Rapid progress is being made in behind-the-scenes negotiations to free a South Korean who has been held incommunicado in North Korea for 133 days as of Sunday, sources said.
But don't tell anyone because the negotiations are secret ...
A senior member of the ruling party said, "A good thing will happen in inter-Korean relations in a few days. It seems Hyundai Group chairwoman Hyun Jung-eun will pay a surprise visit to the North on Monday."
The man, identified as Yoo (41), was working for tour operator Hyundai Asan at the joint Korean Kaesong Industrial Complex. Apparently, Hyundai Asan president Cho Kun-shik had been expected to visit the industrial park for talks to win his release, but the North Koreans changed their mind at the last moment and wanted to see Hyun instead, the source added.
"All available dialogue channels with the North inside and outside the government, including Hyundai Asan, are being mobilized" to win his release, a government official said. "Indications of affirmative signals are felt here and there."
"I understand that North Korea will use the avenue of solving the Yoo issue through talks with Hyundai Asan without imposing any burden on the government," the official said. "But there's still a chance that the negotiations can go wrong at the last moment if the North demands an apology from our government or sets other irrational conditions for his release."
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/10/2009 00:00 ||
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#3
Early in 2002, I posted on Little Green Footballs, that if our restraint evaded the necessary destruction of the enemy and practised nation-building, then the theater would turn into an "Afghanifada" that would weaken NATO's position. Further, I said that NATO would eventually leave the country as did the Soviets, "like the beaten dog, with its tail between its legs." Let me say it again: limited war, vs disproportionate retaliation, is a jihad subsidy.
#4
This of course being the same Jim Jones who said:
During the briefing, Nicholson had told Jones that he was "a little light," more than hinting that he could use more forces, probably thousands more. "We don't have enough force to go everywhere," Nicholson said.
But Jones recalled how Obama had initially decided to deploy additional forces this year. "At a table much like this," Jones said, referring to the polished wood table in the White House Situation Room, "the president's principals met and agreed to recommend 17,000 more troops for Afghanistan." The principals -- Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton; Gates; Mullen; and the director of national intelligence, Dennis C. Blair -- made this recommendation in February during the first full month of the Obama administration. The president approved the deployments, which included Nicholson's Marines.
Soon after that, Jones said, the principals told the president, "oops," we need an additional 4,000 to help train the Afghan army.
"They then said, 'If you do all that, we think we can turn this around,' " Jones said, reminding the Marines here that the president had quickly approved and publicly announced the additional 4,000. Now suppose you're the president, Jones told them, and the requests come into the White House for yet more force. How do you think Obama might look at this? Jones asked, casting his eyes around the colonels. How do you think he might feel? Jones let the question hang in the air-conditioned, fluorescent-lighted room. Nicholson and the colonels said nothing.
Well, Jones went on, after all those additional troops, 17,000 plus 4,000 more, if there were new requests for force now, the president would quite likely have "a Whiskey Tango Foxtrot moment." Everyone in the room caught the phonetic reference to WTF -- which in the military and elsewhere means "What the [expletive]?"
Pakistan is worried that al-Qaida is trying to install its own "chief terrorist" as the head of Pakistan's Taliban following the apparent killing of the group's leader in a CIA missile strike, a top official said Monday.
Meanwhile, one of the militants believed to be a potential successor phoned The Associated Press to dispel reports that he was killed during a clash among those vying to lead the group. The militant, Hakimullah, insisted once again that Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud was alive and said the insurgent group remained united.
And the AP knows it was Hakimullah because ...? Caller ID? Secret password?
Interior Minister Rehman Malik told BBC radio that all the "credible information" points to Mehsud having died in the Wednesday missile attack. The Pakistan Taliban appear in disarray, Malik said.
"It will take some time for them to regroup," Malik said. "The other thing which is a bit worrying is that al-Qaida is getting grouped in the same place, and now they are trying to find out somebody to install him as the leader, as the chief terrorist, in that area."
Malik said Pakistan was taking "all those measures which are necessary" to respond to the scenario.
The 30-something Mehsud grew in power largely because of his links to the predominantly Arab terror network, analysts say. Mehsud and his deputies controlled swaths of Pakistan's tribal belt along the Afghan border, a region where al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden is rumored to be hiding.
So he was already al-Qaeda's boy, just as the next 'leader' will be ...
Al-Qaida is believed to have provided guidance and funding to Mehsud, who in turn could provide suicide bombers and other assets to carry out attacks throughout Pakistan.
Malik did not specify which candidate might be al-Qaida's preference, though it is highly unlikely that Pakistan Taliban fighters would agree to an Arab candidate or anyone not of the Pashtun ethnic group that dominates the tribal belt.
They'll need a Pashtun flunky who's amenable to taking large amounts of al-Qaeda cash, four wives, and lots of guns and ammo in return for a little direction. Gonna be tough to find someone like that in Wazoo ...
American and Pakistani government and intelligence officials, as well as some Taliban commanders and at least one rival militant, have said Mehsud likely died in Wednesday's drone strike on his father-in-law's house in the South Waziristan tribal area. Conflicting reports have also emerged about clashes between rival Taliban factions during a meeting, or shura, to select Mehsud's replacement.
Some reports said one or both of the leading contenders -- Hakimullah and Waliur Rehman -- were killed or wounded.
Pray for sepsis ...
Hakimullah spoke to an AP reporter who was familiar with his voice, and claimed that the reports of infighting were all part of a government propaganda campaign aimed at disturbing the militants.
"There is neither any rift in the Taliban ranks nor will they fight against each other," Hakimullah said. "This propaganda cannot divide us. And I will say again Baitullah Mahsud is alive."
Mehsud's Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan is a loose alliance of tribal groups that often have disputes and power struggles, so removing the man who coordinated the factions could lead to intense rivalry over who would succeed him. It could be in the interests of top commanders to deny their leader was dead until they could agree on who would replace him.
[Geo News] President Barack Obama's national security advisor on Sunday hailed the reported killing of the Pakistani Taliban's leader as "a big deal" that has already has stirred dissension in the insurgent ranks.
US national security adviser Jim Jones put the level of US certainty that Baitullah Mehsud died Wednesday in a US missile strike "in the 90 percent category."
"Pakistan has confirmed it. We know that there reports from the Mehsud tribe that he wasn't. But the evidence is pretty conclusive," Jones said in an interview with a US T.V. "This is a big deal," Jones said.
He said it meant that US efforts to forge closer security ties with the Pakistani military were "moving in the right direction," and that the Pakistanis were "doing quite well in terms of their fight against extremism."
"Baitullah was the public enemy number one in Pakistan, so its their biggest target," he said.
Jones said he could not confirm reports that another top Pakistani Taliban commander was killed in a shootout with a rival.
"It certainly appears there is dissension in the ranks. That's not a bad thing for us," Jones told media. "I won't say it's a tipping point, but it certainly shows that we're having some success."
The Pakistani government said it was investigating the report of a shootout between Hakimullah Mehsud, a deputy to Baitullah Mehsud, and Wali-ur Rehman, a senior commander in the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan movement.
Jones said US and Pakistani intelligence sharing has grown and that the US and Pakistani military are working more closely together on Afghanistan as well.
In a televised interviews, Jones also said the United States has not ruled out sending more troops to Afghanistan but should first see what effect its new strategy is having. He confirmed an account in US daily that he told military commanders during a visit to Afghanistan in late June that if they asked for more troops now, "the president would quite likely have a Whiskey Tango Foxtrot moment."
Posted by: Fred ||
08/10/2009 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) Chief Syed Munawar Hassan has ruled out revival of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal but declared that the anti-US forces in the country would be brought on a single platform.
Speaking at the 'Go America Go' rally here at the Jinnah Park, the JI leader said that partners of the coalition government including Maulana Fazlur Rehman were supporting the government's pro-US policies and there was no chance to enter into alliance with these parties.
'Maulana Fazlur Rehman cannot be considered aloof from the policies of President Zardari, by issuing mere few statements,' he said. The rally, attended by a large number of people, started from Hashtnagri Chowk and ended at the Jinnah Park. The venue was decorated with banners and placards inscribed with anti-US slogans. Provincial president of the party Sirajul Haq and other leaders were also present on the occasion.
Mr Hassan said that the Awami National Party and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz were also part of the Zardari-led government. JI will welcome only those parties in the proposed anti-US alliance that quit the coalition government and practically oppose the government's pro-American policies, he said. He urged the political forces to launch 'Go America Go' campaigns at their platforms, which would result in a strong anti-US alliance. He alleged that the rulers had continued the policies of former dictator Gen Musharraf.
He said that the so-called US war on terror was actually a war against the Islamic world. Innocent people were being killed in the name of terrorism, he added.
Expressing concern over missile attacks in the tribal area, he said that drone attacks and security forces operation in Malakand and the tribal area were part of the US agenda and the government had allegedly given blank check to Washington to kill its innocent citizens.
He said that Afghanistan and the tribal region would become graveyard for the US and Nato forces. He said that UK and Russian forces had been defeated in Afghanistan and now the Nato would face the same fate.
Opposing military operation in Swat and Waziristan, the JI chief said that use of forces was no solution to any problem and the government should start process of dialogue to resolve the issue.
He criticised Awami National Party-led coalition government in the Frontier province, saying that so-called champions of Pakhtun rights always went against the wishes of the Pakhtun when they faced difficult time. 'At the time of Partition, the ANP stood alongside Gandhi, during Afghan war, it supported Russia and now it has adopted pro-US policies,' he said.
Sirajul Haq in his address said the ANP had failed to protect the Pakhtuns. After the failure of the ANP government to get the rights of the Frontier province under net hydel profit, the JI set a three-month deadline for the centre to pay the NWFP its share otherwise a protest campaign would be launched in Islamabad.
He said that the ANP had failed to meet any of the promises made with the people of the province.
The rally passed unanimous resolution demanding complete withdrawal of the US forces from the region and stopping intervention in the internal affairs of Pakistan. Through a resolution, the JI asked the government to control price hike and announce relief package for the poor on the occasion.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/10/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
The MMA never received more than 10% of the Pakistan vote. There is greater popularity for the NWFP/Balochistan war efforts than there could have been in 2002. The JI is old wall-paper.
[The News (Pak) Top Stories] A desperate wish for a son may have led to the death of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud, a British newspaper reported on Sunday.
Mehsud was spending the night with his second wife in village Zangarha on Wednesday when he was killed in an American drone attack, the Sunday Times said. It said the 35-year-old Mehsud, who has four daughters by his first wife, took a second wife, the daughter of an influential cleric, last November.
Desperate, indeed. By Pakistani standards he was no true man if he fathered only daughters.
The paper said the diabetic Mehsud, who had been feeling "poorly", had taken a risk in spending the night at the house of second wife's father. He had been seen by a local doctor, who had given Mehsud a glucose drip. "In the end it may have been the desire for a son that led to the Taliban leader's demise," said the report. The paper said initial reports suggested only Mehsud's wife and two fighters had been killed, but suspicions were raised when a large funeral was held the next day.
Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Saturday said Mehsud, his wife and seven guards were killed. But he added, "We are still waiting for material evidence to confirm it totally."
Mehsud was supported by the Pakistani army and intelligence service ISI, a Pakistani military analyst told the paper. "He was originally supported by the military and ISI, but he had begun to bite the hand that fed him," said analyst Ayesha Siddiqa. "His death is a very powerful signal to them all."
Posted by: Fred ||
08/10/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
So it was more of a three-fir, technically speaking, if you count his faithful advisor policy maker servant, Blind Jim Mehsud.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
08/10/2009 0:59 Comments ||
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#2
No one is on a Predator target list for spending time in bed with his wife. He worked very hard to make the target list & deserved the honor. Another dead thug no one will remember next month.I forgot his name already.
People should be as particular about following the teachings of a religious scholar, as they are about choosing a competent doctor, Javed Ahmed Ghamdi told Daily Times Editor-in-Chief Najam Sethi during an interview on Sunday.
The religious scholar said there was a dire need to restructure society, as religious extremism and intolerance were posing a threat to its integrity. Democratic culture should be promoted to strengthen Pakistani society, he added. Meanwhile, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan Chairwoman Asma Jahangir told Sethi that the Christian community in Gojra had revealed that masked men had come to Gojra from Jhang to torch the houses belonging to Christians. She said the victims of the violence had alleged the riots against the Christian community had been planned by extremist elements. She said the Musharraf government shared blame for the violence, saying it had only taken cosmetic measures to control religious extremism.
Also on Sunday, renowned journalist Mujibur Rehman Shami told Sethi by telephone that the blasphemy laws had been legislated to control public outcry over any incident of alleged blasphemy and to prosecute the accused in a court of law. It was unfortunate that people took the law into their own hands, he added. Senior journalist and analyst Khaled Ahmed said that extremism, religious intolerance and activities of non-state actors had weakened the state of Pakistan, and extremism could not be controlled as long as the state was weak.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/10/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Not from the Saudi Al Ghamdi family, I presume. The ones that provided 3 hijackers on 9-11.
[Dawn] The IDPs have started returning home and there are signs of normalcy, but it will be some time before life becomes normal for students, according to a DawnNews report. The officials say militants have destroyed 238 schools out of 1,576 affecting more than 56,250 students. The Education Department of Swat has demanded a grant of Rs. 2,203 million from the provincial government, for the reconstruction of the demolished schools.
The district government also claims that so far things are peaceful and no untoward incident has been reported since IDPS return started. With the Independence day approaching the people of Swat has started preparation for the independence day. National flags, buntings and badges with the independence day messages are available in abundance in the markets. The children and youth are returning to the play grounds while the traditional animal mela was held for the first time after the passage of two years.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/10/2009 00:00 ||
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Al-Qaeda has been forced to regroup its core leadership with some of the key operatives moving out of the tribal regions into urban compounds in Pakistan to escape the American unmanned spy drones which have killed 20 terrorist commanders in the last 18 months. They have moved into urban areas, where aerial surveillance is far more complicated, and have been replaced by a younger generation of militants who now control operations on the ground.
Although Osama bin Laden remains the figurehead leader, a 15-member "shura" or supreme council now runs the organisation's affairs, senior Pakistani intelligence sources say. The sources have disclosed that the council is headed by a Saudi national, Mustafa abul al-Yazidi. Other senior members include a Libyan, Abu Yahaya al-Libbi, along with militants from North Africa and Somalia. Al-Yazidi is in overall charge of al-Qaeda operations in the region, including Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Pakistani intelligence officials told The Times.
So it might even be true.
The Americans have been aiming their Predator strikes at the so-called "external operations unit", responsible for all operations abroad. The head of this unit used to be Abu Obeida al-Masri, an Egyptian, but he died from disease. He was replaced by Abu Jihad al-Masri Khakaina, who was killed by a Predator strike. He in turn was succeeded by Osama al-Kini, a Kenyan who was also killed by a Predator, along with Ahmed Salim Swedan, in a strike in January. The Pakistani intelligence sources said Mustafa abul al Yazidi, the Saudi, had succeded al-Kini. A senior Pakistani intelligence official said: "Some 60 to 70 per cent of the core al-Qaeda leadership has been eliminated, dealing a serious blow to the network's capacity to launch any major attack on the West."
The new leadership comes from Somalia, Libya and other north African countries. They use the most modern means of communication for contact with their sleeper cells abroad. Over the past years there has also been a major influx of new operatives, largely from Somalia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh and North Africa.
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
08/10/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
They have moved into urban areas, where aerial surveillance is far more complicated
But human surveillance is far simpler, given that cities are densely-populated agglomerations of complete strangers.
Don't bother, I've checked, it's not April first today.
The only known Israeli Jewish member of the Palestinian group Fatah announced Sunday he was seeking a position in the movement's key decision-making body.
Uri Davis, 66, a fierce critic of Israel who identifies himself as a Palestinian Hebrew-speaking citizen of "the apartheid state of Israel," said he presented his candidacy for Fatah's Revolutionary Council at the group's conference, which is under way in the West Bank. It is Fatah's first gathering in 20 years.
Davis is one of around 700 Fatah members vying for 89 open seats in the body that oversees the group's day-to-day decision making. Voting will begin Monday evening, and results are expected by Tuesday.
Davis said he hopes "my brothers and sisters in the congress would trust me with that candidacy."
While there are no other Israelis known to be members of Fatah, Palestinian nationalism has had its active supporters on the fringes of Israeli society. Several followers of a tiny Orthodox and anti-Zionist sect, Neturei Karta, visited the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat as he lay dying in a Paris hospital in 2004 and have expressed support for Palestinian attacks against Israel.
Davis joined Fatah in the 1980s, at a time when its fighters undertook militant attacks against Israeli citizens, becoming the director of the group's London office. He lived abroad during that period because membership in Fatah was illegal in Israel.
Davis, a professor at a Palestinian university married to a Palestinian, is a longtime critic of Israel's policies toward Palestinians. He refused military conscription in the 1960s, at a time when doing so was considered treason by most Israeli Jews, and wrote a book criticizing the Zionist movement in the mid-70s.
The fluent Arabic speaker said he did not know how good his chances were of winning a seat.
#3
#1: What an idiot. Posted by: Don Vito Crolutle2068
Concur. Unfortunately, he's not alone.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/10/2009 15:32 Comments ||
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#4
Presumably he is alone, being the only Jewish member, Old Patriot. Far from the only suicidal fool in that part of the world, or in the rest of the world either. :-(
[Al Arabiya Latest] The congress of the leading Palestinian party, Fatah, voted on Sunday for a new executive body and assembly filled with fresh faces to regain the lost trust of the Palestinian people. The movement led by the late Yasser Arafat for 40 years is seeking to throw off a reputation for corruption and cronyism that led to a stunning election loss to its Islamist rival Hamas in 2006.
Hamas seized Gaza in a civil war a year later, splitting the Palestinian polity.
The congress of 2,355 delegates in Bethlehem--Fatah's first in 20 years--began last Tuesday and was marked by reformists' charges of vote-buying and nepotism by the "old guard."
The best way to throw off a reputation for corruption and cronyism is to engage in vote-buying and nepotism, it's just common sense.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/10/2009 00:00 ||
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The Pentagon is trying to speed up the deployment of an ultra-large bunker-busting bomb, which would constitute the largest non-nuclear bomb the U.S. has ever used. The Massive Ordnance Penetrator, or MOP, is a 30,000-pound bomb that would dive deeper than any previous bomb, and could be strapped to B-2 or B-52 bombers by July of 2010.
GBU-24: This GBU-24 bunker buster is tiny in comparison to the new MOP. The MOP is 20 feet long and can penetrate bunkers up to 200 feet before exploding. At 15 tons, the MOP is a third heavier than the previous "mother of all bombs", the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb, which was only 10.5 tons. The MOP also packs a whopping 5,300 lbs of explosives, which is 10 times the amount its predecessor bunker-buster, the BLU-109, carried. Basically, it's massive. Pant...pant.....Whoa..... Occidental gun sex
Sri Lanka's defeated Tamil Tiger rebels on Sunday demanded an investigation into how their new leader was detained in Malaysia and flown home for questioning. Investigation? It's obvious, isn't it ... Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran, a senior Tiger, said Malaysia must release details on the "abduction" of Selvarasa Pathmanathan. Officials in Colombo have declined to say how Pathmanathan was detained, but the Thai government said he was arrested in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday and transferred to Sri Lanka through Bangkok. "If the government of Malaysia does not have any information on the matter, we demand an inquiry into the whole episode," Rudrakumaran said in an emailed statement. Why don'tcha take a pill? Preferably your cyanide pill.
Pathmanathan, who took over as head of the Tamil Tigers after its founding chief Velupillai Prabhakaran was killed in the final stages of fighting in May, was trying to revive the rebel group from overseas, the group has said. A Sri Lankan Defence Ministry spokesman told reporters on Friday that Pathmanathan was being interrogated in Sri Lanka, but declined to explain how he had been detained.
Pathmanathan is wanted by Interpol on gun-running charges and by the Indian government in connection with the assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi by a Tamil suicide bomber in 1991. He was thought to have fled to Malaysia from Thailand two years ago.
This article starring:
Pathmanathan
Velupillai Prabhakaran
Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran
Posted by: Fred ||
08/10/2009 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV Latest] The US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says Washington was trying 'behind the scenes' to empower protesters disputing Iran's presidential election. In an interview with CNN aired on Sunday, Clinton said the US did not openly support the demonstrators since it did not want to act in a way that would allow the Iranian leadership to use the US support to unify the Iranian nation against the protesters.
"Now, behind the scenes, we were doing a lot," Clinton said. "We were doing a lot to really empower the protesters without getting in the way."
"We knew that if we stepped in too soon, too hard ... the leadership would try to use us to unify the country against the protesters."
The former first lady added that the US would not stop supporting those contesting the election results.
Iran became the scene of rallies after the re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for another four-year term. Protests were held mainly in the capital, Tehran, with some of them turning violent and resulting in the deaths of at least 30 people.
Iran accuses Western countries in particular the US and Britain for instigating the post-election protests in the country, calling on them to adopt a policy of non-interference toward the country.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/10/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
WTF?!? Behind the scenes? Why? Were the spineless trying not to get protesters injured or even killed ... Oh, wait, that didn't work out well, did it?
[Iran Press TV Latest] Hezbollah says any Israeli attack on Lebanon would bring a much stronger response compared to that of the 2006 war.
"If (Israeli War Minister Ehud) Barak's threats are serious--and I don't think they are--he should be aware that if he commits an error or stupid act against Lebanon ... he will discover that the months of July and August 2006 were just a bit of fun," said Hezbollah's Executive Council Chairman Hashem Safieddin.
On Thursday, Barak had said that Tel Aviv "would use all necessary force if there was a fresh conflict on its northern border with Lebanon."
Safieddin said, "Today we are powerful and this is thanks to the 2006 victory, which is why we think the Israeli threats are hollow and meaningless."
Israel fought a 34-day war with Lebanon's Hezbollah in July-August 2006, in which more than 1,400 people, most of them civilians, were killed in Lebanon while 160 were killed in Israel, most of whom were soldiers.
Lieutenant General Gaby Ashkenazi, Head of Israel's Armed Forces, warned last month against a military conflict with Lebanon, saying "Hezbollah's weapons stockpile poses a serious threat to Israel."
Posted by: Fred ||
08/10/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
See also IRAN-DAILY > HEZBOLLAH PREPARED FOR ANY CONFLICT [agz Israel]. The Hezzies Hizzies Huzzies have begun unilateral military buildup and fortifications, etc, in South Lebanon in alleged defense agz Israel's gross violations of Lebanese sovereignty, and may not wait for Israel to strike first; + BARAK: ISRAEL WILL USE ALL ITS FORCE/MIGHT IN NEXT CONFLICT [agsz Hezbollah, Lebanon, + even IRAN?] + HEZBOLlAH: ISRAEL WAGES A WAR OF NERVES AGZ IRAN AND HEZBOLLAH.
* SAME > US SOURCE: ISRAEL PLANNED TO STRIKE IRAN DURING UNREST [post-Elex Voting].
#6
#5: Nasty must have dig a bigger hole to hide in and changed his shorts. Posted by: CrazyFool
Crazy - why do you think we are rushing the new GBU-24 into production? Nasty's hole will NEVER be deep enough.
If Hezbollocks actually begins firing missiles at Israel, you might see Israel retaliate with tac nukes. They CANNOT allow Hezbollah to threaten Israeli citizens like they did in 2006. I also think Israel is absolutely fed up with the crap from the EU and our current "president", and will do what they feel they have to do to win the next war. It's going to become VERY uncomfortable to be an Arab if Hezbollah attacks Israel again.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/10/2009 15:41 Comments ||
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#7
Big Boast, no ass behind it.
Alligator mouth, hummingbird ass.
If Hezbollocks actually begins firing missiles at Israel, you might see Israel retaliate with tac nukes.
Works for me, it might be just what's needed to shut all of them up.
The EU has lashed out at Tehran, over the trial of the British and French embassy staff, who were arrested in connection with Iran's post-election riots. "The presidency expresses its concern over the ongoing trial in Tehran in the aftermath of the election, including against two EU member states' embassy employees and one EU citizen," the statement by the EU's Swedish presidency said in a Saturday statement. "The presidency reiterates that action against one EU country, citizen or embassy staff, is considered an action against all of the EU," it added.
The EU warning came after a Saturday morning hearing at Tehran's Revolution Court, where British and French embassy staff were among the suspects facing trial. Hossein Rassam, who worked as a senior political analyst for the British Embassy in Tehran and is now facing "spying" charges, told the court that he had been gathering information on post-election unrest for the British government at the request of his superiors. "Based on the order of British embassy, the local staff were asked to be present in the riots along with [Second Secretary of British Embassy] Tom Burn and Paul Blemey," Rassam said referring to two British diplomats expelled by Iran in June.
His appearance in court has angered the UK government, which has responded by calling the trial an "unacceptable" "outrage" and the confessions unreliable. "This... contradicts assurances we had been given repeatedly by senior Iranian officials... We deplore these trials and the so-called confessions of prisoners who have been denied their basic human rights," a Foreign Office spokeswoman told reporters.
Nazak Afshar, the French Embassy worker on trial, also addressed the court, admitting that she had taken part in post-election demonstrations, sent emails containing information on the riots, and let rioters into the embassy based on orders given by her employers. She also commented on how she had been treated after her arrest, pointing out that "the brothers at the intelligence ministry", who were "very kind" to her had made her realize her mistakes.
Other than the two embassy workers, who are Iranian nationals, a detained French lecturer, also faced trial on Saturday, where she admitted to writing to the French embassy about Iran's nuclear power program and its post-vote developments. "I should not have taken part in illegal protests... I regret (my activities)... I apologize to the Iranian nation and the court and hope they will pardon me," said the 24-year-old Frenchwoman, Clotilde Reiss, while apologizing "to the Iranian nation and court".
Meanwhile, Paris urged Iran to free Reiss and Afshar. In an official statement, the French Foreign Ministry said that the espionage charges against the two were baseless. Iran has accused Britain and other Western governments of plotting the violent riots.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/10/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
action against one EU country, citizen or embassy staff, is considered an action against all of the EU
Which is why the mullahs are quaking in their boots.
#2
If the EU were serious, they would expel every Iranian in its territory - embassy personnel, private citizens, businessmen, the ill and infirmed - just everyone that holds an Iranian passport. They would also cut all trade with the mullahs, freeze all property and cash, and embargo third-party transactions. The mullahs know Europe isn't willing to do that, so they aren't budging. You've got to be able to hurt someone before you can force them to do your will. The EU has bought this stupid idea that all you have to do is talk. Iran will end up with a nuclear weapon and the means to deliver it because of that stupid belief. That's also why they are willing to tweak Britain's nose, as they did with the incident in the Persian Gulf.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
08/10/2009 15:47 Comments ||
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[Iran Press TV Latest] The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps has strongly dismissed remarks attributed to its commander on trial of defeated presidential candidates and certain other figures.
Al-Arabiya TV had quoted the IRGC commander Brigadier General Mohammad-Ali Jafari as saying that defeated presidential candidates Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi and former President Mohammad Khatami and certain other figures should be put on trial. "What has been quoted from the IRGC commander by foreign media was not authentic," said the IRGC in a statement on Sunday. "The system of the Islamic Republic of Iran has determined legal ways to counter those who commit a crime. The judiciary will carry out its legal responsibilities," added the statement.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/10/2009 00:00 ||
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The head of the political bureau of Iran's Revolutionary Guards said defeated challengers should be prosecuted for the recent riots. Current European Union president Sweden criticizes trials of EU embassy staffers.
A senior general of the Iranian revolutionary guards has said that top opposition leaders should be tried for having planned a coup against the Islamic establishment following the June re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the official news agency IRNA reported Sunday. Yadollah Javani, head of the guards' political bureau, demanded that Mir-Hossein Moussavi, former president Mohammad Khatami and former parliament speaker Mehdi Karroubi be put on trial.
Javani said that as Moussavi, Khatami and Karroubi were the main elements behind the unrest over the June 12 presidential vote, they should be arrested, tried and punished. Since the post-election protest movements, Khatami, Moussavi, Karroubi and also ex-president Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani have become the leading opposition quartet.
In further criticism of the opposition from a senior establishment figure, General Massoud Jazayeri, a deputy commander of the Iranian Army, warned Sunday the next "coup" against Iran would be via the foreign media. "Right after the failure of the Green Coup, the foreign elements and their agents inside have started programming the next phase of the coup against Iran," he was quoted as saying by IRNA news agency. The Green Coup refers to the reform movement of Moussavi, who had chosen the color as symbol for change in Iran.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/10/2009 00:00 ||
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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.
Rapid progress is being made in behind-the-scenes negotiations to free a South Korean who has been held incommunicado in North Korea for 133 days as of Sunday, sources said.
[The News (Pak) Top Stories] A desperate wish for a son may have led to the death of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud, a British newspaper reported on Sunday. 
[Dawn] The IDPs have started returning home and there are signs of normalcy, but it will be some time before life becomes normal for students, according to a DawnNews report. The officials say militants have destroyed 238 schools out of 1,576 affecting more than 56,250 students. The Education Department of Swat has demanded a grant of Rs. 2,203 million from the provincial government, for the reconstruction of the demolished schools. 
Sri Lanka's defeated Tamil Tiger rebels on Sunday demanded an investigation into how their new leader was detained in Malaysia and flown home for questioning. 
The head of the political bureau of Iran's Revolutionary Guards said defeated challengers should be prosecuted for the recent riots. Current European Union president Sweden criticizes trials of EU embassy staffers. 
