicans have come out in favour of this while the Dems are quick to condemn it.  Blind Freddy could see that if the President was Republican, that position would be reversed.

Politicians are so predictable.

Saudi Arabia bankrolling terrorists: WikiLeaks


Saudi Arabia is the key source of funding for radical Islamist groups including Al Qaeda, the Taliban and Hamas, according to US diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks.

The leaked documents also brand Qatar and Kuwait as important to militant fundraising because they are notably lax in pursuing locals who donate to the groups.

Saudi Arabia is particularly challenged by policing money transfers during the hajj and umrah pilgrimages, with militants sending agents into the oil-rich kingdom under the cover of pious Muslim pilgrims, the files say.

"Donors in Saudi Arabia constitute the most significant source of funding to Sunni terrorist groups worldwide," said the document, an assessment from US secretary of state Hillary Clinton dated December 30, 2009.

"Saudi Arabia remains a critical financial support base for Al Qaeda, the Taliban, LeT (Lashkar-e-Taiba), and other terrorist groups, including Hamas, which probably raise millions of dollars annually from Saudi sources, often during Hajj and Ramadan."

There was no accusation of official Saudi government support of militants.

The memo credited the Saudis with "significant progress" under US pressure to deal with the issue, especially disrupting Al Qaeda's finance channels.

It said other Gulf states also remain important sources of financing for Islamist militants, singling out Qatar as "the worst in the region" in its cooperation with Washington.

Qatar's approach on militant financing is "largely passive," and its security services "have been hesitant to act against known terrorists" because they fear being seen too close to the United States, it said.

The same document said Kuwait has been "less inclined to take action" on local financiers and facilitators plotting attacks outside the country.

Documents released by WikiLeaks on Sunday and earlier showed the strong push Washington has made on Gulf allies to crack down on money going to the Taliban and LeT in addition to Al Qaeda.

They revealed that Washington thinks private donations from the Gulf are the main source of Taliban funds, and not the narcotics trade.

But the documents suggest that Gulf governments have not paid much attention to the Taliban issue, and are heavily dependent on US intelligence.

The documents depict US officials handing over data on suspected Taliban fund-raisers to Gulf counterparts, who were not aware of the names provided.

In the past two years Riyadh has passed a law and issued an official fatwa, or religious edict, against donating to designated terror groups.

But speaking about militant financing, Saudi officials themselves admit that the annual hajj pilgrimage is "a vacuum in our security," one 2009 document noted.


http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/12/06/3085634.htm?section=justin