Sudan on Tuesday shut down for its first census in 15 years, a milestone in the peace deal that ended Africa's longest civil war but overshadowed by a dispute that threatens to undermine the accord.
In the 2005 agreement signed by the former warring north and south, the two-week census is crucial to prepare constituencies for national elections and confirm or adjust the wealth and power-sharing ratios in central government.
But the undeveloped south has refused to be bound by the results and rebels in Darfur will boycott the count, both accusing the Arab north of manipulating the census to maximise its control and marginalise the African majority.
Khartoum, assisted greatly by the United Nations, said the door-to-door counting was smooth and transparent for the most comprehensive census ever held in Sudan, almost constantly engulfed in civil war since independence from Britain in 1956.
Rain fell in Khartoum -- almost unheard of in April. Shops and businesses were closed, and streets largely deserted with people told to stay indoors.
Heavy rain also fell in the south until early morning. One plane of monitors was unable to land overnight in the southern city of Rumbek because of flooding.
"We have some challenges but I think there is a will to overcome these challenges," said Abdel Bagi Gailani, whom the presidency appointed to head the monitoring and observation committee.
Around 60,000 enumerators dressed in pale blue baseball caps and jackets, monitored by 200 observers, will count the estimated 40 million population, costing Sudan and the international community 103 million dollars.
"So far everything is going smoothly. We are not predicting any problems either today or in the coming days," said Ibrahim Abbas, the head of the census in northern Sudan.
But discontentment and disillusionment run deep in the south, where the legacy of the war that killed two million people and displaced another four million, is keenly felt despite a flood of refugees returning for the count.
"The level of preparedness was very low and even if counting takes place (Tuesday) its not going to produce the desired results," south Sudan information minister Gabriel Changson Chang told AFP.
His government said it was unlikely to accept the results after the north insisted the survey go ahead. It was delayed for the fourth time last week when the south complained that ethnicity and religion were not included.
The Arab domination of power in what is Africa's largest country was a major reason for the two-decade civil war between north and south, as well as for the separate five-year conflict still raging in the west.
International observers have raised concerns that significant parts of Darfur -- a region the size of France -- and not just three percent as claimed by Khartoum will be excluded from the count owing to opposition from rebels.
Khalil Ibrahim, the leader of the Justice and Equality Movement, the strongest rebel group militarily in Darfur, told AFP he "did not know" when asked if his followers would stage attacks to scupper the census.
"My people are not there at home, many of them crossed borders. They're in Chad and concentrated in IDP camps, under trees here and there, in mountains and villages, so what they're doing is meaningless," he added.
The Egyptian-occupied Halayib triangle in the northeast and remote areas in the south flooded by rains will also be excluded, although Isaiah Chol, the head of the southern census, said enumerators have 55 boats to ease access.
The schedule for implementing the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, under which general elections should have been completed by July 2009, is slipping. Under the accord, the census should also have been finalised last year.
Borders between north and southern Sudan have not yet been demarcated and political tensions remain high in the contested oil-rich state of Abyei.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warned that further delay of the census "could have considerable political and financial implications".
The central bureau of statistics expects census results as early as September, but other officials have quoted Christmas as a more realistic date.
MOGADISHU, Somalia - Security forces in northern Somalia stormed a hijacked ship carrying food Tuesday, rescuing hostages and arresting seven pirates, officials said. The seizure was the latest in a spate of pirate attacks off the increasingly lawless Somali coast.
The Dubai-flagged ship, called the al-Khaleej, originated from the United Arab Emirates and was seized Monday, said Abdullahi Said Samatar, security affairs minister in Somalia's semiautonomous Puntland region.It was not immediately clear how many people were on board. Puntland officials announced it had been seized only after the boat was rescued. "Our forces rescued a small commercial boat hijacked on Monday off the coast of Bossaso town," Samatar told The Associated Press. "Three were injured in the operation and seven others will be brought to justice."
Piracy is rampant along Somalia's 1,880-mile coast, which is the longest in Africa and near key shipping routes connecting the Red Sea with the Indian Ocean. The United States and France are drafting a U.N. resolution that would allow countries to chase and arrest pirates off Somalia's coast, responding to a spate of attacks including this week's hijacking of a Spanish tuna boat.
France's U.N. Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert said the resolution would authorize foreign governments to pursue pirate vessels into territorial waters, make arrests, and prosecute suspects. "We want to do it fast, but it could take one or two weeks because it has to be by consensus it's not confrontational," he told the AP.
The push by key U.N. Security Council nations to tackle the issue follows an alarming increase in piracy by well-armed bandits, prompting international demands for better protection of the world's shipping lanes. Pirates using rocket-propelled grenades hijacked a Spanish tuna boat on Sunday off the coast of Somalia. A day later, pirates fired on a Japanese oil tanker, unleashing hundreds of gallons of fuel into the Gulf of Aden, the body of water between Somalia's north and the southern coast of the Mideast country of Yemen.
Earlier this month, Somali pirates hijacked a French luxury yacht in the Gulf of Aden. A French military helicopter later captured six pirates, who are facing preliminary charges in France, after the yacht's crew was released on April 11.
The father of one of the crew members on board the 250-foot Spanish tuna boat, called the Playa de Bakio, told a radio station Monday that the vessel had dropped anchor off the Somali coast. The 26 crew members were being treated well, though the hijackers have stolen some personal items from their cabins, Jose Mari Arana, the father of a crew member, told Radio Euskadi Monday after speaking to his son by cell phone. The hijackers also appear to have military training, he said. "They say a commander is going to come to negotiate. From the way they speak, they do not seem to be classical-style pirates," Arana said.
In a report by the International Maritime Bureau, piracy is on the rise, with seafarers suffering 49 attacks between January and March up 20 percent from the period last year. Nigeria ranked as the No. 1 trouble spot. India and the Gulf of Aden tied for second, with each reporting five incidents. Nearly two dozen piracy incidents were recorded off of Somalia since January 2007, according to Andrew Mwangura of the Kenya-based Seafarers Assistance Program. "The issue of piracy is an important issue, and within that framework we're focusing in particular on the threat of piracy off the coast of Somalia," U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad told the AP.
Khalilzad said discussion on the draft U.N. resolution is ongoing. "We're talking to the French and others to put forward something on the piracy, specifically off the coast of Somalia, but the importance of the overall issue will be recognized," Khalilzad said. Ripert said the legal details will take time to work out because pursuing pirate vessels could mean going into the territorial waters of a country "so you have to pre-negotiate the consent of the state. We want also to address other zones in the world, but then the situations and the realities are different," he said, so the initial resolution will probably just focus on Somalia.
#2
I wondered about that myself, tw. But another question is, will they get sharia punishment? In this case I think that would probably be more appropriate than what they'd get in the UK.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
04/22/2008 14:04 Comments ||
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NAIROBI - Ethiopia broke diplomatic ties with Qatar on Monday, accusing the Gulf Arab state of supporting terrorism in Somalia and spreading instability in the Horn of Africa. 'Whether in Somalia and in other parts of the Horn of Africa -- including within Ethiopia -- Qatar has been one of the most important supporters of terrorism and extremism in our sub-region,' Ethiopia's government said in an email statement.
Ethiopia, the biggest military power in the Horn of Africa, said it had long observed Qatar's 'hostile behaviour' and had been patient before taking Monday's measure. The statement cited Qatari support for Ethiopia's arch-foe Eritrea and backing for groups in Somalia where Addis Ababa has thousands of troops fighting Islamist insurgents.
Qataris continue to support their religious and blood brethern, do they?
'Qatar has left no stone unturned to cause harm to Ethiopia's national security. All those who are prepared to foment instability in Ethiopia and undermine the country's security have been given support and encouragement by Qatar.
'This has gone beyond Qatar's strong ties with Eritrea. It has indeed provided direct and indirect assistance to terrorist organisations in Somalia and other areas.'
The statement added that Qatar's hostility to Ethiopia 'included the output of its media outlets', a presumed reference to the broadcaster al Jazeera.
Qatari diplomats could not be immediately reached for reaction.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/22/2008 00:00 ||
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Link ||
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#6
eritrea is in a parallel position wrt to the Islamists in Somalia, as Pakistan was wrt the Taliban in the 90's. Eritrea is scared of Ethiopia, which conceivably could challenge its very existence, and has fought wars against it, and has current border disputes. As Pakistan was scared of India. Eritrea doesnt want a somalia under the protection of Ethiopia, as Paki didnt want an afghanistan under India or Indias friends. So Eritrea supports the Islamists, even though Eritrea itself doesnt run that kind of regime. And the Gulfies provide backing to the local muslim power - eritrea here, Pakiland in the 90s.
FIREBRAND MP George Galloway was knocked out cold today when he was hit on the head by a RUBBER ball while he was ranting.
The ex Celebrity Big Brother contestant - on the campaign trail for the London Assembly elections - was roaring through a loudspeaker on the top of an open-top bus when he was struck.
Eyewitnesses said the 53 year old ducked to avoid the ball and banged his head heavily on the side of the bus.
He was treated for more than 20 minutes in an ambulance after keeling over on the top deck.
The missile which silenced him - temporarily - was described by aides from the Respect party as a rubber stress ball, about the size of a tennis ball.
Police raced to the scene and arrested a man who works in an office building which overlooks Galloways route, said to be used by a market research firm.
Its thought the ball was fired from a third storey window on Procter Street, in Holborn, central London.
Witnesses say dazed Galloway, who represents the Respect Party in Bethnal Green and Bow, had to be treated at the scene by paramedics.
The drama was witnessed by Richard Barden, 27, from Sidcup, Kent, who works on a lower level in the same building.
He said: I heard Galloways bus from my desk and had a look out my window.
He was on the top deck acting like lord of the manor, wearing sunglasses and talking through a loud speaker.
I think there were about 20 other party members with him on the bus.
Suddenly he fell over and the bus pulled up around the corner and an ambulance was called.
Police arrived pretty quickly too and they took someone from one of the offices above mine."
Fifteen planned terrorist attacks in Britain have been foiled since the 2005 London bombings, Met chiefs said today.
The revelation came as Met Commissioner Sir Ian Blair warned that the country was being threatened by dangerous extremists who were emerging from "left field" to attempt terrorist attacks.
Sir Ian added that some suspects were moving "very fast" to carry out their plots, forcing police to make pre-emptive arrests to protect the public.
The warning came as Sir Ian and the Met's most senior anti-terrorism officer, Assistant Commissioner Bob Quick, told a parliamentary committee scrutinising the Government's counter-terrorism Bill that they backed an extension of the pre-charge detention limit.
The Met Commissioner said he feared that the current 28-day limit, which the Government wants to extend to 42 days, would soon prove insufficient because of the growing complexities, scale and international scope of plots that police and the security service were detecting.
Sir Ian rejected suggestions from some MPs that suspects could be detained on lesser charges instead and warned that in many cases police were forced to act on the basis of intelligence when virtually no evidence that would be admissible in court existed.
He said this meant that prolonged investigations were needed to gather material to bring prosecutions and that it was a "pragmatic inference" that pre-charge detentions longer than 28 days would soon be required.
"Part of the problem that we have is the way in which individuals and groups go from what appears to be facilitating into active attack planning very fast. There are people who are emerging from left field about whom we know very little and about whom we become very concerned."
In his evidence, Mr Quick, who is also the Association of Chief Police Officers' spokesman on terrorism, said about 15 terrorist plots had been thwarted since the 7 July London bombings of 2005.
He added that some of these included "very recent" plots that had been disrupted by police using "very sophisticated" methods.
The Met Commissioner said that while the Crown Prosecution Service had suggested an extension to the current limit was unnecessary, the police were the "professionals" in charge of gathering evidence and took the view that a longer detention period was needed.
"There have been a number of cases where the level of threat that we perceive means we make an arrest when we have almost no evidential material at all," he said.
Sir Ian added that the complexity and extensive use of information technology by extremists meant longer pre-charge limits could be necessary to enable experts to complete investigations.
Riverside, California The defense team representing Marine infantryman Jose Luis Nazario asked a federal court judge Monday to dismiss voluntary manslaughter charges against their client for allegedly killing two Iraqi insurgents in Fallujah, Iraq more than three years ago. At the time Nazario was a squad leader engaged in desperate house-to-house combat.
The decorated Marine veteran was assigned to 3rd Platoon, Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines when the incident allegedly occurred. A year later four enlisted members of the same platoon would be charged with murder and other war crimes in the unrelated "Haditha Massacre" incident...
...There are no bodies, no names, no grieving relatives, no civilian witnesses, no crime scene, and no physical evidence...
... Nazario, now a civilian without any military obligation, was charged under the Military Extraterritorial Extradition Act (MEJA), a law passed by Congress in 2000 to give government prosecutors a mechanism for charging civilians and former service members for alleged criminal acts they committed while serving overseas.
Before MEJA, members of the armed forces were prosecuted under military law or not at all, and in many instances civilians who committed crimes in foreign lands were completely beyond the reach of American civilian jurisdiction.
MEJA applies to two categories of people, those employed by or accompanying the armed forces outside the U.S. and those to whom the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) military law applied at the time of the offense. Nazario is in that category of alleged offenders.
Assistant US Attorneys Jerry A. Behnke and Charles J. Kovats represented the government in Nazarios motion hearing. They argued that MEJA is specifically tailored to prosecute former service members who allegedly committed crimes while serving in combat...
#2
..There are no bodies, no names, no grieving relatives, no civilian witnesses, no crime scene, and no physical evidence...
Other than that, they've got him cold.
Posted by: Rambler in California ||
04/22/2008 19:55 Comments ||
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#3
Also, was he one of the ones charged earlier? If so, this sure sounds like double jeopardy. But them, I am not liberal lawyer.
Posted by: Rambler in California ||
04/22/2008 21:11 Comments ||
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#4
The Rodney King/LA Police case was double jeopardy as the founding fathers wrote, but not what the 'Living' Constitutionalist would have you believe. IIRC Congress had already passed a law authorizing anyone out of the service to be recalled for any crime committed while in service. If true, then this is an attempt to not have a 'jury of one's peers' sit in judgment.
I'd rather have the military legal system separate from the civilian legal system. Those who haven't been there cannot be counted on to understand military circumstances.
WASHINGTON (Rooters) - Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton warned Tehran on Tuesday that if she were president, the United States could "totally obliterate" Iran in retaliation for a nuclear strike against Israel. "Yeah! They gonna get it! I'll moiderize 'em! I'll crush ahmadi-what's his name between my massive thighs! Yaaarrrr!"
On the day of a crucial vote in her nomination battle against fellow Democrat Barack Obama, the New York senator said she wanted to make clear to Tehran what she was prepared to do as president in hopes that this warning would deter any Iranian nuclear attack against the Jewish state.
"I want the Iranians to know that if I'm the president, we will attack Iran (if it attacks Israel)," Clinton said in an interview on ABC's "Good Morning America."
"In the next 10 years, during which they might foolishly consider launching an attack on Israel, we would be able to totally obliterate them," she said. "VENGEANCE!"
"That's a terrible thing to say but those people who run Iran need to understand that because that perhaps will deter them from doing something that would be reckless, foolish and tragic," Clinton said.
Her comments appeared harder than a week ago, when during a presidential debate she promised "massive retaliation" against any Iranian attack on Israel.
Obama rejected her rhetoric as saber rattling on a day when Pennsylvania Democrats voted in a party primary contest that could help decide which Democrat will face Republican John McCain for the White House in the November general election.
"One of the things that we've seen over the last several years is a bunch of talk using words like 'obliterate,'" Obama, an Illinois senator, said in a separate ABC interview. "It doesn't actually produce good results. And so I'm not interested in saber rattling."
CONTRADICTION ACCUSATION
The Obama campaign also issued a statement saying Clinton was contradicting her remarks at an August debate, where Obama spoke in favor of taking unilateral military action in Pakistan if the United States had actionable intelligence on the whereabouts of senior al Qaeda members.
Clinton had said she did not believe "people running for president should engage in hypotheticals" and called it a mistake "to telegraph" what U.S. strategy might be at a time of unrest inside Pakistan.
Meanwhile, Obama said he would respond "forcefully and swiftly" to an Iranian attack against Israel or any other U.S. ally, whether conventional or nuclear.
Iran, which Washington and its allies charge is seeking nuclear arms, has voiced war-like rhetoric in recent years amid speculation its nuclear facilities could face U.S. or Israeli military action.
Tehran denies it is trying to acquire nuclear weapons and sez it needs nuclear technology to generate electricity.
Israel is widely believed to have nuclear weapons but, as a policy of "strategic ambiguity," has not confirmed or denied the nature of its arsenal.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad outraged the international community in 2005 by saying "Israel should be wiped off the map." A week ago, a senior Iranian army commander said Iran would "eliminate" Israel in response to any military attack from the Jewish state.
Clinton's comments came days before an Iranian run-off election for parliament on Friday that could bring fresh challenges for Ahmadinejad from a broad conservative camp as the country prepares for its own presidential election next year.
Posted by: Bobby ||
04/22/2008 12:39 Comments ||
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#2
note this is NOT a particularly hawkish statement. Its actually dovish when you think about it. IF Iran gets nukes, and IF Iran attacks Israel, we will destroy Iran. IE deterrence. The very thing that doves on Iran use to explain why Iranian nukes ARE acceptable - they will be subject to deterrence, just like the USSR was.
Which makes it particularly odd that Obama is rejecting it. Unless Obama says that Iranian nukes are absolutely unacceptable, that has to be exactly the Obama position. It seems hes only objecting to the word "obliterate" - again a focus on words, not policy, as a differentiator.
OTOH this is a chance to bring up the Pakistan thing and try to make Hillary look hypocritical. Except of course that Pakistan is an ALLY of the US, and Iran is NOT, and the kind of rhetoric that should be used in wrt to a delicate relation with an ally would seem to be different from that to be used with an adversary one wants to intimidate (even one that one wants to negotiate with). At least it seems that way to me.
#3
I saw it on ABC news when she was asked this question and her response was totally inappropriate. She indicated she is going to rely on the threat of retaliation instead of making any attempt to PREVENT the Mad Mullahs from getting their filthy hands on a nuclear weapon in the first place. It's MAD all over again. But the problem with this approach is that, unlike the Soviets, the Mad Mullahs are not rational. They are feeble minded old clerics and there is no telling what they might do. It would be totally irresponsible to let it get to the point where we would have to rely on deterrence with these people.
But it sounds like we can rely on Hildebeast to do as much about the development of an Iranian nuke as old Bill did about the Pak nuke or the NORK nuke.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
04/22/2008 14:24 Comments ||
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#4
Clinton sez U.S. could "totally obliterate" Iran when she's in a bad mood
#5
"That's a terrible thing to say but those people who run Iran need to understand that because that perhaps will deter them from doing something that would be reckless, foolish and tragic," Clinton said.
I think Y'all need to re-read that, she's NOT saying we'd do it, she's saying the (Empty) threat should be enough.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
04/22/2008 16:20 Comments ||
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#6
I think Y'all need to re-read that, she's NOT saying we'd do it, she's saying the (Empty) threat should be enough.
I agree with you, Redneck Jim: "could" is not "will".
Just election foreplay Bobby. She would promise to nuke Iran if it would get her elected. She would probably promise nearly anything for that silver chalice (the Presidency).
Important issues concerning Pakistan were discussed in an hour-long meeting between Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Sami (JUIS) chief Senator Samiul Haq and former prime minister Mian Nawaz Sharif.
According to a JUI-S spokesman, the discussions were held on the countrys external and internal situation, the governments proposed plan to hold talks with resistance forces, restoration of judges, price hike, measures for improving law and order, missing persons issue, unemployment, energy crises and release of A Q Khan. The ruling coalition of the Pakistan Peoples Party, the Awami National Party and the PML-N has the ability to meet the challenges, Sami told Nawaz Sharif, adding that efforts should be made to lead the country to progress and prosperity. Both the leaders agreed to continue consultations in days to come for strengthening democracy.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/22/2008 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[8 views]
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The government will neither be blackmailed by militants nor will it listen to their unrealistic demands, Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani has said. We wont listen to their demands that are totally unrealistic. If they want us to hand over [jailed] terrorists as a [precondition] for talks, that will not happen, Gillani said in an interview with Newsweek, published on its website on Monday. Gillani said there would be no talks with militants until our preconditions are met.
They should [put down] their arms first. Not only [Baitullah] Mehsud but also other [armed] tribes who are not militants, he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/22/2008 00:00 ||
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[7 views]
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#1
Gillani ruled out un-invited invasions of FATA by the United States, but otherwise is talking a good talk. Walking the walk is another thing, so I will reserve judgment.
Foreign forces will never be allowed to operate in Pakistan and the country will fight terrorism with a broad-based strategy, Aaj TV reported President Pervez Musharraf as saying on Monday. He was talking to British Foreign Secretary David Miliband at the Presidential Camp Office. Citing unidentified sources, the channel said Musharraf told Miliband that the war on terror was in Pakistans interest. Miliband said talks with militants who laid down arms would help calm down terrorism. Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani told Miliband in a meeting that Pakistan would improve the socio-economic conditions in FATA and bring madrassa reforms to counter extremism.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/22/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
IIRC, WAFF.com > FIRST CLASS FROM MARRAKECH TO RIYADH? Proposed ULTRA-MODERN HIGH SPEED? RAIL SYS to connect Muslim nations, for Travel Recreation and Trade???
#4
lol, TW! "Shhhh, don't tell the jihadis that the 'mericans are comin'!"
Posted by: BA ||
04/22/2008 9:10 Comments ||
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#5
In the article immediately above it, PM Gillani left open the door for United States military involvement in Pakistani borders "when invited". Different from Mushy, who's currying favor by appealing to nationalism and saying "never".
Militants have warned the government that they would resume fighting if it does not stop the military operations in Swat, South Waziristan and other Tribal Areas. Taliban spokesman Maulvi Omar told reporters on the phone that they [Taliban] had nothing to do with the kidnapping of Tariq Azizuddin, Pakistans ambassador to Afghanistan. He said the government had violated the ceasefire.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/22/2008 00:00 ||
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[7 views]
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Leaders of United Jihad Council (UJC), an alliance of fighter groups battling Indian rule in Kashmir, on Monday publicly criticised President Pervez Musharrafs policies on the disputed region and vowed, after virtual lull for quite some time, that Jihad being an obligation would be carried on until the end of Indian subjugation.
Sounds like they've bought the new government...
Speaking at what was named as Azm-e-Jihad Conference under the aegis of a Kashmiri refugees organisation Pasban-e-Hurriyat the militant and political leaders also flayed the Muzaffarabad government for according red carpet reception to the killers of the Kashmiri people. The function, attended by over 1,000 people, was held under a large canopy on the lush green lawns of a hotel along the left bank of icy Neelum River.
Sounds pretty plush. Heading a Pak terrorist organization seems to be a pretty lucrative line of work.
A number of banners, displayed on the occasion, also reaffirmed the Kashmiris resolve to continue their struggle till complete eviction of Indian troops from Kashmir.
Got some relative who own print shops, do they?
The programme and the body language of speakers was unusual particularly when judged in the backdrop of the bearing of Pakistan based Kashmiri militant and political leaders after 9/11 when a crackdown on extremist elements was launched by President Musharraf under external pressure. Analysts are of the view that the change of guards in Islamabad has encouraged the Kashmiri leaders to come out, all of a sudden, with renewed calls for a forceful jihad.
The Sharif bloc has been on the jihadis side the while. Maybe PPP would have brought them under control with Benazir running things, but Mr Ten Percent probably went cheap.
UJC chairman Syed Salahuddin angrily dismissed reports of any softening on the armed struggle while interacting with reports later in a brief question answer session. I have never been inactive. Not for a fraction of a second over the past seven years. This is a wrong perception, he said in response to a question.
Earlier, speaking at the conference Salahuddin said the fighters wanted to give a clear message to the people at the helm of affairs as well as political and religious leadership in Pakistan, and at the same time to the Indian rulers, that until every single inch of Kashmir was freed from New Delhis slavery, the struggle would continue with full force. People who taunt us as gun-frenzy must not forget that we launched a peaceful political struggle for emancipation for 42 long years but its absolute failure compelled us to take up arms, he said.
The UJC chief reiterated that the mujahideen were ready to lay down weapons provided India accepted their conditions, such as acknowledging the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir as a disputed territory and its settlement through meaningful tripartite talks.
He regretted that after 9/11 Musharraf regime offered too many concessions to India, including the fencing of Line of Control, which caused great disappointment among the Kashmiris. In 2000 and 2001 our struggle had reached a decisive phase, but unfortunately Musharraf took on the pressure against the Islamic movements beyond the pale and consequently the political and diplomatic support to our movement declined considerably, he said. He disclosed that Kashmir had never been a core issue in any round of talks between India and Pakistan during Musharraf government.
On the peace process, he said Kashmiris were a peace loving nation but could not promote peace process at the cost of their martyrs. Salahuddin made it clear that the Kashmiris would not accept any formula except complete liberation of their motherland. Division, status-quo, internal autonomy or cross border trade, all are unacceptable, he declared, adding, the militants were not opposed to trans-LoC travelling but they would not allow anyone to use it to dilute the freedom movement.
Salahuddin also dispelled the impression as enemys propaganda that the mujahideen had got tired. Who says we are tired? We cannot betray the blood of 500,000 martyrs. As the number of martyrs is rising, Jihad has become an obligation of everyone, he said.
Cheese. Just a year ago they couldn't betray the blood of 90,000 martyrs.
Salahuddin also called upon the PaK government to stop paying lip service to the movement, and play its role in it on solid basis. The government in this part of Kashmir should reserve 75 percent of its budget for (freedom) movement and train its youths on war footing to liberate their enslaved brethren across the divide. The UJC chief asked Islamabad to hold Kashmir centric and targeted talks with India.
Referring to Mr Ten Percent Asif Ali Zardari without naming him, he said unfortunately some imprudent politicians were suggesting that Kashmir issue should be left for next generations. This movement cannot be postponed even for a single day, not to talk of next generations, he said.
Referring to militant leaderships participation in talks, he said: We are not opposed to talks but the process should be in line with the aspirations of the Kashmiris. Whether we participate or not is insignificant. What is important is that when, where and on what issue the talks are held. If held on our conditions, we will appreciate and endorse the talks.
Prior to Salahuddin, a number of other militant and political leaders also spoke. Tehreek-e-Kashmir convenor Ghulam Mohammad Safi blasted the PaK government, asking it to give up the practice of toeing the line of Pakistani rulers. You should develop courage to call a spade a spade. And you should also refrain from according red carpet reception to the so-called leaders whose hands are stained with the blood of Kashmiris, whether it is Omar Abdullah or Mehbooba Mufti, he said.
His views were later echoed by APHC convenor Syed Yousaf Nasim who said Pakistani and Kashmiri leaders may receive Indians but not those who were responsible for the massacre of Kashmiris. Red carpet reception to such leaders is tantamount to rubbing salt into the wounds of oppressed Kashmiris, he said.
Almost all speakers criticized the previous Pakistani governments policies on Kashmir, with some saying that Islamabad was trapped by New Delhi into weakening the Kashmir freedom struggle. Zaki ur Rehman Lakhvi, amir of proscribed Lashkar-e-Taiba, was also among the speakers but he focused his speech on some instances from the Islamic history to establish a point that freedom movements could take longer than expected time and Kashmiris should not get disappointed from 19 years of struggle.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/22/2008 00:00 ||
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[7 views]
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#1
speaking of guns roaring across the LOC
RFPs Issued for Indian Army 155mm Howitzers, Self Propelled Guns Contracts....
Under the Field Artillery Rationalization Plan, the army plans by 2020-25 on acquiring a mix of around 3,600 155mm/52 cal towed, wheeled and tracked guns for some 180 of some 220 artillery regiments that could cost $5-7 billion. The army's remaining 40-odd artillery regiments are equipped with light guns and missiles.
Posted by: john frum ||
04/22/2008 6:37 Comments ||
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#3
The government in this part of Kashmir should reserve 75 percent of its budget for (freedom) movement and train its youths on war footing to liberate their enslaved brethren across the divide. The UJC chief asked Islamabad to hold Kashmir centric and targeted talks with India.
Or you could stay on your side of the fence, and build a better life for you and your children with that money.
Geesh, what am I saying?
link is to Gateway Pundit, who has the link and translation. Good news
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/22/2008 14:09 ||
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#1
Excellent news. The last domino is toppling. Now for the Iraqi gov to turn cooperative Madhi into a neighborhood watch, brand the rest as Iranian stooges and hunt them down.
Posted by: ed ||
04/22/2008 14:40 Comments ||
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#2
If true, this is good news, very good news. We outsiders, being westerners, are linear, logical thinkers with a highly focused lens. If we had our way, we would have smoked Tater a long time ago and that problem would be solved, except for a bunch of pi$$ed off hornets buzzing around where the nest used to be.
We have to keep realizing that we are dealing with tribal cultures. Kinship is king here. Blood is thicker than water, and Tater milked Dear Olde Dad's status as a religious leader to the max. Eventually he became an embarassment to the max (read bad PR to the Clan) and the Clan had to get him out.
Anthropology 101 it seems to me.
The same applies to Afghanistan, which is tribal to the n-th power. We are not going to be able to wave our Democracy Magic Wand and expect the whole thing to be roses and group hugs. To have a successful strategy and outcome, you must crawl into the tribal heads and understand how they think. Then you politic, do good deeds, appeal to reason, bribe, and kill, as appropriate. There is no one-fits-all solution.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
04/22/2008 14:48 Comments ||
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#3
Sounds like the last major block to Iraqi freedom has been neutralized.
#6
lol, NS! I'm sure they're one of the *uninsured* too. It's a shame that he may not make it to see Hillary's universal health care.
Posted by: BA ||
04/22/2008 16:17 Comments ||
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#7
If this is the outcome, its far better than any other, including a bullet or bomb on his noggin - discredited by his own, which ultimately strips him of his power and power base.
#10
Alseyed Josef Alsadar a member of the honored Sadar family wrote a letter to Alrafedain news (Nida'a al Rafidain News) which said: "Muqtada al-Sadr has tainted the reputation of this respected family, and the family disowns Muqtada. We are as innocent of him as the wolf is of the blood of Josef (Biblical (Old Testament I believe) and Koranic reference). The family is working on ways to discipline him with in the family. Consultations for this are held at the highest level to come up with punishments for its rogue son.
#12
REDDIT/TOPIX/CHH + FOX AM > ZAWAHIRI: AL QAEDA HAS PLANS TO ATTACK WESTERN NATIONS + AL QAEDA VOWS TO LAUNCH ATTACKS ON WEST + PLANS TO ATTACK WESTERN/DEMOCRATIC NATIONS STILL IN THE WORKS, etc.
With security improving, local economies flourishing and community reconstruction underway, Iraqis who once fled their South Baghdad homes in fear are now returning to the villages they deserted.
This is a good sign, said Maj. Mark Bailey, the officer in charge of the Multi-National Division Center governance cell. Once people are convinced that security is good in their area, they come back, said Bailey, who is with 401st Civil Affairs Battalion, attached to 3rd Infantry Division. If they own a business, they re-open their business, which helps the economy.
Out of the approximate 18,700 Iraqis who left their homes, it is estimated that 10,450 have returned, according to MND-C records.
Humanitarian aid provided by MND-C, the United Nations and the Iraqi government has been one method of reintegrating the newly returned citizens, Bailey said. The CA Battalion (supply section) provides humanitarian assistance packages to the (MND-C) brigade combat teams, and they hand those out where theyre needed, he said. Its also a good way to gain peoples trust.
Units in 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division have seen a steady influx of returning Iraqis, and have conducted operations to ensure the area is safe for their return. Operation Varsity II, one such effort, resulted in the removal of dozens of al-Qaeda in Iraq from an area containing 19 previously deserted homes.
Soldiers also helped rebuild and refurbish local buildings, and set up health clinics and hygiene classes in some villages to better educate Iraqis on how to take care of themselves. Leadership from 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment has also held various meetings with local residents to hear their concerns.
Bailey said the returning families usually still have relatives or business opportunities in the villages they come back to, which helps progress. They have ties with the local community, he said. They have pride in the area. And if they believe its safer, and then they tell their families, thats when things start to improve.
As of April 15, displaced Iraqis from the areas of Yusifiyah, Khidr, Janabi Village, Radwaniyah, Qarghouli Village, Owsat Village, Rasheed, Mushada Village, Mahmudiyah and Latafiyah have made their way back home.
#2
This part of Iraq is lucky in that apparently the homes well not occupied by other families. I suspect that the real hard part of reconciliation is getting people to give up their new homes when their old homes are still occupied.
Al
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
04/22/2008 11:21 Comments ||
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Between mid-March and mid-April, al Qaeda suffered major losses in Iraq. American and Iraqi troops killed or captured 53 al Qaeda leaders. These include men in charge of entire cities (or portions of large cities like Mosul or Baghdad), as well as men in charge of various aspects of terror operations (making bombs, placing them or minding the bombers). Most important, nine of the ten most senior men involved, were captured, and interrogated. This led to locating more al Qaeda staff, and assets. Hundreds of weapons and explosives caches have been discovered this year, as a result of interrogating captured terrorists.
The result has been a sharp fall in suicide bomber attacks, and the ones still carried out are against soft targets (civilians), including the recent funeral of two men earlier killed by terrorists. This was part of an al Qaeda campaign to force Sunni Arabs to switch sides again and support terrorism. But these attacks have the opposite effect, causing more hatred for al Qaeda.
All this is good news, meaning it's not reported. Face, any media outlet that puts out too much good news will go out of business. Bad news brings in the eyeballs and advertising revenue. Stories of desertion and desperation in Basra grab the headlines, while al Qaeda's travails are relegated to the back pages, if at all.
Posted by: ed ||
04/22/2008 06:45 ||
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[4 views]
Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Iraq
#1
Bad news brings in the eyeballs and advertising revenue.
While true to a degree, the MSM is also deeply in bed with the dhimocrats who have invested in defeat and will do anything to help bring it about. Including lying, and not publishing stories that fit their mold.
#2
Darth is exactly right. The MSM will not report good news because it challenges their Iraq as Vietnam meme. The shibboleth that bad news sells is pure BS as evidenced by the tanking of New York Times and other major media stocks over the years. Truth sells. I'd buy the NY Times in an instant if they could be relied upon to tell the whole truth and keep their political pandering out of the news stream. They can't and so I don't.
DanNY
Posted by: DanNY ||
04/22/2008 8:24 Comments ||
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#3
It is not merely a question of advertising revenue. In the late fourties there was a communist-led concerted effort to infiltrate Hollywood in order to mold American minds. I cannot believe the commies missed that far more strategic target.
#4
In the late fourties there was a communist-led concerted effort to infiltrate Hollywood in order to mold American minds. I cannot believe the commies missed that far more strategic target.
They didn't miss it, JFM. They tried by taking over the Screen Actors Guild, but were stopped cold by the SAG President at the time. A B-movie actor called Ronald Reagan.
#5
Strategy Page is incorrect with respect to the "bad news brings in eyeballs".
The 'bad news' paradyme has been used for decades now and the viewership of the nightly national news shows and the readership of the NYTimes and WaPo continuing declining.
However, bad news not only reinforces the ideology of CBS, NYT, etc. A really compelling bad news story (if the USA was made to look bad)would have a better chance for one of the journalism awards. Of course if the news made the mullahs look bad, it wouldn't have a chance for an award.
#6
Ironically, the education establishment and the media propaganda establishment are at cross purposes on this one, and non-brainwashed people win as a result. The educrats have tailored the system to produce few high school graduates who give a damn about reading a newspaper. Drop-outs sure don't read papers. The entertainment media wants the empty-headed focussed on American Idol, Britney Spears and other such irrelevant crap. Upshot - world gets run (for the most part) by the earnestly educated and informed...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
04/22/2008 10:58 Comments ||
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#7
Reading the above, I'm very glad "If it bleeds, it leads" no longer works.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
04/22/2008 13:42 Comments ||
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Anti-U.S. Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's movement is "ready for all options" in a growing confrontation between his followers and the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, a spokesman said Monday.
Nassar al-Rubaie said the rival parties that dominate Iraq's government failed to meet conditions al-Sadr laid down in his March 30 declaration that temporarily halted fighting between Shiite militias and government forces in the southern city of Basra.
He said responses from members of the United Iraqi Alliance who have served as mediators in the confrontation have not met "the level of seriousness required by the Sadrists."
"We reviewed reactions to Sayyed Muqtada al-Sadr's latest statement, and we are ready for all options," said al-Rubaie, one of the 30 Sadrist lawmakers in Iraq's 275-member parliament.
Al-Sadr ordered his fighters in Basra to stand down and cooperate with government forces in the March 30 declaration, but called on the government to free non-convicted prisoners from his movement, stop what he called "illegal" raids on his followers and launch new public works projects across the country.
The warning comes amid renewed clashes between government troops and police and al-Sadr's followers south of Baghdad. Saturday, al-Sadr issued what he called a last warning to the government and told his followers to fight the "occupier" in his Baghdad stronghold of Sadr City.
Al-Maliki's government has called on the cleric to disband his militia, the Mehdi Army, or see his supporters barred from public office. Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh warned Sunday that "Iraq cannot be the new Somalia," with armed groups overshadowing its politics.
But al-Sadr's followers say the government's U.S.-backed crackdown on militia fighters in Basra and Baghdad is an effort to weaken the cleric's movement ahead of provincial elections scheduled for August. Sadrist lawmaker Fawzi Tarzi said Sunday that calls to disband the Mehdi Army "will mean the end of al-Maliki's government."
Posted by: Fred ||
04/22/2008 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under: Mahdi Army
#1
Condoleeza Rice was quoted on CNN saying:
"I guess it's all-out war for anybody but [Al-Sadr]. I guess that's the message. His followers can go to their deaths, and he'll sit in Iran."
That's rich, that is. The height of hypocrisy, really. Here Al-Sadr crosses into a neighboring country (maybe, maybe not) and he's a chicken. Rice, Bush, Cheney and the lot hang out thousands and thousands of miles away unless they deign to pop into Iraq for a few days, mince about and stir another lot of salt into the wounds, then prance back across the safety of a continent and an ocean.
By the way, it's interesting to note that the word "radical" has disappeared from the front of Al-Sadr's name. I suppose that will only last as long as the cease-fire. Elsewhere he is now being described as anti-US, which seems to be just a substitute for radical. Even so, the semantics of it all are intriguing.
#2
Echo, you're right, but on the other hand, I see no harm in taunting sadr, in fact, for once, it's very satisfying to have the usual blusterers of fiery rethorics be taunted by a western pol, usually, it's the other way around, and there never is any response.
Besides, even though the equivalency is not wrong in its principle, it's dishonest to compare leaders of an huge and immensely complex machinery as the US of A to the leader of a small (by armies' standards) militia. I don't think anybody ever expected GWB nor Rice nor any 5-stars US general to ride into baghdad as a tank leader at the very beginning of the armored thrust during OIF, that is simply not their job description. sadr, however, is supposed to be both a political/religious and a military leader, of a smallish armed band. He could be much more likely to be perhaps not fighting along his troops, but at least being among them.
#3
but, of course, "Echo", Rice, Bush, and Cheney are Americans, and are residing in their own country. Kinda makes a difference, if you ever thought about it. Mookie (Iranian-puppet asshole, not radical) is "studying" Islam in Iran or some safe-hole whilst his minions are getting killed for being thugs, gangsters, and criminals. Or didn't you read the latest Iraqi Shiite fatwa? Sucks, huh?
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/22/2008 6:18 Comments ||
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#4
They may be trying to shame him into action. The Mehdi army, like all the militias and insurgents, seems to be difficult to engage. They pop off a few rounds then run away yelling "We have defeated the infidels". If you can get them to mass and fight, you could wipe them out or at least beat them bad enough to dismantle them and seize their weapons.
#6
Sadr and Condi. Chicken and Rice. Umm good! but be sure to chop that chicken up, chop, chop. Oh, if Sadr would just stand by his militia. Then, pretty soon, no more Sadr. Problem solved!
Posted by: Jack Slineger4174 ||
04/22/2008 8:56 Comments ||
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#7
Iraq ten years hence: Many maimed, middle aged men wandering the streets wearing shirts that say "I joined the madhi army and all I got was this crappy prosthesis..."
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
04/22/2008 11:03 Comments ||
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#8
To the last drop of blood, boys, to the last drop of blood.
#9
"Here Al-Sadr crosses into a neighboring country (maybe, maybe not) and he's a chicken. Rice, Bush, Cheney and the lot hang out thousands and thousands of miles away unless they deign to pop into Iraq for a few days, mince about and stir another lot of salt into the wounds, then prance back across the safety of a continent and an ocean."
Bush and Cheney will return to private life this January. Its not 100% certain, but I'm betting Rice will too (whichever party wins in November) I very much look forward to Sadr also entering private life, in one form or another.
#11
I read today in the comments section of the Long War Journal that Sadr's family is in the process of disowning him saying that he has brought shame and disrepute on the family name. If true, that should be big news and will further isolate this turd.
#13
Rice, Bush, Cheney and the lot hang out thousands and thousands of miles away unless they deign to pop into Iraq for a few days, mince about and stir another lot of salt into the wounds, then prance back across the safety of a continent and an ocean.
That's because, you Kiwi ponce, Sadr can't afford to have other leaders besides himself. Notice that it's "Sadr and his followers"? He, in essence, is the Mahdi Army. So it is a big deal when he seeks sanctuary in Iran.
On the other hand, the US has capable military leadership already in Iraq. There's no need to have "Rice, Bush, Cheney and the lot" on the ground.
Then again, why am I surprised at your ignorant commentary? New Zealanders wouldn't know what capable military leadership, or even a capable military, is anymore. I might as well explain topology to a fruit-fly.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice tried Monday to rally support for Iraq's government among its Arab neighbors.
Rice met with foreign ministers from eight Arab nations in Bahrain to discuss debt relief and diplomatic relations with Iraq, The New York Times reported. The discussions also dealt with the political situations in Lebanon and Gaza, the Times said. "A number of countries around the table talked about their desire to have permanent representatives" in Baghdad, Rice said, adding that on the issue of debt relief "it's just a matter of getting the negotiations done."
Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait have said they would send ambassadors to Iraq but have yet to do so. The Arab officials did take the concrete step of agreeing to have Iraq seated at the table of future meetings. Rice called that "a very good step forward for the reintegration of Iraq into regional affairs."
Posted by: Fred ||
04/22/2008 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under: Iraqi Insurgency
KUWAIT CITY - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday the Bush administration explicitly warned former President Jimmy Carter against meeting with members of Hamas, the Palestinian faction that controls the Gaza Strip and which is regarded by the U.S. as a terror group. Meow! Cat fight looming. My bet's on Condi winning this one....Jimmuh probably just "forgot" that he was "warned."
Rice, attending a regional meeting on Iraq's security and future, contradicted Carter's assertions that he never got a clear signal from the State Department. Rice told reporters that the U.S. thought the visit could confuse the message that the U.S. will not deal with Hamas.
"I just don't want there to be any confusion," Rice said. "The United States is not going to deal with Hamas and we had certainly told President Carter that we did not think meeting with Hamas was going to help" further a political settlement between Israel and the Palestinians.
Carter said top Hamas leaders told him during seven hours of talks in Damascus over the weekend that they are willing to live next to Israel, but a top Hamas official said the group would never outright recognize the Jewish state.
Separately Tuesday, a Hamas official said the militant group has softened its demands for a cease-fire with Israel. Spokesman Ghazi Hamad said Hamas is now prepared for a partial truce that would only include the Gaza Strip. Well, duh, considering that's the only portion of Palestine that your "government" has "control over." More at link.
Posted by: BA ||
04/22/2008 08:27 ||
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#3
This kind of thing is her job as Secretary of State. A bit of a shock for Mr. Carter, being openly contradicted on a matter of policy by the government of the United States of America.
#4
Nah, she's sharpening the blade she'll use to separate Jimmuh from his testicles.
Wish I could agree with you, Alistaire...but I don't think she, or anyone else in the Administration, has the huevos to do so. They'd be risking an open rebellion among Foggy Bottom's dominant Arabist "clientitis" faction, gleefully assisted by their MSM allies
Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) ||
04/22/2008 19:12 Comments ||
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#5
FOX NEWS + CNN > Former POTUS Richard Nixon's daughter has endorsed/suppors Barack Obama.
HMMMMM, HMMMMM, WHAT DOTH PAULA "You've Got to Remember" ABDUL REMEMBER OF DICK NIXON???
Posted by: Bill Slomoque3184 ||
04/22/2008 19:53 Comments ||
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#6
Sorry RB - above post is mine. The Java didn't kick in yet this Guam morning.
Former President Carter said Monday that the Islamic group Hamas was willing to accept the Jewish state as a "neighbor next door," but the militants did not match their upbeat words with concrete steps to halt violence.
Hamas, which advocates Israel's destruction, instead recycled previous offers, including a 10-year truce if Israel takes the unlikely step of withdrawing from the West Bank and Jerusalem first.
Hamas has repeatedly confounded observers with its conflicting messages. Actions on the ground seven rockets were fired on Israel from Hamas-ruled Gaza Monday, including one that wounded a 4-year-old boy contradicted the Islamic militant group's positive words about coexistence and a truce.
And a leader of the Hamas military wing, which carried out a twin suicide bombing on the Gaza border Saturday, said his group would step up attacks against Israel in coming days.
The salvo of rockets came despite a last-minute phone call from Carter, urging a one-month halt to attacks on Israel, to gain some international goodwill and defuse tensions.
"I did the best I could," Carter said of his conversation with Hamas supreme leader, Khaled Mashaal, pressing him to declare a one-month truce. "They turned me down, and I think they're wrong."
Carter, who delivered a speech in Jerusalem Monday summing up his visit, said top Hamas leaders told him during seven hours of talks in Damascus over the weekend that they are willing to live next to Israel.
Hours later, however, Mashaal sent mixed messages. He stressed that while the militants would accept a state in the 1967 borders, meaning alongside Israel, the group would never outright recognize the Jewish state.
The Bush administration and Israel, which shun Hamas as a terrorist group, have criticized the Carter mission as misguided. In Washington, a State Department official said Monday that it does not appear Hamas has changed its positions.
In Jerusalem, Carter defended his trip, saying peace in the region will be possible only if Israel and the U.S. start talking to Hamas and Syria, which supports several militant groups. He also called on the Bush administration to push harder to renew Israeli-Syrian peace talks. "The present strategy of excluding Hamas and excluding Syria is just not working," said Carter, who brokered a historic 1979 peace treaty between Israel and Egypt.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/22/2008 00:00 ||
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[5 views]
Top|| File under: Hamas
#1
The Bush administration and Israel, which shun Hamas as a terrorist group, have criticized the Carter mission as misguided.
#3
And a shoutout from another old friend, the Worst UN Secretary General Ever...
Kofi Annan defends Jimmy Carter over Hamas talks
GENEVA (AFP) - Kofi Annan on Tuesday defended former US president Jimmy Carter for holding direct talks with Hamas in Syria in the face of sharp attacks from both Israel and the White House.
"I don't think the criticism is entirely fair," the former United Nations secretary general told reporters at a press conference for his new Global Humanitarian Forum in Geneva.
"We should be cautious not to over-react but take advantage of whatever openings president Carter has been able to obtain to move the process forward," he said. "He's the only president who's been able to broker an enduring peace agreement between Israel and Egypt and for that we are very grateful," Annan said.
Palestinian militant group Hamas will not recognise Israel, its political leader Khaled Meshaal has insisted. He was responding to comments by former US President Jimmy Carter, following their talks in Syria at the weekend. Mr Meshaal said Hamas agreed to a Palestinian state on the land in east Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza that Israel captured in the 1967 war.
Mr Carter had said Hamas was prepared to accept the right of Israel to "live as a neighbour next door in peace".
Speaking in Syria, where he lives in exile, Khaled Meshaal said the Palestinian state must have "Jerusalem as its capital, with genuine sovereignty, without settlements". He added that this did not mean recognising Israel, but he said: "We have offered a truce if Israel withdraws to the 1967 borders, a truce of 10 years as an alternative to recognition."
The United States said Mr Meshaal's comments did not amount to a change of position by Hamas. In any case, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said, "actions speak louder than words".
Many Israelis and their allies do not believe Hamas' offer of a truce, says the BBC's Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen. They cite the Hamas charter, which calls for the destruction of Israel and the creation of an Islamic state in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza.
This is just the sort of dishonesty, intellectual or otherwise, we've come to expect from the Worst President Ever. By "misunderstanding" Hamas' position, which has remained constant for lo, these many years, Mr Peanut hoped to achieve some sort of "breakthrough," with the details, to include that little "misunderstanding," to be negotiated later.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/22/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Wasn't this his game with Arafish all those years ago ? He said one thing, tablecloth head said another in Arabic. What a loser. What a pathetic joke. Can't we lock this fool in an asylum to protect the good name and faith of the USA ?
An unsecured bathroom window and complacent guards allowed a top terror suspect to flee a high-security prison in February, Singapore's deputy prime minister said Monday.
In announcing the results of a probe into the embarrassing escape, Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng said Mas Selamat Kastari, who allegedly once plotted to hijack an airplane and crash it into the city-state's international airport, had planned his Feb. 27 escape over time.
Speaking in Parliament, Wong said Mas Selamat climbed out of a ventilation window of a toilet cubicle before a scheduled weekly visit with his family. The window did not have a grill on it, Wong said.
"In my view, the security weakness of this window is the single most crucial factor which enabled Mas Selamat to escape," Wong said.
Wong said there was no video recording of the escape since closed-circuit television coverage of the area was being upgraded to add motion detectors.
The escape triggered a monthlong nationwide manhunt in which police, special operations officers, elite Gurkha guards and soldiers combed the island nation's forests. Border security was tightened.
Wong said the probe found no evidence suggesting that it was an inside job, but said the guards should have kept Mas Selamat in sight by preventing him from closing the cubicle door.
"Complacency, for whatever reason ... had crept into the operating culture" at the detention center, Wong said.
Wong said the officers responsible for Mas Selamat's escape would be disciplined, penalized and replaced.
Security breaches are rare in tightly controlled Singapore, an island nation of 4.5 million people that is a 45-minute boat ride from Indonesia where Mas Selamat is alleged to have links with the Jemaah Islamiyah terror network, blamed for a series of attacks that have killed more than 250 people since 2002.
In response to lawmakers' questions, Wong said authorities believed Mas Selamat had not managed to flee the country, and that there is a risk the fugitive would launch a retaliative attack on the city-state. "We consider him to be a key trigger in the terrorist network," he said. "If he could leave Singapore and connect back with his (Jemaah Islamiyah) friends, they could well launch a revenge attack."
Mas Selamat is said to be the former commander of the local arm of the Jemaah Islamiyah.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/22/2008 00:00 ||
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[5 views]
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#1
I hate to seem critical but if you have unsecured bathroom windows and complacent guards, it really isn't a high-security prison.
#2
If they had executed him like a common drug dealer they wouldn't have to worry about him anymore. Because of their execution policy Singapore doesn't have a drug problem. Doing the same thing to criminals like this guy would have sent the same message to any other fools who might be thinking of following his footsteps
Posted by: Thaimble Scourge of the Pixies4707 ||
04/22/2008 17:14 Comments ||
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TEHRAN (Rooters) - Iran gave an upbeat assessment on Tuesday of two days of talks with the top investigator of the U.N. atomic energy watchdog, who was looking into Western reports that Iran secretly studied how to design nuclear bombs.
"The talks with (Olli) Heinonen were positive," a senior Iranian nuclear official, who asked not to be named, told Reuters. "Stupid infidel! Ah!"
Iranian officials had said Heinonen's visit was intended to advance cooperation between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the U.N. body investigating Iran's disputed nuclear ambitions.
#1
I can assure you that their foreign-supplied weaponry will be of no use to them if one day they make the decision to stand on their own feet, because they will not have access to the technology.â
Ah, like when your US weapons didn't see us after you broke with us? You didn't like that? It bothered you? You know, if you didn't break with us it wouldn't be a problem?
Do you think the Russian, Ukrainian, Chinese, Swedish and French Weapons you want to buy with see their makers without permission?
#2
See TOPIX > ARMY OFFICER:US HAS NO WAY OUT IN AFGHANISTAN; + FORMER OFFICERS DISCUSS WAR.
Collectively, OFFICERS are directly or indir basically arguing for a larger LOCAL/REGIONAL-BASED US military presence, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO BY US-SPECIFIC NATIONAL DRAFT AS NECESSARY/REQUIRED TO SUPPOR US FOREIGN POLICIES-ALLIES + US-LED "NATO" STYLE Regional Organz = Mutual Defense inter-nation Agreements for the ME/CENASIA.
IOW, COLD WAR-STYLE US "STANDING/PERMANENT FORCE" PRESENCE.
#4
We can hope Joe. It sounds good.
Leftist textbooks my not need revision as they have become very good at denying what is clearly visible right in front of their eyes.
#5
Baghdad Bob may need to come out of retirement.
He can recycle some of his best lines:
"We have them surrounded in their tanks"
"God will roast their stomachs in hell at the hands of Iraqis."
"Now even the American command is under siege. We are hitting it from the north, east, south and west. We chase them here and they chase us there. But at the end we are the people who are laying siege to them. And it is not them who are besieging us."
"I can say, and I am responsible for what I am saying, that they have
started to commit suicide under the walls of Baghdad. We
will encourage them to commit more suicides quickly."
"We will kill them all........most of them."
"They're not even [within] 100 miles [of Baghdad]. They are not in any
place. They hold no place in Iraq. This is an illusion ... they are
trying to sell to the others an illusion."
"They are not in Baghdad. They are not in control of any airport. I tell you this. It is all a lie. They lie. It is a hollywood movie. You do not believe them."
We've had a look at some video from Iran's air parade, held yesterday as part of the annual Army Day celebration. Call us underwhelmed, at best. According to the Tehran Times, at least 200 aircraft took part in the event. That would be more than the number expected, if the paper's estimate is correct.
But, as we noted in our preview of the air parade, the aircraft displayed were decidedly old. When the highlight clip begins with 35-year-old F-4 Phantoms, well, your "parade" is more a heritage flight than a display of military might. And sure enough, the Phantom fly-by was followed by other aging aircraft, including U.S.-built "Huey" helicopters.
As expected, the Iranian Air Force used the event to showcase its "new" Saegeh fighters, but that jet is nothing more than a rebuilt F-5 (acquired from the U.S. in the 1960s), with slightly upgraded avionics and a second vertical stabilizer. A highlight clip from the parade (courtesy of the MediaLine) shows three of the "new" fighters, which may represent most of Saegehs currently operational in the Iranian Air Force.
Along with the aircraft, this year's Army Day parade also featured other types of military equipment, including battlefield missiles and rockets, and at least one Shahab-3 medium-range ballistic missile, capble of striking Israel. From the video clip, we couldn't tell if the transporter-erector-launcher (TEL) vehicle was a new model, or one of the older ones.
The distinction is important; according to western missile experts, Iran's early Shahab-3 TELs could not elevate a fueled missile to the launch position. That would require Iranian crews to erect the missile and fuel it before firing, lengthening the launch cycle and increasing their vulnerability to detection and attack.
Friday's event also featured a speech by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, filled with the usual blather. Here are a few "highlights." Spew alert: put down your glass or swallow your beverage before you read these howlers:
Addressing the ceremony, President Mahmud Ahmadinejad described the army as a strong citadel and unrivaled defensive power against the enemies threats.
He said, Iran is the most powerful and popular nation in the world whose efforts and achievements are at the service of human excellence, peace, and friendship.
Iran is now so powerful that none of the worlds hegemonic powers are capable of threatening its security, he stated.
At least the rhetoric of Iran's president matched the equipment on display. Nothing new (as far as we could tell), and decidedly unimpressive.
#15
I've imagined the guardian council holding a meeting on national television, when an airborne Hogzilla crashes through the roof and smites them all in an orgy of porcine fury.
Hardly realistic, but you have to enjoy the image.
#16
Another nice possibility would be for a few Iranian-labeled explosive devices to be used by an anti Persian terrorist group (sunni, kurd or arab Shia) to blow up a mullah filled building in Qom.
Another would be for a self guided Persian helicoptor with explosives to similarly detonate.
#17
AlanC, we can drop cement bombs on targets. Then the only evidence is the guidance system. Hopefully someone is developing a way that the guidance system could detach or self-destruct just before impact.
Personally I'm a fan of taking a few mothballed F-14's and painting them with Iranian colors and rigging them to fly by remote control then using them as kamakazi's. Let the Iranian Air Force take the blame for the attack. We could probably gin up a fake suicide tape as well if we really wanted to make sure a particular person or group got credit.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called Monday for immediate presidential elections in Lebanon without foreign interference and told Syria and Iran they must support the disarmament of Hezbollah's well-armed militia.
Ban highlighted the mounting international concern over Lebanon's failure to fill the top post, left vacant after pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud stepped down last November. He also warned that Lebanon will not be a fully sovereign, democratic state until Hezbollah is disbanded.
The secretary-general's six-month report to the U.N. Security Council, obtained by The Associated Press, focused on implementation of a 2004 resolution that calls for presidential elections under the constitution and the disbanding of all militias.
"Parliament, which has not met in more than a year, must be allowed to convene urgently to fulfill its constitutional duties in order to elect a president...," Ban said. "A free and fair presidential election, without foreign interference or influence must take place immediately. The current situation is no longer sustainable."
Lebanon's sharply divided parliament has failed to elect Army commander Gen. Michel Suleiman as a consensus president because Prime Minister Fuad Saniora's pro-Western, anti-Syrian government and pro-Syrian opposition factions led by Hezbollah remain at loggerheads over power-sharing and the shape of the future Cabinet.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/22/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Hezbollah
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.
Sudan on Tuesday shut down for its first census in 15 years, a milestone in the peace deal that ended Africa's longest civil war but overshadowed by a dispute that threatens to undermine the accord. 
NAIROBI - Ethiopia broke diplomatic ties with Qatar on Monday, accusing the Gulf Arab state of supporting terrorism in Somalia and spreading instability in the Horn of Africa. 'Whether in Somalia and in other parts of the Horn of Africa -- including within Ethiopia -- Qatar has been one of the most important supporters of terrorism and extremism in our sub-region,' Ethiopia's government said in an email statement.
Fifteen planned terrorist attacks in Britain have been foiled since the 2005 London bombings, Met chiefs said today. 
By David Morgan
Important issues concerning Pakistan were discussed in an hour-long meeting between Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Sami (JUIS) chief Senator Samiul Haq and former prime minister Mian Nawaz Sharif.
Leaders of 
With security improving, local economies flourishing and community reconstruction underway, Iraqis who once fled their South Baghdad homes in fear are now returning to the villages they deserted.
Anti-U.S. Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's movement is "ready for all options" in a growing confrontation between his followers and the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, a spokesman said Monday.
Former President Carter said Monday that the Islamic group Hamas was willing to accept the Jewish state as a "neighbor next door," but the militants did not match their upbeat words with concrete steps to halt violence.
Palestinian militant group Hamas will not recognise Israel, its political leader Khaled Meshaal has insisted. He was responding to comments by former US President Jimmy Carter, following their talks in Syria at the weekend. Mr Meshaal said Hamas agreed to a Palestinian state on the land in east Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza that Israel captured in the 1967 war. 
In announcing the results of a probe into the embarrassing escape, Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng said Mas Selamat Kastari, who allegedly once plotted to hijack an airplane and crash it into the city-state's international airport, had planned his Feb. 27 escape over time.
TEHRAN (Rooters) - Iran gave an upbeat assessment on Tuesday of two days of talks with the top investigator of the U.N. atomic energy watchdog, who was looking into Western reports that Iran secretly studied how to design nuclear bombs.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called Monday for immediate presidential elections in Lebanon without foreign interference and told Syria and Iran they must support the disarmament of Hezbollah's well-armed militia.
