US Colonel Greg Julian with Afghan village elders in Inzeri yesterday. US commanders distributed $40,000 and apologized to relatives of 15 people killed in a recent US raid. (Jason Straziuso/Associated Press)
WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Robert Gates said yesterday the United States is "lost" unless it can find a way to not kill so many civilians in the pursuit of militants in Afghanistan, and that flooding the chaotic country with US troops would be a disaster.
Gates, the only Bush Cabinet member President Barack Obama asked to stay on, told a Senate panel that the Pentagon could send two more brigades to Afghanistan by late spring, and a third by late summer, to try to salvage a war that has ground to a grim standoff with entrenched and resourceful militants.
But Gates said he is deeply skeptical about adding any more US forces after that, in part because military dominion in Afghanistan has failed for every great power that tried it.
"The civilian casualties are doing us an enormous harm in Afghanistan, and we have got to do better" to avoid innocent deaths, even though the Taliban militants use civilians as cover, Gates told the Senate Armed Services Committee. "My worry is that the Afghans come to see us as part of the problem, rather than as part of their solution. And then we are lost."
Bracing and blunt, Gates outlined an agenda for Afghanistan that is closely focused on US strategic needs in a battle against terrorism and extremism, and that trims the democratic ambitions of the Bush administration.
"We need to be very careful about the nature of the goals we set for ourselves in Afghanistan," Gates said.
The United States should keep its sights on one thing: preventing Afghanistan from being used as a base for terrorists and extremists who would harm the United States or its allies, Gates said.
"Afghanistan is the fourth or fifth poorest country in the world, and if we set ourselves the objective of creating some sort of Central Asian Valhalla over there, we will lose," Gates said, referring to a haven of purity in Norse mythology. "Nobody in the world has that kind of time, patience or money, to be honest."
Gates joined US fortunes in Afghanistan to the related struggle against extremism in Pakistan, but signaled no reduction in US missile strikes or other raids that infuriate both populations and besmirch the US-backed governments in Kabul and Islamabad.
"Both President Bush and President Obama have made clear that we will go after Al Qaeda wherever Al Qaeda is and we will continue to pursue them," Gates said.
Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also indicated that missile strikes will continue. He said rules for using missiles in Afghanistan were carefully set, and while the Pentagon has studied possible changes to the rules, the US commander there has not asked for one.
"I don't think we can succeed in Afghanistan if civilians keep dying there," Mullen said. "And we've got to figure out a way to absolutely minimize that, the goal being zero."
Afghanistan and Pakistan are the nation's top military priority, Mullen said, and he echoed Gates's sober assessment of Afghanistan.
"The risk of where we are in Afghanistan right now in terms of outcomes, I think . . . is pretty high right now because it's not going well and it hasn't been going well for a significant period of time," Mullen told reporters at the Foreign Press Center.
To the constellation of problems in Afghanistan - corruption, the flourishing drug trade and the limited competence of the central government - Mullen added that the United States couldn't do as much as it might have liked to counter the resurgence of the Taliban because its troops were tied up in Iraq.
#1
The problem is so many of the dead civilians only became civilians after their buddies grabbed the guns from the corpses when they ran away from the fight.
#2
Strongman. Peacekeepers that train the military. Money. And if enough security is established, some factories. I'm sure they can make the same crap that's made in Pakistan and it will help our financial burden.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
01/28/2009 19:32 Comments ||
Top||
#3
PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUMS > US SECDEF GATES: US WILL NOT CEASE/STOP ITS DRONE STRIKES AGZ MILITANT TARGETS INSIDE PAKISTAN [US will unlater strike as required], MESSAGE CONVEYED TO ISLAMABAD.
PRO-PAKI PDF Posters - USA is violating both PAKISTANI SOVEREIGNTY + INTERNATIONAL LAWS. US ATTACKS AGZ PAKI IS PROOF OF US IMPERIALIST INTENTIONS/AGENDUMS IN SOUTH ASIA???
* ALso on PDF > MAP ["Greater India Calendar"]SENT TO PAKISTANI SENATE PROPOSES PAKISTANI-INDIAN AMALGAMATION/CONFEDERATION [Covert PYOP to DISINTEGRATE PAKISTAN from YET-TO-BE-DETERMINED SOURCE(S)]; + INDIAN TERROR IN SRI LANKA AND BALOCHISTAN.
SAME > SIKHS [PK-IND PUNJAB + 36 Sikh Organz/SIKH DIASPORA] SAY TO SPARE SIKH HOMELAND IN CASE OF WAR BWTN INDIA AND PAKISTAN [ + to remove any and all NUCLEAR WEAPONS from SIKH HOMELAND = PAK-INDIAN PUNJAB DEMARCATED REGIONS].
The Sikhs have also repor requested or demanded formal UNO INTERVENTION, including to charge BOTH PAK-IND wid "CRIMES AGZ HUMANITY" AGZ SIKHS, IFF NEITHER COUNTRY ADHERES TO THE SIKHS DEMANDS.
WASHINGTON President Obama intends to adopt a tougher line toward Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, as part of a new American approach to Afghanistan that will put more emphasis on waging war than on development, senior administration officials said Tuesday.
President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan can expect a tougher line from the Obama administration, American officials said.
Mr. Karzai is now seen as a potential impediment to American goals in Afghanistan, the officials said, because corruption has become rampant in his government, contributing to a flourishing drug trade and the resurgence of the Taliban.
"The president has recently asked for a comprehensive review of Afghanistan policy, and no final decisions have been made," Michael A. Hammer, spokesman for the National Security Council, said Wednesday.
Among those pressing for Mr. Karzai to do more, the officials said, are Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Richard C. Holbrooke, Mr. Obamas special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The officials portrayed the approach as a departure from that of President Bush, who held videoconferences with Mr. Karzai every two weeks and sought to emphasize the American role in rebuilding Afghanistan and its civil institutions.
They said that the Obama administration would work with provincial leaders as an alternative to the central government, and that it would leave economic development and nation-building increasingly to European allies, so that American forces could focus on the fight against insurgents.
If we set ourselves the objective of creating some sort of Central Asian Valhalla over there, we will lose, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, who served under Mr. Bush and is staying on under Mr. Obama, told Congress on Tuesday. He said there was not enough time, patience or money to pursue overly ambitious goals in Afghanistan, and he called the war there our greatest military challenge.
Mr. Gates said last week that previous American goals for Afghanistan had been too broad and too far into the future, language that differed from Mr. Bushs policies.
NATO has not met its pledges for combat troops, transport helicopters, military trainers and other support personnel in Afghanistan, and Mr. Gates has openly criticized the United States NATO allies for not fulfilling their promises.
Mr. Holbrooke is preparing to travel to the region, and administration officials said he would ask more of Mr. Karzai, particularly on fighting corruption, aides said, as part of what they described as a more for more approach.
Mr. Karzai is facing re-election this year, and it is not clear whether Mr. Obama and his aides intend to support his candidacy. The administration will be watching, aides said, to see if Mr. Karzai responds to demands from the United States and its NATO allies that he arrest associates, including his half-brother, whom Western officials have accused of smuggling drugs in Kandahar.
Shortly before taking office as vice president last week, Mr. Biden traveled to Afghanistan in his role as the departing chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He met with Mr. Karzai and warned him that the Obama administration would expect more of him than Mr. Bush did, administration officials said. He told Mr. Karzai that Mr. Obama would be discontinuing the video calls that Mr. Karzai enjoyed with Mr. Bush, said a senior official, who added that Mr. Obama expected Mr. Karzai to do more to crack down on corruption.
After his return from Afghanistan, Mr. Biden, who has had a contentious relationship with Mr. Karzai, described the situation there as a real mess.
An election is scheduled to be held no later than the fall, under Afghanistans Constitution. Zalmay Khalilzad, an Afghan-American who is a former United States ambassador to the United Nations and is viewed as a possible challenger to Mr. Karzai, warned that the Obama administration must tread carefully as it recalibrated its Afghanistan policy.
If it looks like were abandoning the central government and focusing just on the local areas, we will run afoul of Afghan politics, Mr. Khalilzad said. Some will regard it as an effort to break up the Afghan state, which would be regarded as hostile policy.
Mr. Obama is preparing to increase the number of American troops in Afghanistan over the next two years, perhaps to more than 60,000 from about 34,000 now. But Mr. Gates indicated Tuesday that the administration would move slowly, at least for now. He outlined plans for an increase of about 12,000 troops by midsummer but cautioned that any decision on more troops beyond that might have to wait until late 2009, given the need for barracks and other infrastructure.
With the forces of the Taliban and Al Qaeda mounting more aggressive operations in eastern and southern Afghanistan, administration officials said they saw little option but to focus on the military campaign. They said Europeans would be asked to pick up more of the work on reconstruction, police training and cooperation with the Afghan government. They also said much of the international effort might shift to helping local governments and institutions, and away from the government in Kabul.
Its not about dumping reconstruction at all, said a senior administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the diplomatic delicacy of the subject. What were trying to do is to focus on the Al Qaeda problem. That has to be our first priority.
Mr. Gates said Tuesday that under the redefined Afghan strategy, it would be vital for NATO allies to provide more civilian support. In particular, he said, the allies should be more responsible for building civil society institutions in Afghanistan, a task that had been falling to American forces. He also demanded that allies step up to the plate and defray costs of expanding the Afghan Army, an emerging power center, whose leaders could emerge as rivals to Mr. Karzai.
Mr. Gates added that the United States should focus on limited goals. My own personal view is that our primary goal is to prevent Afghanistan from being used as a base for terrorists and extremists to attack the United States and our allies, and whatever else we need to do flows from that objective, he said.
#2
1) Biden gets a medal from Pakistan and slams Karzai, a long time foe of the Taliban. Guy can't tell our friends from our enemies.
2) They said that the Obama administration would work with provincial leaders as an alternative to the central government, The provincial leaders are all former warlords that we convinced to accept the central government. Now we tell them we'll support their little fiefdoms?
3) If we're not trying to nation build, then what is the purpose of our troops in Afghanistan? Is it just a staging ground for attacks on Pakistan? I think we need to have a creditable goal regarding Afghanistan to justify our presence or we're giving the Taliban a big openning here.
#3
Just keep in mind that every one of them would have a seat in the UN General Assembly and be eligible for individual seats in e.g. their human rights council etc.
#6
Karzai belongs under the bus. Let's face it, only a Stalinesque, or if they were really lucku Titoish, tyrant can keep Afghanistan together from the central government. The idea of establishing democracy of any sort there is a pipe dream. So we can hunker down with Karzai like we did with Diem or we can recognize the inevitable, cut a deal that says to the Taliban, Afghanistan is all yours if you can keep it and we can leave in peace. We won't help you stay in power, but we won't overthrow you. But if al-Q comes back. you can rename the country Rubble.
To Karzai & Co. give them a chance in the Witness Protection Program well before we leave.
Then we go to the Pakis and tell them they are harboring al-Q and they've got 6 months to do something about it or they get the Iraq treatment.
#7
He could always come back to San Francisco and work in his brother's restaurant. Besides, the locals think he is "Gorgeous" in that green cape and the fuzzy hat.
WASHINGTON In Iraq, wounded American troops are treated at a well-equipped field hospital within one hour, regardless of where they were fighting or how bad the battle. In Afghanistan, with its rugged terrain, their comrades are not so fortunate. Some wounded troops there do not receive advanced trauma care for almost two hours, lessening the chances of survival and rapid recovery.
Now, Robert M. Gates, the defense secretary, is trying to address the imbalance, directing the military to send more helicopters and a fourth field hospital to Afghanistan to guarantee that wounded Americans there are treated within what the military calls the golden hour.
The order is Mr. Gatess latest foray into a Pentagon bureaucracy that he has complained is sometimes too slow to respond to the needs of the troops. It comes as the Obama administration is preparing to double American forces in Afghanistan as part of a plan to battle Al Qaeda and the Taliban more effectively.
In Iraq, our goal is to have a wounded soldier in a hospital in an hour, Mr. Gates told Congress on Tuesday. Its closer to two hours in Afghanistan. And so what weve been working on the last few weeks is, how do we get that medevac standard in Afghanistan down to that golden hour in Iraq?
Mr. Gates has directed that the number of helicopters assigned to medical evacuation in Afghanistan be increased by about 25 percent. They will be drawn from Army, Air Force and Navy equipment, officials said. Some medical evacuation helicopters will be assigned to forward bases, closer to where troops may come into contact with adversaries, the officials said.
Mr. Gates has also directed that some of the helicopters set aside for search-and-rescue missions for downed pilots in Afghanistan be reconfigured and reassigned to medical evacuation. That represents a departure from military doctrine that calls for certain numbers of combat search-and-rescue teams to be on 24-hour call, but it was seen by Mr. Gates and his advisers an acceptable tradeoff. The question is, can you take a little risk there especially as we are going to have more and more forces sent to Afghanistan? said Geoff Morrell, the Pentagon press secretary, who cited military statistics that no American jets or bombers had been shot down in Afghanistan in seven years.
As those new rules have been put in effect over recent weeks, the officials said, the average medical evacuation time in Afghanistan already has dropped to 71 minutes today from nearly two hours last year.
Mr. Gates had previously ordered the military to spend billions for mine-resistant troop vehicles and to spend millions more to increase combat surveillance flights in battle. In his testimony on Tuesday, he made it clear that he was dissatisfied with the response across the Pentagons civilian and military bureaucracy. Efforts to put the bureaucracy on a war footing have, in my view, revealed underlying flaws in the institutional priorities, cultural preferences and reward structures of Americas defense establishment, a set of institutions largely arranged to plan for future wars, to prepare for a short war, but not to wage a protracted war, Mr. Gates said.
Pentagon officials said the medical evacuation initiative did not even require purchasing new equipment or hiring additional personnel just shifting priorities and changing assignments accordingly.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/28/2009 00:00 ||
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The Taliban told U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday that his plan to close Guantanamo Bay prison camp was a "positive step" but peace was only possible if he withdraws U.S. forces from Afghanistan and Iraq.
The Taliban, toppled in the 2001 U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan, also told the new president that sending more troops to Afghanistan "and the use of force against the independent peoples of the world, has lost its effectiveness".
A day after being sworn in last week, Obama ordered the closure of the prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, where prisoners have been detained for years without charge, some subjected to interrogation that human rights groups say amounted to torture.
Obama has ordered a full review of U.S. strategy in Afghanistan, where he has pledged to boost troop levels and take the initiative against the growing Taliban insurgency.
Osama bin Laden is believed to be hiding in the remote, mountainous border region of Pakistan near Afghanistan.
"Obama's move to close Guantanamo detention centre is a positive step for peace and stability in the region and the world...," the Taliban said in a message posted on Islamist websites, monitored by the U.S.-based terrorism monitor, the SITE Intelligence Group.
The message said Obama had to reverse the policies of former President George W. Bush in Afghanistan and the Islamic world.
"If Obama is right and, according to his words, wants to open a new page based on peaceful interaction built on mutual respect with the Islamic world, the first thing he has to do is to stop and annul all these procedures, which were created according to Bush's criminal policy," it said.
"He must completely withdraw all his forces from the two occupied Islamic countries (Afghanistan and Iraq), and to stop defending Israel against Islamic interests in the Middle East and the entire world," the Taliban message said.
Obama has named former U.N. Ambassador Richard Holbrooke the first U.S. envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, a region Obama called "the central front" in the battle against terrorism.
#1
Compare wid MARIANAS VARIETY > YUMIL: CNMI CAN TAKE GITMO DETAINEES.
All Radical Islam would need is an EFFEC FOOTHOLD - when and iff this should ever occur, IMO the Govts of the CNMI + Guam + WEST/CENTPAC [ FSM] should prep for possible Activist + even Militant-Terror troubles e.g. DEMANDS FOR LEGAL SHARIA, NON-MUSLIM FAITHS TO MINIMIZE OR STOP WORSHIP SERVICES AND NORMAL PROSELYTYZING [Guam = anti-Catholicism], END OF WOMENS RIGHTS, ETC. + DEMANDS FOR SOVEREIGNTY OR EVEN FULL INDEPENDENCE FROM THE USA [ or CHINA?]???
Not right away, but over time ala CREEPING + ESPEC "LEGAL" SHARIA/ISLAMISM [1-1 1/2 generations after local establishment]???
#7
ummm, have they ever had peace and stability in that part of the world? do they even know what that means. because i don't think blowing up kids schools is the definition
#9
ION OBAMA, WORLD MIL FORUM > US TREASURY SECRETARY GEITHNER: OBAMA MAY SUSPEND US-CHINA CONTINUITY AND STRATEGIC DIALOGUE OVER CURRENCY MANIPULATIONS, TRADE FRICTIONS.
(AKI) - The emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Jaber al-Sabah, says no donations destined for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip should go to the Palestinian National Authority led by president Mahmoud Abbas.
Al-Sabah made the remarks after Muslim parliamentarians asked the emir about the destination of funds to help the people of Gaza.
"We will announce the precise figure that we will donate only at the donor countries conference due to take place in Cairo," said the emir, cited by Arab TV network Al-Jazeera. "Our government will, however, put conditions on the deposit of the funds which will be made to the Arab fund for development and one of these conditions is that they cannot be managed by the PNA."
According to local media, Islamic MPs are thought to be close to the Muslim Brotherhood movement which is banned in Egypt, and active in Kuwait, Jordan and Algeria. The MPs and other organisations are concerned that donations collected in Kuwait could end up in the coffers of the PNA.
Last week the leader of the Islamist Hamas movement, Khaled Meshal, asked donor countries to donate funds to the Hamas government led by deposed prime minister Ismail Haniyeh in Gaza, and not the PNA government led by caretaker prime minister Salaam Fayyad in the West Bank.
The oil-rich emirate last Monday hosted a two-day Arab economic summit. However, talks about the crisis in the Gaza Strip dominated the agenda. Sheikh Sabah appealed to Palestinian politicians to seek unity and condemned the divisions between the rival Palestinian political factions, Fatah and Hamas.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
The emir has a long memory vis-à-vis the paleos.
Good.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
01/28/2009 18:30 Comments ||
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Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday sought help of the United Nations in holding trial of the war criminals, saying prosecuting them has become a national demand.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2009 00:00 ||
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The High Court (HC) yesterday issued a rule upon the Election Commission (EC) and Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami to explain why the registration of Jamaat as a political party with the EC should not be declared illegal.
Responding to a writ petition filed by Bangladesh Tarikat Federation's Secretary General Rezaul Haque Chandpuri and 24 others, an HC bench comprising Justice ABM Khairul Haque and Justice Md Abdul Hye issued the rule.
The EC, Jamaat-e-Islami and its ameer and secretary general have been asked to reply to the rule within six weeks.
The petitioners stated that Jamaat-e-Islami is a religion-based political party and does not believe in the independence and sovereignty of Bangladesh which is against the Constitution of Bangladesh and the spirit of the Representation of People Order (RPO) Ordinance 2008.
The constitution of this party contain provisions that do not allow any non-Muslim or any woman to hold the position of ameer in the party which is also against the provisions of the RPO since the RPO clearly states that all political parties will have to involve at least 33 percent women in its main committee by the year 2020, the petitioner said.
They also said that as per the rules of the Constitution of Bangladesh, political parties cannot have a party office outside the country but Jamaat-e-Islami was floated in India and also has party offices in foreign countries.
Considering some incidents involving the Jamaat workers and supporters at Baitul Mukarram Mosque, it seems that they are engaged in various communal activities, which the constitution of the republic clearly forbids, the petition said.
Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami was granted registration as a political party by the EC on November 4 last year.
The petitioners filed the writ petition with the HC on January 25 this year challenging the legality of EC's action.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2009 00:00 ||
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LONDON - The British government was ordered Tuesday to release minutes of crucial ministerial meetings from 2003 at which the controversial US-led invasion of Iraq was discussed. The Information Tribunal backed a decision to disclose minutes of Cabinet meetings from March 13 and 17, where ministers held talks about whether the decision to go to war was allowed under international law.
We have decided that the public interest in maintaining the confidentiality of the formal minutes of two Cabinet meetings at which ministers decided to commit forces to military action in Iraq did not... outweigh the public interest in disclosure, the tribunal said. The decision to commit the nations armed forces to the invasion of another country is momentous in its own right, and... its seriousness is increased by the criticisms that have been made of the general decision-making processes in the Cabinet at the time.
The Cabinet Office has 28 days to decide whether to appeal against the ruling. A spokesman for Prime Minister Gordon Browns Downing Street office said: We are considering our response.
Then prime minister Tony Blair was widely criticised for backing US president George W. Bush in invading Iraq to oust dictator Saddam Hussein despite failing to secure a second United Nations resolution on the stand-off.
Ministerial discussions focused notably on then attorney general Peter Goldsmiths advice on the legality of war.
Blairs government strongly resisted demands for the advice of its most senior legal adviser to be made public, until a large section was leaked during the 2005 general election campaign. Goldsmith then denied ministers pressured him into changing his mind to rule that invading Iraq would be legal in international law even without a second UN Security Council resolution.
The information tribunal noted Tuesday that there has... been criticism of the attorney generals legal advice and of the particular way in which the March 17 opinion was made available to the Cabinet only at the last moment and the March 7 opinion was not disclosed to it at all.
The tribunal ruling backed up a decision by Information Commissioner Richard Thomas. He said: I am pleased that the tribunal has upheld my decision that the public interest in disclosing the official Cabinet minutes in this particular case outweighs the public interest in withholding the information. Disclosing the minutes will allow the public to more fully understand this particular decision.
Former minister Clare Short, who resigned over Britains involvement in the Iraq conflict, played down expectations from the minutes, if they are eventually released. I think people will be disappointed about how little the minutes will say. For example, they never attribute different points to different people. They are always in very generalised terms, she said. So I think its very interesting indeed that the information commissioner has said they must be revealed, but I think they will disappoint people.
There was very little proper discussion in the Cabinet, she said. Cabinet meetings were limited and the minutes are very generalised and limited.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/28/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
I call BS- look for them in 2053. If Britain lasts that long.
That's a pretty big "if", I suppose.
Pressure from Israel and its lobbies may have directly influenced BBC's decision to refuse to air a fundraising advertisement for the victims of Gaza, veterans from the British broadcaster suggested. Y'mean they applied more pressure with more finesse than the Arab countries and their lobbies? Tusk tusk.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
All done without bombs on subways. Which has shown in the BBC's participation as being the sock puppet of radical Islamic terrorists, to also be effective in altering programming standards.
#3
This conspiracy theory for moonbats was predicted a few days ago - can't remember where I read it though. The idea is the BBC benefits by looking gloriously, achingly, impartial to the casual observer, and at the same time giving the impression that its ideological enemies would deny aid to already-suffering Palestinian kiddies. Maybe the consipracy's true, or maybe the BBC actually does want to make an unusual gesture of impartiality. You decide...
VIENNA, Austria (AP) The head of the U.N. nuclear agency canceled interviews with the BBC over its refusal to air an appeal for victims of the Gaza conflict, saying Wednesday that the decision violated "basic human decency."
Nobel Peace Prize winner Mohamed ElBaradei added an influential voice to growing criticism of Britain's publicly funded broadcaster, which says airing the appeal would have damaged its impartiality in coverage of the conflict.
ElBaradei's office said he had canceled scheduled interviews with BBC radio and World Service television because he believes the broadcaster's refusal to air the appeal "violates the rules of basic human decency which are there to help vulnerable people irrespective of who is right or wrong."
ElBaradei's outspokenness on the issue is unusual for the head of a U.N agency whose mandate has nothing to do with the Middle East or humanitarian issues but it is in keeping with his record.
Yaaaaaawn. Anybody got Blixie's number? Or should we just wait til he calls us?
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has suggested dialogue as the first step for resolving the standoff over North Korea's nuclear program.
Whoa! Talk about thinkin' outside of the box!
I though Hilde was the SoS, not Madeline Albright ...
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Jeeze Louise, it's deja vous all over again. Give Kimmie or whoever is running that madhouse a forum. Better borrow half-bright's brooch and do it up right.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
01/28/2009 0:50 Comments ||
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#2
There's something to be said for experience, at least the Hildebeeste will be familiar with failure in discussions with N. Korea as her husband's administration did it many times.
#9
ION WORLD MIL FORUM > MONGOLIA'S PREMATURE RETURN TO CHINA [however historically "justified" in Chin'a view] MAY BE DISDAVANTAGEOUS. CHINA SHOULD WAIT ANOTHER TEN YEARS. Many in Mongolia distrust China, plus the country is still mostly too poor and undeveloped to be in Chin interests at this time.
SAME > RUSSIAN SUB BASE IN THE GALAPAGOS: A NUCLEAR TORPEDOE COULD DESTROY NEW YORK [China's T-15 1950's = sole Cold War Strategic Sub]!
FYI, CHINESE MIL FORUM POSTER - reminds that during the Cold War, the then-USSR had a milplan to directly attack ALASKA WID PARATROOP/AIRBORNE FORCES, and that said Soviet ABN forces, etc. were prepared to wage war in ALCAN AND TO OFFENSIVELY PENETRATE AS FAR AS BRITISH COLUMBIA, ETC, THE LONGER A NATO-PACT CONFLICT WENT ON.
A majority of Rosengård's inhabitants believe the troubled Malmö suburb has undergone a radicalization over the past five years, a new study shows.
Experts believe the city council needs to be allocated greater financial resources if it is to get to grips with the rise of political and religious extremism.
Researchers Magnus Ranstorp and Josefine Dos Santos from the Center for Asymmetric Threat Studies at the Swedish National Defence College were tasked by the government with examining the effects of preventive measures taken in Sweden against violent extremism and radicalization.
As part of their studies, the researchers conducted extensive interviews with school personnel and police officers active in the Rosengård district.
The vast majority of respondents were of the view that the predominantly immigrant suburb had become considerably more radical over the last five years.
Ranstorp and Dos Santos describe how "ultra-radical" Islamists attached to basement mosques "preach isolation and act as thought controllers while also maintaining a strong culture of threats, in which women in particular are subjected to physical and psychological harassment."
"Newcomer families who were never particularly traditional or religious say they lived more freely in their home countries than they do in Rosengård," the researchers write.
Rosengård district committee chairman Andreas Konstantinides (SocDem) said he shared the researchers' concerns about "thought police" controlling the climate of expression in the area.
"I actually think these radical individuals are limited in number. But they exert an influence through violence manipulation and exploiting the situation."
Konstantinides said he viewed the moderate Muslim majority, who are scared sh*tless irritated and concerned by the radicals, as a resource with which to counteract their rise.
"We need to try to mobilize the forces for good. We cooperate well with the Islamic Center, for example, which runs the main mosque in Malmö," he said.
Integration and Equality Minister Nyamko Sabuni reacted strongly to the report.
"It is completely unacceptable that there are fundamentalist groups in Rosengård prescribing Sharia law and courts child marriage, harassing women who don't wear headscarves and encouraging young people to isolate themselves from society. Swedish laws, rights and equality apply to everybody, including the residents of Rosengård," Sabuni said in a statement.
The minister added that a series of coordinated measures were necessary in order to tackle radicalization, involving schools, social services and especially the police.
Rosengård was the scene of extensive rioting in December following the closure of an Islamic cultural centre in the area.
#1
Years ago a study showed that most immigrants got their news etc. from the Ansar al-Islam TV channel and other foreign sources. Left wing feminists also denounced any criticism of immigrant customs as 'imperialist' and 'racist'.
The result was pretty damned obvious back then. Today we see that result with compound interest.
An extremist organisation linked to Al-Qaeda has threatened to carry out violent attacks against Germany in retaliation for its "occupation" of Afghanistan, the German TV channel ARD reported Tuesday.
German authorities are analysing an Internet video message which shows six masked and armed members of The Islamic Jihad Union, an Uzbek extremist group, ARD said. In the video, a member of the group says in German that it has "prepared a few surprise gifts for the occupation forces", a reference to German involvement in NATO operations in Afghanistan. The message added: "the ally of the occupation forces should always count on our attacks."
ARD reported that the message had probably been recorded during Israel's 22 day offensive on Gaza as it made direct references to the attack. "For more than 10 days, the world has looked on as Muslims are being massacred in the Gaza strip... Where is the USA? Where is Mrs (Angela) Merkel (the German chancellor) and her government?," the message said.
The Islamic Jihad Union, also called the Islamic Jihad Group, became known to authorities in September 2007 when police foiled an attempted car bombing campaign by one of the organisation's German cells. The video which runs just over 26 minutes is the latest in a series of appearances by German-speaking jihadists in videos from the Islamic Jihad Union (IJU), the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
Intelligence analysts say that the video, while raising the profile of German speakers and Westerners appearing in jihadist videos, also raises concerns over increased targeting of German interests in Afghanistan as well as in Germany and around the world.
It is also yet another in a wide range of videos released in recent weeks threatening retaliation for Israel's actions in Gaza and placing the responsibility equally or more on the US, Europe, Germany and Britain than Israel. Analysts say retaliatory strikes over developments in Gaza, if executed, will most likely come over the course of the next 12 months as the planning and execution of terrorist attacks is often not done in days or even weeks, adding that Israel's withdrawal will not be cause for groups to drop their desire to strike back.
(AKI) -- An impartial international investigation into allegations of serious violations of the laws of war by Israel and Hamas during the recent fighting in Gaza is essential to establish key facts, hold violators accountable and provide compensation to victims, New-York based campaign group Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday.
Human Rights Watch renewed its call for establishment of an independent, international commission of inquiry and said the UN Security Council or UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon should urgently take the necessary steps to achieve this.
On January 12, the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva voted to dispatch an international fact-finding mission to investigate alleged violations of international human rights and humanitarian law by Israel. But this did not include alleged violations by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups, HWR noted.
Leading UN officials have called for an investigation specifically into Israeli attacks on UN schools and headquarters in Gaza. Israeli officials have said that the government will investigate these attacks as well as certain other alleged violations, such as the use of white phosphorus in densely populated areas and using civilians as human shields.
"Israel's poor record of investigating and prosecuting serious violations by its forces, and the absence of any such effort by Hamas or other Palestinian groups, makes it essential that an inquiry be an independent international effort," said HWR.
On accounta, war isn't war anymore, it's just a law enforcement issue. And anyone who is subject to existential threats must wait until the offender has acted and then sue for damages.
Can't sue because they've already pushed you into the sea? Oh, too bad. But we're sure there are victims in Gaza we can tend to in your absence. Might even spread out into that recently vacated land you left behind.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
I Urge you to go on about the bombing that happened under your watch last night by the government in Sudan.
#4
Just another in a long line of busybodies that want to control every aspect of human existence in the name of "human rights". These folks have far too much time and money. Someone needs to triple their rent.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/28/2009 13:17 Comments ||
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Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Tuesday that the deadly Palestinian attack on an Israel Defense Forces convoy near the Gaza border earlier in then day was a "most serious incident," and vowed that Israel's military response was yet to come. "When do you think it'll get here, Ehud?"
"Coupler three years."
Olmert told the directors general of each government ministry that determining an appropriate response to the incident, which killed an Israeli soldier and wounded three others, was at the top of Israel's agenda. "What the IDF has done now [in Gaza] is not the response," Olmert said, referring to an IAF strike and clashes in the coastal territory, which followed the deadly attack. "Israel response is yet to come."
Defense Minister Ehud Barak held talks on Tuesday afternoon with defense establishment officials to assess Israel's response.
Barak told military academy cadets earlier Tuesday that the incident "is serious, and it cannot be accepted and we will respond. There is no benefit in specifying [the response]."
Barak added that Israel's recent offensive in Gaza, code-named Operation Cast Lead, was "a very hard blow for Hamas."
He said the campaign did not mean that Hamas would no longer be Israel's enemy, or that there would be no more attempted attacks along and inside the border, or no other incidents that Israel would have to respond to.
"But in my estimation, we are on our way to a period that they will remember very well, like Hezbollah remembers the blow it absorbed in Lebanon two-and-a-half years ago," Barak said.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said Tuesday said that Israel needed to respond immediately to the bomb blast on the Gaza border, emphasizing that there was no reason to exercise restraint.
"If there is an incident on the border and someone shoots, there's a bomb there or the smuggling of arms, Israel needs to respond immediately," said Livni.
One Israeli soldier was killed and three others were wounded near Gaza on Tuesday morning, in the first serious clash since a cease-fire went into effect in the coastal strip more than a week ago. Livni added: "Israel doesn't need to demonstrate restraint against terror in the Gaza Strip. This was true before the operation, and it is true after it."
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2009 00:00 ||
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A Jordanian Foreign Ministry official says the country's ambassador has returned to Israel after an absence of several weeks that was widely interpreted as a protest over Israel's offensive in Gaza.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2009 00:00 ||
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There will be no reconciliation talks with Fatah while Hamas activists remain in detention, a Hamas official was quoted as saying on Tuesday.
Palestinian groups Hamas and Fatah are expected to resume reconciliation talks in Cairo next month but Hamas.
"We will not sit down [with Fatah] until they release [Hamas prisoners], and whoever does not want to release them does not want reconciliation," Salah al Bardawil told Egypt's Al Masry Al Yom newspaper.
Bardawil headed a delegation of Hamas officials from Gaza that met over the weekend with Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Sulaiman to bolster a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
Both Hamas and Fatah have detained each other's members since Hamas took over the Gaza Strip in 2007.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Fatah should agree to this and institute Hamas' own rules. Don't hold prisoners, execute them immediately as Iranian spies.
(AKI) - Philippines security forces have sealed off a vast mountainous area of Muslim-dominated southern Sulu where kidnapped aid workers, including Italian Eugenio Vagni, are reportedly being held, local TV channel GMANews reported on Tuesday.
Unnamed officials said Vagni, and two other hostages and Islamist militants from Al-Qaeda linked Abu Sayyaf who are suspected of having kidnapped them are believed to be hiding in the town of Indanan.
United States marines are helping Filipino security forces in the search operation, providing intelligence and unmanned US drones to fly over the area, GMA said.
Five gunmen abducted Vagni, Swiss national Andreas Notter and Filipino Mary Jean Lacaba from their car on 15 January in Jolo, capital of Sulu, a stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf group, which is notorious for kidnappings and terror attacks.
Vagni, Notter and Lacaba work for the International Red Cross. GMA quoted Philippines National Red Cross president, Richard Gordon on Tuesday saying he had not officially been informed of a ransom demand for the hostages' release and that the organisation had never paid a ransom for any of its workers.
The kidnappers have demanded a five million dollar ransom for the hostages' release, according to local media.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/28/2009 00:00 ||
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The line gets longer...
The new U.S. administration must apologize to Iran over past actions if it really wants to effect change, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday.
"Those who say they want to make change, this is the change they should make: they should apologize to the Iranian nation and try to make up for their dark background and the crimes they have committed against the Iranian nation," Ahmadinejad told a rally in western Iran, broadcast live on state television. "We welcome change but on condition that change is fundamental and on the right track," he said. Do they want "hope" too, or is that negotiable?
The new administration has said Obama would break from his predecessor by pursuing direct talks with Tehran but has also warned Iran to expect more pressure if it did not meet the UN Security Council demand to halt its disputed nuclear work. Washington and its Western allies accuse Iran of seeking to build nuclear weapons. Tehran denies the charge and refuses to give up work it insists is its sovereign right.
Ahmadinejad listed during his speech a range of "crimes" against Iran, such as trying to block what Tehran says is a peaceful nuclear power generation program, hindering Iran's development since the 1979 revolution and other actions by several administrations for more than 60 years. Iran has in the past told Washington that it should withdraw its troops from the region.
Ahmadinejad, in his speech, said: "Who has asked them (the United States) to come and interfere in the affairs of nations?"
As well as saying Tehran wants nuclear arms, Washington accuses Iran of sponsoring "terrorists" and undermining efforts to make peace in the Middle East between Israel and Arabs. Echoing Obama's remarks, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton signaled the administration's readiness to talk to Iran, saying Tehran had a "clear opportunity" to show the world it is willing to engage.
#2
This really pisses me off. If BO actually does this, that's it for me. It's Iran who needs to apologize to the US for kidnapping our diplomats. How about some compensation for time and suffering, and property? Still waiting...
#3
Hillary, who is probably smart enough to understand at least some of the problems with dealing with Iran, may be secretly smiling. With luck, Ahmadinedjad will go a few steps further (US must apologize for aid to Israel, US must apologize for low oil prices, US must apologize for the problems with the drapes in the Presidential palace, etc.)and Hillary will be absolved of her direction from Obama to engage Iran.
There a number of methods in which intent or an apology can be extended. Techniques which are well understood and accepted in that part of the world. Quite a lot goes on in the diplomatic community that never sees the light of day.
#8
The Big O can send Peanut with the apology... he'd love to crawl to Tehran and kiss Nutjob's big toe.
Posted by: Andy Phavitch2922 ||
01/28/2009 12:06 Comments ||
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#9
"We are sorry for not supporting the Shah further, for despite all his faults and cruelties he was not a madman leading his people to nuclear destruction. We will hand of James Carter for punishment and then work to undo our mistakes forthwith."
#11
I think the United States SHOULD apologize, but only after doing something that requires an apology, such as nuking twenty cities in Iran. THEN we'd have something to apologize for - "Geez, I'm sorry we made such a mess of your country... Maybe we could come over and help you clean up the place. We have a couple of Army divisions not doing anything at the moment."
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/28/2009 13:25 Comments ||
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#16
ION CHINESE MIL FORUM > POSTER believes a feasible OBAMA ADMIN WWIII SCENARIO would have RUSSIA + CHINA + IRAN + PAKISTAN + MILITANTS versus USA + BRITAIN + ISRAEL + INDIA???
Prob Trigger = FAILURE OF US-WORLD/UNO TO STOP SUCCESSFUL IRANIAN NUCLEARIZATION NLT 2010 [Uranium/"Dirty Bomb(s)"] INDUCING A MAJOR ISRAELI MIL = PREEMPTIVE NUCLEAR STRIKE AGZ IRAN???
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.
WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Robert Gates said yesterday the United States is "lost" unless it can find a way to not kill so many civilians in the pursuit of militants in Afghanistan, and that flooding the chaotic country with US troops would be a disaster.
WASHINGTON President Obama intends to adopt a tougher line toward Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, as part of a new American approach to Afghanistan that will put more emphasis on waging war than on development, senior administration officials said Tuesday.
(AKI) - The emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Jaber al-Sabah, says no donations destined for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip should go to the Palestinian National Authority led by president Mahmoud Abbas.
(AKI) -- An impartial international investigation into allegations of serious violations of the laws of war by Israel and Hamas during the recent fighting in Gaza is essential to establish key facts, hold violators accountable and provide compensation to victims, New-York based campaign group Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday.
