July 9, 2013 (JUBA) - The editor in chief of one of South Sudans leading independent newspapers blasted the international community on Tuesday, accusing them of sympathising with the governing Sudans Peoples Liberation Movement (SPLM), due to their interest in the countrys oil.
Sounds about right. And even if the West would take a stand (which I doubt), the Chinese would have no problem at all...
"I am worried. These people [South Sudans government] have lost direction. They do not have vision. They do not have any plans," warned Nhial Bol Akeen, editor in chief of The Citizen, an English language newspaper. "I yesterday asked one of the ministers what their plans are with the new oil revenues and he said no plan. They are thinking about new cars and new wives. The future is gloom[y]."
The senior journalist, who has been detained by South Sudans security services on various occasions for his papers criticism of the government, said that top members of the SPLM were planning "to use oil money to buy weapons so that they can kill themselves during [the] 2015 elections".
Bol was speaking at a round table discussion examining the achievements, challenges and plans of the new nation hosted by Radio Miraya FM, which is sponsored by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
He said the international community was reluctant to pressure the government to embrace good governance and adopt transparency and accountability.
The international partners are becoming members of SPLM. They are not neutral. They are supporting their friends."
He recalled that a senior UNMISS "human rights worker was expelled and [the international community] kept quiet."
Bol also said that diplomats were "not putting enough pressure on the government on [the] Jonglei situation. The prisons are ever full and they do not care. They just pass by the prisons as if they are passing by zoo."
The soft stance towards the former rebel movement, which has governed South Sudan since a 2005 peace deal with Khartoum, is "because of the interest in oil" he alleged.
The international community "are not partners at all. They should show independence and put sanction[s] on the senior officials. They should not be allowed to travel.
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07/11/2013 00:00 ||
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GAROWE, Somalia -- The third round of a dialogue process between Somalias Federal Government (SFG) and the countrys separatist region of Somaliland concluded in the Turkish city of Istanbul on Tuesday night, Garowe Online reports.
Among the three points agreed, the SFG and Somaliland are to establish a bilateral control body based in Hargeisa to jointly manage Somalia national airspace, both parties also agreed to continue the dialogue process and to meet once again within the next four months to discuss the remaining points.
According to independent sources in Istanbul, the SFG and Somaliland delegations disagreed on the possibility that future rounds of the dialogue to take place in either Mogadishu or Hargeisa, and also disagreed on the key agenda issue regarding Somaliland's bid for independence.
Puntland region borders Somalilands separatist region in northern Somalia and has fought sporadic territorial conflict with Somaliland over Sool and Sanaag regions for over a decade and Puntland previously declared that any talks between the SFG and Somaliland that excludes Puntland from the talks will not be recognized by the Puntland authorities.
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07/11/2013 00:00 ||
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BAIDOA, Somalia -- Æthiopian troops stationed in Bay region of southern Somalia have began to vacate some districts in the region on Wednesday, Garowe Online reports.
The Æthiopian troops retreated from military bases in Baidoa, such as Hasey factory station and 60th Somali Army base. Moreover, other Bay regional districts of Bardale and Qansahdheere have reported Æthiopian army's pullout.
Eye witnesses in Baidoa told Garowe Online that AMISOM peacekeeping forces filled the military bases vacated by Ethiopian troops. "The Æthiopian forces located here [Baidoa] began to leave several military bases like Hasey factory which has been their largest station for over a year and the forces left with their armored vehicles," witnesses said.
Witnesses reported that Somali government forces took over bases vacated by Æthiopian troops in Bardale and Qansahdheere districts of Bay region.
The officials of Somali Federal Government and Ethiopian government are yet to comment on the withdrawal and the recent move would be part of Æthiopian government's plan to pull its troops out of Somalia, which commenced after a two-day trip to Baidoa by Somali Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon, who returned to Mogadishu on Tuesday.
Æthiopian government has reiterated several times before that it will withdraw its troops from Somalia's Bay region which it liberated from Al Qaeda linked Al Shabaab militants in February 2012. In March 2013, Æthiopian troops vacated Bakool regional capital of Huddur which was quickly seized by Al Shabaab militants, who were unable to retake Baidoa due to the presence of AMISOM forces.
Æthiopian troops intervened in southern Somalia in Dec. 2006 and withdrew by Jan. 2009, but returned to Gedo, Bay, Bakool, Hiran and Galgadud border regions in early 2012 in support of Somali government's stabilization operations.
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07/11/2013 00:00 ||
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Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/11/2013 8:24 Comments ||
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#2
F16 is an air to air battle ship. The only people that the Muslim Bros or the Egyption Army would do air to air battle with are our Israeli allies, aka Hussein and Reverand Wright's nemisis.
F16s have been used as fighter-bombers for the better part of thirty years, and although the design evolved out of an air superiority frame, the delivered plane was decisively "multirole". The Israeli airstrike on Osirak, for instance, was made by F-16 fighter-bombers with F-15s flying cover.
only people that the Muslim Bros or the Egyption Army would do air to air battle with are our Israeli allies
The Egyptians have fought two wars in the thirty years since the October or Yom Kippur War, against the Libyans and Iraqis respectively. On the other hand, the Muslim Brotherhood had been talking wildly about waging war against the Ethiopians a few weeks before the coup, a display of irrationality and impracticality which couldn't have impressed the military and may have contributed to the environment in which they decided to cut Morsi loose.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
07/11/2013 14:52 Comments ||
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[Ynet] The Egyptian army will ask Israel for approval to launch a large counterterrorist offensive against Islamic gunnies in the lawless Sinai Peninsula, violating the peace treaty between the two countries, the British Times reports.
According to the report, jihadist groups have exploited the political crisis in Cairo by attacking Egyptian and Israeli targets in Sinai over recent days. As part of the Egyptian operation, thousands of troops will be sent into the region to crush the threat from terrorists, including al-Qaeda affiliates.
[AnNahar] Kuwait offered Egypt on Wednesday an aid package of $4 billion, a minister said, bringing to $12 billion the total pledges by Gulf monarchies to Cairo since the army ousted Islamist president Mohammed Morsi last week.
"The council of ministers has approved an urgent aid package to our brothers in Egypt following instructions from the emir," State Minister for Cabinet Affairs Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah al-Sabbah said, according to the official KUNA news agency.
The Kuwaiti package includes a grant of $1 billion, a deposit of $2 billion at Egypt's central bank, in addition to oil and oil products worth $1 billion, Sheikh Mohammad said.
He said the $1 billion worth of oil and products will be also given as a grant.
The United Arab Emirates and Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... pledged on Tuesday aid packages of $3 billion and $5 billion, respectively.
Egypt's army last week forced Morsi out of office after days of protests against his one-year rule. The three oil-rich Gulf states welcomed the move and hailed the army.
Twelve billion dollars in aid from Egypt's wealthy Gulf allies have bought Cairo a window of several months to try and stabilize its politics and repair its state finances - or face fresh economic turmoil.
John Sfakianakis, chief investment strategist at MASIC, a Riyadh-based investment firm, estimated the $8 billion in aid from Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... and the UAE could give Egypt a breathing space of four to six months. On top of that, Kuwait has since pledged a further $4 billion.
[AnNahar] Libya's interior ministry reopened Wednesday after being forced to close for more than a week by gunnies demanding the dissolution of an ex-rebel force attached to the ministry, a front man told Agence La Belle France Presse.
"The interior ministry is working normally and the staff have resumed their posts," said Hussein al-Amari of the ministry's information bureau.
A group of gunnies entered the buildings on Tuesday last week, asking staff to leave and threatening to use their weapons.
They closed off the entrances to the ministry with mounds of sand, and demanded the dissolution of the supreme security committees, militias made up of former rebels who fought to topple former dictator Muammar Qadaffy ...Proof that a madman with money will be politely received for at least 42 years until his people get tired of him and kill him... in 2011.
A ministerial committee responsible for emptying Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... of armed militias negotiated the interior ministry's reopening, Libyan news agency LANA reported, without elaborating.
The head of the ministerial committee said that an investigation would be launched "to shed light on this incident," adding that a report would be prepared on damage done to the buildings.
Libya's transitional government formed supreme security committees across the country to maintain security following the fall of Qadaffy's regime in October 2011.
The authorities decided in December to dissolve the committees, but the former rebels themselves blocked the move.
Hailing from various parts of the country and representing different tribes and with varying ideologies, members of the committees have received salaries and perks from the authorities, and some have even benefited from smuggling and extortion.
The new authorities are battling to establish military and security institutions capable of restoring law and order and state authority in the face of the militiamen.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
07/11/2013 00:00 ||
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Acknowledging the difficulty of squaring U.S. law with national security priorities in dealing with the military overthrow of Egypt's president, the Obama administration said Tuesday it was encouraged by a proposal from the country's interim government to restore democratically elected civilian leadership.
Doing everything they can to avoid calling it a 'coup'...
While insisting that they have not taken sides in the crisis that has enveloped Egypt over the past week, U.S. officials expressed satisfaction with the plan and urged all Egyptians to take advantage of the opportunity it presents to draft and vote on a new constitution, parliament and president over the next several months. At the same time, the White House conceded it was struggling to deal with "the elephant in the room," which is balancing a legal requirement to cut off U.S. aid to countries where coups occur and the national security importance of supporting Egypt's military.
The administration thus far has refused to describe deposed President Mohammed Mursi's ouster as a coup, saying it is still undergoing a legal review. Officials also have said the administration has no plans to suspend the $1.5 billion in annual assistance the U.S. provides to Egypt. Of that total, $1.3 billion is direct military aid.
"There's an elephant in the room here," White House press secretary Jay Carney said Tuesday. "It is in our national interest, the best interests of the United States and the best interests, in our view, of our goal of assisting the Egyptian people in their transition to democracy to take the time necessary to evaluate the situation before making such a determination."
You knew if he tried long enough Jay Carney could finally say something that made sense. This might be his one and only time.
In the meantime, Carney said the administration wanted to work with all sides to ensure that "a dangerous level of political polarization" that exists now in Egypt gives way to "reconciliation." To that end, he said Washington was broadly supportive of the transition plan presented to the Egyptian people for their consideration.
"We are cautiously encouraged by the announcement by the interim government that it has a potential plan for moving forward with a democratic process and elections, both parliamentary and presidential, and we think that's a good thing," Carney said. "We call on all parties to engage in a dialogue about that process and not to refuse to participate, because we believe (that) the best hope for resolving this crisis is through a process that is inclusive and in which everyone participates."
Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood, which won Egypt's first-ever democratic elections, already has rejected the proposal from the military-selected interim president that calls for rewriting the constitution, holding a referendum on it within four months and followed by parliamentary elections in six months. The new parliament then would have a week to set a date for new presidential elections.
The White House and State Department both urged the Muslim Brotherhood to reverse course and take part in the process but declined to respond to the group's complaint that it already had participated in and won a free and fair election, the results of which were voided by a military intervention.
"We will continue to encourage the Muslim Brotherhood, leaders from that group, to participate in the process," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said. "We know this is not going to be an easy process, but that's what we'll continue to encourage."
Psaki could not say whether any U.S. government official had contacted or tried to make contact with Mursi since President Barack Obama called him late last Monday to urge him to address the grievances of millions of demonstrators protesting his increasingly autocratic rule. The military removed Mursi from power on Wednesday and then placed him under house arrest along with other Muslim Brotherhood leaders.
Psaki said Secretary of State John Kerry had spoken by phone on Monday with Egypt's defense minister, Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, and pro-democracy leader Mohamed ElBaradei, who was selected to be interim vice president on Tuesday.
At the Pentagon, an official said Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel spoke for the fifth time in six days with El Sissi on Tuesday as part of what has been almost daily effort to encourage the Egyptian military to reduce the violence and make a quick transition to a civilian government. The official said the frequent conversations were an attempt to set a defined rhythm of communications with the Egyptian leaders.
On Monday, after Egyptian security forces killed 51 people demonstrating in support of Mursi, the U.S. called for the military to exercise "maximum restraint."
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07/11/2013 00:00 ||
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Egypt on Wednesday appointed a new public prosecutor after the resignation of his controversial predecessor, a judicial source said.
The Supreme Judicial Council decided to approve the nomination of Hisham Barakat, the source told AFP, adding that Abdel Meguid Mahmud had resigned on Tuesday.
The controversial former prosecutor had said on Friday that he would step down, days after being reinstated, citing possible conflicts of interest in future prosecutions.
A longtime prosecutor under former dictator Hosni Mubarak, Mahmud was sacked by now deposed president Mohamed Mursi in November as part of a decree in which the Islamist head of state granted himself sweeping powers. The decree was eventually repealed under intense pressure from street protests, but the decisions stemming from it were protected by the constitution that was passed in December.
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[AnNahar] A Nigerian minister tasked with talking to Boko Haram ... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality... claimed Wednesday that he was in ceasefire negotiations with the Islamist bad turbans, but doubts persisted that a peace pact could be secured.
There have been previous claims of peace talks between the government and the myrmidons, but the negotiations, if they did indeed occur, failed to quell the violence.
Nigeria's government and military have regularly been accused of spreading false information regarding the insurgency.
The fresh claim of ceasefire talks came as the Mohammedan holy month of Ramadan began.
It also follows an attack on a secondary school in the northeast on Saturday by alleged Boko Haram members that left 42 people dead, almost all of them students.
Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, a cabinet minister and chair of a presidential panel tasked with exploring an amnesty offer for bad turbans, told journalists he was dealing with credible Boko Haram members, authorized to negotiate by bad turban leader Abubakar Shekau.
"We have been speaking to the proper people," Turaki said after a cabinet meeting in the capital Abuja.
Reports of the alleged talks emerged Monday when Turaki told Radio La Belle France International's Hausa language service that Boko Haram had "agreed to lay down arms".
On Wednesday, he said the two sides "are still working on the framework" of a ceasefire.
Defense front man Brigadier General Chris Olukolade was not available to comment, but he was quoted Wednesday in This Day newspaper as saying the military was "not aware of any ceasefire".
Turaki claimed to be negotiating with "somebody who is second-in-command as far as Boko Haram is concerned".
"He has been discussing with us with the full knowledge and authority of Imam Abubakar Shekau...We have done checks on him."
The man has been identified as Mohammed Marwan. He told RFI that Boko Haram was "asking for forgiveness from the society for people killed".
In his video messages, Shekau has never voiced contrition, but instead showed defiance while insisting the group's killings were justified. He has also warned against impostors seeking to represent the group.
A professor at the northern Ahmadu Bello University who has closely followed the Boko Haram insurgency, Abubakar Siddique Mohammed, told Agence La Belle France Presse he has doubts that a ceasefire is realistic.
"I don't know who they are talking to...They need to show that the man they are discussing with actually represents Shekau," he said.
Boko Haram has said it is fighting to create an Islamic state in Nigeria's mainly Mohammedan north as part of its insurgency that has left 3,600 people dead, including killings by the security forces.
A sweeping military offensive launched in Nigeria's northeast in mid-May has been seeking to end the four-year insurgency, but the violence has continued.
Nigeria has released women and kiddies held in connection with the insurgency as a peace gesture amid the offensive.
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[Ynet] Daily Telegraph says analysts who examined satellite images from surface-to-surface missile base deep in Saudi desert spotted two launch pads with markings pointing north-west towards Tel Aviv and north-east towards Tehran
Photo at link, for those of you interested in such things.
Satellite images indicate that Saudi Arabia has deployed ballistic missiles that are pointed towards Israel and Iran, the Daily Telegraph reported Wednesday evening.
According to the report, images analyzed by experts at IHS Jane's Intelligence Review have revealed an undisclosed surface-to-surface missile base deep in the Saudi desert, with capabilities for hitting both countries.
The British daily said analysts who examined the photos spotted two launch pads with markings pointing north-west towards Tel Aviv and north-east towards Tehran. They are designed for Soddy Arabia's arsenal of lorry-launched DF 3 missiles, which have a range of 1,500-2,500 miles and can carry a two-ton payload, the experts said.
The report said the base believed to have been built within the last five years, gives an insight into Saudi strategic thinking at a time of heightened tensions in the Gulf.
The newspaper mentioned that while Soddy Arabia does not have formal diplomatic relations with Israel, it has long maintained discreet back channel communications as part of attempts to promote stability in the region.
"The two countries also have a mutual enemy in Iran, though, which has long seen Saudi Arabia as a rival power in the Gulf. Experts fear that if Iran obtains a nuclear weapon, Saudi Arabia would seek to follow suit," the report said.
According to The Telegraph, analysts at IHS Jane's believe that the kingdom is currently in the process of upgrading its missiles, although even the DF3, which dates back to the 1980s, is itself potentially big enough to carry a nuclear device.
The report said the missile base, which is at al-Watah, around 125 miles south-west of the Saudi capital, Riyadh, was discovered during a project by IHS Jane's to update their assessment of Saudi Arabia's military capabilities.
The missiles are stored in an underground silo built into a rocky hillside. To the north of the facility are two circle-shaped launch pads, both with compass-style markings showing the precise direction that the launchers should fire in, according to the report.
The Telegraph noted that the Chinese-made missiles, which date back to the 1980s, are not remotely-guided and therefore have to be positioned in the direction of their target before firing.
"One appears to be aligned on a bearing of approximately 301 degrees and suggesting a potential Israeli target, and the other is oriented along an azimuth (bearing) of approximately 10 degrees, ostensibly situated to target Iranian locations," said the IHS Jane's article cited in the report.
Robert Munks, deputy editor of IHS Jane's Intelligence Review, was quoted by The Telegraph as saying: "Our assessment suggests that this base is either partly or fully operational, with the launch pads pointing in the directions of Israel and Iran respectively. We cannot be certain that the missiles are pointed specifically at Tel Aviv and Tehran themselves, but if they were to be launched, you would expect them to be targeting major cities.
"We do not want to make too many inferences about the Saudi strategy, but clearly Saudi Arabia does not enjoy good relations with either Iran or Israel," he said.
David Butter, an associate fellow with the Middle East and North Africa program at Chatham House, the London-based foreign affairs think-tank, said there was "little surprise" that the Saudis had the missiles in place.
"It would seem that they are looking towards some sort of deterrent capability, which is an obvious thing for them to be doing, given that Iran too is developing its own ballistic missiles," he said.
He added, though, that the Saudis would know that the site would come to the attention of foreign intelligence agencies, and that the missile pad pointed in the direction of Israel could be partly just for "for show."
"It would give the Iranians the impression that they were not being exclusively targeted, and would also allow the Saudis to suggest to the rest of the Arab world that they still consider Israel a threat," he said.
#1
not "remotely controlled". So? Missiles of this sort have a target programmed in and use inertial or GPS for guidance and get themselves to the target. I imagine radical manuvering isn't possible, so they'd want to be launched generally in the right direction.
Or they're giant Katyushas.
Posted by: Richard Aubrey ||
07/11/2013 7:57 Comments ||
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#2
The missiles are stored in an underground silo built into a rocky hillside. To the north of the facility are two circle-shaped launch pads, both with compass-style markings showing the precise direction that the launchers should fire in,
Pretty crude means of targeting, for modern missiles.
That's not a standard means, there's no guidance other than "Point and shoot", piss poor.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/11/2013 8:23 Comments ||
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#3
Pretty crude means of targeting, for modern missiles.
For show and tell, it's adequate. The days of using Western Union to send a message is well past.
Subtext is - The gang in Washington is a bunch of amateurs and we're looking to our own devices to deal with the world around us.
#4
Follow hwy 5611 to an auxiliary airfield (24 13' 57" N. / 44 41' 55" E). The "aiming circles" BS, the roads to them are substandard. Lots of other "interesting" things to see in the area.
[AnNahar] Qatar, a key supporter of Islamists who rose to power in Arab Spring countries, is losing ground in regional politics to Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... which appears to have seized the reins on key issues, notably Egypt and Syria.
The decline in Qatar's regional diplomacy comes as its powerful emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani unexpectedly abdicated in favor of his son Tamim last month.
The wealthy Gulf state had transformed itself into a key regional player but began to retreat as heavyweight Saudi Arabia re-entered the political arena after lagging behind in the immediate period following the eruption of the Arab Spring uprisings in December 2010.
The ouster of Egypt's Islamist president Mohammed Morsi last week by the army and the election by the Syrian opposition of Saudi-linked Ahmad Assi Jarba as new leader stripped Qatar of strong influence in both countries.
"Qatar had tried to take a leading role in the region but overstepped its limits by openly backing the Moslem Brüderbund in Egypt, Syria, and other Arab Spring states," said Kuwaiti political analyst Ayed al-Manna.
Jonathan Eyal, head of international relations at Britannia's Royal United Services Institute, argued that Qatar's regional politics have failed.
"Qatar's Middle Eastern diplomacy now lies in ruins: it failed to produce dividends in Libya, backfired in Syria and has now collapsed in Egypt."
"Qatar's Middle Eastern diplomacy now lies in ruins: it failed to produce dividends in Libya, backfired in Syria and has now collapsed in Egypt," local Emirati daily The National quoted him on Tuesday as saying.
Realizing the damaging effects of their policies, Manna noted, "the Qataris sought to cut down on their commitments" which were already affected by the emir's abdication and the sidelining of the influential prime minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jabr al-Thani.
As a result, "Saudi Arabia, a historical regional U.S. ally, regained its role" in coordination with other oil-rich Gulf monarchies, said Manna.
Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah was the first foreign head of state to congratulate Egypt's interim president Adly Mansour, hours after he was named to replace Morsi.
And on Tuesday, the kingdom pledged $5 billion in assistance to Egypt. The United Arab Emirates, which has cracked down on the Moslem Brüderbund in the past few months, offered Egypt an aid package of $3 billion.
"Saudi Arabia wants to ensure stability in Arab Spring countries, regardless of its ideological interests," said analyst Abdel Aziz al-Sagr, head of the Gulf Research Center.
"It had supported the Moslem Brüderbund in Egypt but reconsidered this support after the Brotherhood failed to run the country wisely," he argued.
But the Saudi researcher downplayed the rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Qatar, both of which have been looking to expand their influence during the Arab Spring uprisings and prevent any potential revolt against their own autocratic regimes.
"The Saudi-Qatari harmony still exists and there is no battle for influence between the two countries," said Sager. And as proof, "Riyadh was the first to be informed of the political change in Qatar, six months before it took place. And it welcomed it."
But the two countries, whose relations have been historically tense or at least marked by mistrust, support two different approaches of political Islam that emerged strongly in the wake of the Arab Spring.
Qatar sides with political parties linked to the Moslem Brüderbund, whose experience was cut short despite the strong media support they enjoyed from the influential Doha-based Al-Jazeera ... an Arab news network headquartered in Qatar, notorious for carrying al-Qaeda press releases. The name means the Peninsula, as in the Arabian Peninsula. In recent years it has settled in to become slightly less biased than MSNBC, in about the same category as BBC or CBS... news channel.
Meanwhile, ...back at the shouting match, the spittle had reached unprecedented levels... Saudi Arabia promotes Salafist groups that focus less on politics and more on implementing Shariah Islamic law on daily life matters such as forcing women to wear a veil and prohibiting the mixing between sexes.
King of the Arabians, Sheikh of the Burning Sands Abdullah ... Fifth out of 37 sons of King Abdulaziz to ascend to the throne. He is, after his half-brothers Bandar and Musa'id, the third eldest of the living sons of Abdul Aziz ibn Saud. Abdullah's mother is from the Rashid clan, longtime rivals of the Saud. He has 6 sons and 15 daughters and about $20 billion. His youngest son is just seven years old... has reiterated his country's stance against using Islam for political purposes.
"Islam rejects divisions in the name of one party or another," he said in a statement marking the start Wednesday of the Moslem holy month of Ramadan. The kingdom will never accept" the presence of political parties, that "only lead to conflict and failure."
But regardless of the political agendas of Saudi Arabia or Qatar, the people who rose up during the Arab Spring revolts will have the final word on their own political futures, argued former Bahraini cabinet minister Ali Fakhro.
"It is the Arab people, not Qatar nor Saudi Arabia, who will determine the political future of the region."
#3
some of this is due to a change in Qatar's govt
a week or so ago Tamim bin Hamad formally took over from his father (Hamad bin Khalifa) and for some time before that the son's priorities were being entrained into policies
word is that Tamin is concerned about finances (he headed the qatar investment authority and may have learned something) and even though Tamin is close to the Moslem Brotherhood, he was planning to curb their subsidy
Posted by: lord garth ||
07/11/2013 11:06 Comments ||
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North Korea on Wednesday abruptly proposed talks about resuming package tours to Mt. Kumgang and reunions of families separated by the Korean War. The offer came when delegates from both Koreas met in the North Korean border city of Kaesong to discuss reopening the industrial complex there.
The Norks sound .. desperate. The South should smile, say nothing, and wait for the next concession.
The Unification Ministry said the North proposed talks in Mt. Kumgang on July 17 to discuss resuming the package tours and Red Thingy Cross talks on July 19 either in Mt. Kumgang or Kaesong to discuss the family reunions.
After consultation with their superiors in Seoul, the South Korean delegates accepted only the proposal for the talks about the family reunions and suggested they be held in the truce village of Panmunjom. They said it would be too soon to discuss resuming the Mt. Kumgang tours before the question of reopening the Kaeong Industrial Complex has been solved.
Some in the government suspect that the sudden charm offensive from North Korea may have an ulterior motive. The North is keen to mitigate the impact of international sanctions and earn hard currency by any means possible.
Or they're tired of eating tree bark soup...
Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Hyung-suk merely said, "We hope the North will become a trustworthy dialogue partner and a responsible member of the international community."
Meanwhile, the North warned the South in a separate message around 7 p.m. Wednesday that it is about to discharge water from a sluicegate at the Yesong River power plant to control water levels. On several previous occasions the North has discharged water downriver to South Korea without warning.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/11/2013 00:00 ||
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More fallout from the smartest diplomats in the room.
[AnNahar] German Chancellor Angela Merkel ...current chancellor of Germany. She was educated in East Germany when is was still run by commies, but in 1989 got involved with the growing democracy movement when the Berlin Wall fell. Merkel is sometimes referred to by Germans as Mom... on Wednesday defended the role of secret services in keeping populations safe, but also said she only learnt of the U.S.-run PRISM surveillance program through media reports.
In her most detailed comments yet on the snooping and spying claims made by runaway former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, she also stressed that the United States remained "Germany's most faithful ally".
Merkel, who grew up in the former East Germany, also strongly rejected the idea that the U.S. National Security Agency's activities could be compared to those of the communist state's despised Stasi secret police.
"For me there is absolutely no comparison between the State Security of the GDR (German Democratic Republic) and the work of the intelligence services in democratic countries," she told the news weekly Zeit.
"They are two completely different things, and such comparisons only lead to a trivialization of what the State Security did with people in the GDR," she said in pre-released excerpts from the interview.
"The work of intelligence services in democratic states has always been vital to the safety of citizens and will remain to be so in future. A country without intelligence work would be too vulnerable," she said.
Earlier this week, a German artist had projected the message "United Stasi of America" onto the facade of the U.S. embassy in Berlin.
Merkel added that safeguarding a country against terrorist attacks would "be impossible without the option of monitoring telecommunications".
The chancellor, who faces elections on September 22, had previously said little about the Snowden claims, which have angered many in Germany, which with its Nazi and GDR history is especially sensitive to government surveillance.
After reports that the U.S. had also bugged European missions, Merkel had said -- first through her front man, later in person -- that, if confirmed, this would be "unacceptable" and that "we are not in the Cold War anymore".
This week a German delegation has traveled to Washington to seek greater clarity on the surveillance, including the PRISM program to monitor emails, online chats, pictures, files and videos uploaded by foreign users.
Merkel, asked whether she personally reads German intelligence reports, told the newspaper: "It has been the case for a long time that a coordinator inside the chancellery is responsible for the federal intelligence services, either a minister of state or the chief of staff."
Members of the terrorist group, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) have not completely left Turkey, Turkish Interior Minister Muammer Guler was quoted today by Sabah newspaper as saying. The minister said that anyone who will try to sabotage the process of the PKK withdrawal will suffer.
Previously, imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan urged the members of the organization to lay down arms and leave Turkey. Turkish authorities promised to create conditions for a safe withdrawal of all PKK militants who laid down arms.
Militants of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party began to leave Turkey on May 8.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/11/2013 00:00 ||
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Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated Wednesday that it was Turkey's mission was to stand against military coups for "Turkey was a nation which grew up with military coups", Anadolu Agency reported.
Speaking at a fast breaking dinner hosted by a civil servants' union in Ankara, Erdogan reiterated his country's strong opposition against the military coup in Egypt.
"A political power which received 52 percent of popular vote has been toppled with tanks," he said of last week removal of Egypt first democratically elected President Mohammad Morsi from office.
He sounds a little nervous...
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/11/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
He ought to be. They are due one. Erdogan clearly over-stepped.
BTW 52% of the popular vote does not a republic make.
#3
Erdogan was clever enough to purge the Army, he may totter thru. Missed his main chance IMHO at the start of the Syrian Civil War, he could have been a contenda.
Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani yesterday warned that homegrown jihadist terrorists such as the Fort Hood shooter and Boston bombers are avoiding detection because political correctness hamstrings law-enforcement agencies.
We have to purge ourselves of the practice of political correctness, he told the House Homeland Security Committee at a hearing on the evolving post-9/11 terrorist threat. You cant fight an enemy you dont acknowledge.
He mocked the Obama administrations description of Army Maj. Nidal Hassans shooting spree at Fort Hood as workplace violence.
In an initiative aimed at rooting out future leakers and other security violators, President Barack Obama Ready to Rule from Day One... has ordered federal employees to report suspicious actions of their colleagues based on behavioral profiling techniques that are not scientifically proven to work, according to experts and government documents.
The techniques are a key pillar of the Insider Threat Program, an unprecedented government-wide crackdown under which millions of federal bureaucrats and contractors must watch out for "high-risk persons or behaviors" among co-workers. Those who fail to report them could face penalties, including criminal charges. Obama mandated the program in an October 2011 executive order after Army Pfc. Bradley Manning downloaded hundreds of thousands of documents from a classified computer network and gave them to WikiLeaks, the anti-government secrecy group. Which could have been prevented had Manning been properly screened and vetted for his security clearance, and had his chain of command been more concerned about his erratic behavior than in "not leaving a personnel gap" ...
The order covers virtually every federal department and agency, including the Peace Corps, the Department of Education and others not directly involved in national security.
Under the program, which is being implemented with little public attention, security investigations can be launched when government employees showing "indicators of insider threat behavior" are reported by co-workers, according to previously undisclosed administration documents obtained by McClatchy. Investigations also can be triggered when "suspicious user behavior" is detected by computer network monitoring and reported to "insider threat personnel." Federal employees and contractors are asked to pay particular attention to the lifestyles, attitudes and behaviors -- like financial troubles, odd working hours or unexplained travel -- of co-workers as a way to predict whether they might do "harm to the United States." Managers of special insider threat offices will have "regular, timely, and, if possible, electronic, access" to employees' personnel, payroll, disciplinary and "personal contact" files, as well as records of their use of classified and unclassified computer networks, polygraph results, travel reports and financial disclosure forms.
Over the years, numerous studies of public and private workers who've been caught spying, leaking classified information, stealing corporate secrets or engaging in sabotage have identified psychological profiles that could offer clues to possible threats. Administration officials want government workers trained to look for such indicators and report them so the next violation can be stopped before it happens.
ALAM: In the past few years, Swat valley has been occupied by insurgents, undergone a bruising counter-offensive by the army and then flooded by waters that washed away acres of fruit orchards and steeply terraced fields.
In October last year, the valley which lies about 250 km north of Islamabad was again in the global spotlight when gunmen shot schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai. Now, as villagers try to piece together shattered lives, the military is coming under pressure to talk peace with the Taliban, a ruthless Pakistani offshoot of the radical movement of the same name in neighbouring Afghanistan.
Civilian Pakistani leaders elected in May want to open a dialogue with the homegrown militants set on overthrowing the nuclear-armed state. They say the local people are fed up with the violence and that any talks will be legitimised by US efforts to promote peace with the Afghan Taliban. But the powerful military, which has spent years chasing the Pakistan Taliban into ever-more remote hideouts, is in no mood to negotiate with militants who have killed thousands of soldiers and who they say cannot be trusted. Some villagers back that stand.
(The Taliban) doesnt accept the governments writ, they are not faithful to the constitution, how can a political party talk to them? said Abdul Rehman, an elder in the village of Kalam, a former tourist hotspot high in the Swat valley and ringed by snow-capped peaks of the Hindu Kush. The village is famous for repelling Taliban attacks. We forced them away, first on our own, then with the help of the army, Rehman told Reuters during a visit organised by a UN organisation funding flood relief work in his village, which is set among pine forests and walnut orchards.
The debate over whether to open peace talks with the Pakistani Taliban has taken centrestage in the country as US troops withdraw from Afghanistan after a 12-year war against the Afghan Taliban. Pakistans military leaders are at pains to distinguish between the Afghan Taliban, to which Pakistan maintains ties and which they argue can be seen as fighting against occupation, and its local imitators who they see as domestic terrorists.
The Pakistani Taliban pledges allegiance to Mullah Mohammad Omar, the reclusive leader of the Afghan Taliban but Omar is careful not to be seen to attack the Pakistani state. The Pakistani Talibans suddenly sacked its spokesman on Tuesday amid signs of strained ties between the groups. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his prominent rival Imran Khan both offered to talk to the Pakistani militants while campaigning for Mays federal and provincial elections. While Nawaz won the federal elections, Imrans party emerged victorious in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the province that includes Swat Valley and remains a hotbed of Pakistani Taliban activity.
The information minister in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa told Reuters that the provincial government had called a meeting of other political parties and stakeholders to prepare for peace talks. The United States has opened up a Taliban office in Qatar and is holding negotiations with them, and we are being told to continue to fight and die, Khan said last month during a visit to Peshawar, the provinces violence-blighted capital. For the last nine years we have relied on the army to bring peace, but instead the situation got worse, he said. Its now time for politicians to resolve the issue.
Imrans party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), says the violence in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is a reaction to US drone strikes and pro-Washington policies by the army, and that talks are the only answer. But there is no easy solution. Most of the militants seek refuge in the neighbouring Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) - districts strung along Pakistans border with Afghanistan and run by central writ - and the provincial government cannot control the process.
FATA is used as a base by the Pakistani Taliban, members of the Afghan Taliban and groups linked to al Qaeda. Nawazs federal government can only do so much. Pakistans military largely has a free hand regarding internal security, and influences foreign policy, especially relations with neighbours. It is the army, its intelligence agencies and the Taliban itself who will decide whether to talk or fight.
The Pakistani Taliban has shown interest in talks, but has stepped up attacks after a series of drone strikes on its leaders and also because it doubts the ability of the civilian leadership to convince the military to allow negotiations. If we felt that the PTI government or the Nawaz Sharif government were in a position to take a serious step towards peace talks and can oppose the intelligence agencies, then we can seriously think about peace talks, the groups then spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan said in a video released in June.
So far, the military has shown no inclination to relax an offensive many officers feel they can win. We have to take the fight to them, said a regional commander flying a helicopter over Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Just before the elections, army chief Gen Ashfaq Kayani made it clear he would not talk to the militants unless they lay down arms and accept Pakistans laws. There is no room for doubts when it comes to dealing with rebellion against the state, he said in an April 30 speech.
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ISLAMABAD: The European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) to Pakistan on Wednesday claimed that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) did not fulfil its responsibilities with honesty during the general elections 2013.
Addressing a press conference, EU Election Observation Mission chief Michael Gahler said the EU mission remained in Pakistan from March 3 to June 4 to monitor the elections. He expressed dissatisfaction over the Election Commission of Pakistan and elections 2013 and said the ECP failed to fulfil its responsibilities in the true manner. Gahler also claimed that the returning officers changed the polling staff in some constituencies before voting.
A strong democratic commitment was demonstrated in the 2013 elections. Despite escalating militant attacks, and procedural shortcomings, the electoral process progressed with high levels of competition, a marked increase in voter participation, and overall acceptance of the outcome. However, fundamental problems remain with the legal framework and the implementation of certain provisions, leaving future processes vulnerable to malpractice, Gahler said.
All contesting candidates were not given equal right to contest the elections, he said, adding that there were complaints that the names of women voters were omitted from voters lists. He said the mission has no evidence of any interference in the electoral process by the intelligence agencies; however, certain institutions have crossed their limits in the discharge of their duties.
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Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has vowed to eradicate terrorism from the country.
He was presiding over a meeting of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) lawmakers at the Prime Ministers House on Wednesday. In the meeting, he held consultations with the members on new National Security Policy.
Sharif said the government will take all stakeholders into confidence before devising a new policy. He said, Pakistan is passing through critical phase, therefore, we all have to join hands to fight against the menace of terrorism. The Fata lawmakers assured their full support to the prime minister on his measures adopted to tackle terrorism.
Too bad about the president's security chief...
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/11/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Has he told the pak army that who use these Jihadi groups for foreign policy
Posted by: Paul D ||
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[Ynet] With month-long fast looming, defense establishment prepares for influx of Paleostinian worshipers, plans to make special efforts to alleviate security tensions: Special pamphlet created for soldiers, Paleostinians above 60 granted unlimited access to Temple Mount
[AnNahar] Fundamentalist groups were probably responsible for the attack on the Bir al-Abed neighborhood in Beirut's southern suburb on Tuesday, reported the Central News Agency on Wednesday.
Security sources denied to the agency that a Hizbullah official was the target of the blast, revealing that the security agencies have some leads that can direct them to the perpetrators.
March 14 sources meanwhile said that such an attack on a Hizbullah stronghold was expected seeing as the party is involved in the fighting in Syria.
Its involvement has paved the way for several groups to exploit the situation and work on creating chaos in Leb, they added.
They also did not rule out the possibility that the attack could have been a set up to pin the blame on a certain side, when in fact another power may have been behind it.
At least 53 people were maimed in the kaboom that was caused by a booby-trapped vehicle in the Bir al-Abed neighborhood, which is a Hizbullah stronghold.
On Wednesday evening, LBCI television reported that "an olive-green Kia entered the Bir al-Abed area at 10:45 a.m. and its driver parked it at the parking lot of the Islamic Cooperation Center before leaving the street to an unknown destination."
"At 11:00 a.m., exactly 15 minutes after the car was parked, the kaboom went off," it added.
Security sources told the TV network that "reports in some newspapers and media outlets -- especially about intercepting phone calls between inmates in the Roumieh prison and the plotters of the attack -- cannot be verified as long as the judiciary overseeing the probe has not been informed of the details and has not yet received the surveillance cameras and the footage from the main political party (Hizbullah) in Bir al-Abed."
"In the wake of the blast, members of Hizbullah removed the surveillance cameras that were installed in the area surrounding the parking lot and retrieved the footage from the businesses and shops," the sources added.
"All possibilities are being considered, although most of the fingers are being pointed at Takfiri ...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who most be killed... s," the sources said.
LBCI revealed that "Hizbullah has recently received information that Dahieh might be targeted by boom-mobiles or suicide kabooms and that one of them might be carried out by a man disguised as a Shiite holy man."
"Hizbullah is on alert in Beirut's southern suburbs, monitoring and investigating any suspicious behavior, but it seems that the Bir al-Abed blast exceeded its expectations," LBCI added.
[AnNahar] Leb vowed Wednesday to keep its borders open to Syrian refugees as the U.N. Security Council called for "unprecedented" international help for the country.
A lovely sentiment by the Lebanese. However, the unprecedented help is likely to be very little, in this time of ever greater needs and worldwide depression recession.
With some estimates of 1.2 million Syrians now in Leb, the country's U.N. ambassador Nawaf Salam said the government may have to consider opening camps.
He added that the country would not close its frontier but that it desperately needs international assistance.
"Leb will not close its borders. Leb will not turn back any refugee, Leb will continue to provide assistance to all Syrian refugees, Salam told news hounds after the Security Council met to adopt a statement on Leb.
"But let's also be clear that Leb alone cannot cope with the burden of the refugee crisis. Leb needs international support, needs concrete international help to cope with this growing problem."
And a pony. Do not forget the pony.
Leb and Jordan say they cannot cope with the fallout from the 26-month-old Syria war and have called for an international conference on the humanitarian crisis.
Manolo! Call the caterers -- we have a pointless conference to plan!
The United Nations ...the Oyster Bay money pit... says there are about 600,000 refugees registered in Leb. But Salam said there are more than one million Syrians in the country and think tanks such as the Beirut Institute give a figure of 1.2 million.
A Security Council statement proposed by La Belle France called for "strong, coordinated international support for Leb to help it continue to withstand the multiple current challenges to its security and stability."
The Security Council statement also said there should be international help for the Lebanese Armed Forces to help police the border and made a new appeal for all sides in the country to stay out of the Syria conflict.
But the council said Leb needs "assistance on an unprecedented scale" to confront its refugee crisis.
A special fund set up by the United Nations has received only a fraction of the amount appealed for.
"This country is threatened to be engulfed into the Syrian crisis," said La Belle France's U.N. ambassador Gerard Araud.
"It is nearly a miracle that this country has succeeded to resist the pressures and tensions stemming from the Syrian crisis."
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[AnNahar] Hizbullah caretaker Minister of State for Administrative Reform Mohammad Fneish considered on Wednesday that the blast that targeted Bir al-Abed neighborhood in Beirut's southern suburbs aims at destabilizing Leb's civil peace.
"The culprits aim at moving security violations from an area to another across Leb and to create sedition and a sectarian rift among Mohammedans in particular," Fneish told al-Joumhouria newspaper published on Wednesday.
Sources close to the party told As Safir newspaper that the kaboom is a "coward act" that targeted a residential area, ruling out reports that it's a security breach to Hizbullah.
At least 53 people were maimed in the kaboom that was caused by a booby-trapped vehicle in the Hizbullah Stronghold neighborhood.
"The attack didn't target any (Hizbullah) figure or center for the party," the sources said, pointing out that the party boosted security near the houses of its leadership and its headquarters.
"It's normal that cars park at a parking lot," the sources said.
Informed security sources told As Safir that preliminary reports are based on the footage taken by nearby security cameras.
A security source also told the daily that a western security apparatus informed Lebanese security agencies days before the blast that an krazed killer group is plotting to carry out a bombing in Beirut's southern suburbs.
Hizbullah sources told As Safir that the ongoing provocation against Hizbullah and its arms paved the way for such acts.
The sources noted that Takfiri ...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who most be killed... groups might be responsible for the the blast over Hizbullah's involvement in the battles in the neighboring country Syria.
Officially neutral in Syria's conflict, Leb is deeply divided into pro- and anti-Assad camps.
Hizbullah and its allies back Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Oppressor of the Syrians and the Lebs... , who adheres to the Alawite offshoot of Shiite Islam, while the Sunni-led opposition supports rebels seeking his ouster.
For his part, Fneish praised in comments in al-Joumhouria the March 14 alliance's swift condemnation for the attack.
He described the coalition's stance as importance, calling on the March 14 officials to reconsider their rhetoric.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Acknowledging the difficulty of squaring U.S. law with national security priorities in dealing with the military overthrow of Egypt's president, the Obama administration said Tuesday it was encouraged by a proposal from the country's interim government to restore democratically elected civilian leadership.
... an Arab news network headquartered in Qatar, notorious for carrying al-Qaeda press releases. The name means 
King of the Arabians, Sheikh of the Burning Sands Abdullah
North Korea on Wednesday abruptly proposed talks about resuming package tours to Mt. Kumgang and reunions of families separated by the Korean War. The offer came when delegates from both Koreas met in the North Korean border city of Kaesong to discuss reopening the industrial complex there. 
In an initiative aimed at rooting out future leakers and other security violators, President 
ISLAMABAD: The European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) to Pakistan on Wednesday claimed that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) did not fulfil its responsibilities with honesty during the general elections 2013.
[AnNahar] Fundamentalist groups were probably responsible for the attack on the Bir al-Abed neighborhood in Beirut's southern suburb on Tuesday, reported the Central News Agency on Wednesday.
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
