Afghan President Hamid Karzai has told the BBC he plans to introduce a scheme to attract Taliban fighters back to normal life by offering money and jobs.
He would offer to pay and resettle Taliban fighters to come over to his side, with the scheme funded by the international community.
He said the UK and US would show at a conference next week in London that they had decided to back his new plan.
Japan is one of the countries which, he said, is prepared to put up the money.
Night raids disturb terrorists' sleep. Leaves them cranky.
The top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan plans to tighten the rules on night raids, The Associated Press has learned, in a new step to curb public anger over perceived violations against civilians. Such raids have emerged as the No. 1 complaint among Afghans after Gen. Stanley McChrystal curbed the use of airstrikes and other weaponry last year.
Posted by: ed ||
01/21/2010 12:53 ||
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[Quqnoos] Corruption is the biggest concern of the people of Afghanistan, says a UN report released Tuesday in London.
The report says the rampant exchange of bribes and favours has led many Afghans to lose faith in the government and public officials.
Corruption, even before security, is one of the biggest concerns for average Afghans, says the report launched at London's International Institute of Strategic Studies.
The head of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, Antonio Maria Costa, says more than half the population has to pay huge bribes almost every day.
"The dimension of the payments, which ends in the pockets of the corrupt officials is so big, it is a quarter of the GDP - $2.5 billion estimated," he said.
The report focused on bribes paid out during the past 12 months for everything from crossing a check point to facilitating the country's drug trade and human trafficking.
President Hamid Karzai has repeatedly said his government is making efforts to tackle corruption, but critics say not nearly enough is being done.
Costa warns that if corruption is not tackled the Afghan people could well lose faith in the international community's efforts, with dire consequences.
The report was released before the international conference on Afghanistan in London, where President Karzai is expected to face more calls by world leaders to tackle corruption.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/21/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
What a coincidence!!! That is the biggest problem of the UN, too.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
01/21/2010 2:33 Comments ||
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#2
When I read that headline I read it with the colon shifted one word to the right.
[Quqnoos] President Karzai will unveil a plan to offer work, education, pensions and land to Taliban fighters who lay down their arms, according to reports
President Hamid Karzai intends to launch the reconciliation and reintegration plan at the start of next week's London conference on Afghanistan, British newspaper, the Guardian, reports.
The Afghan president has also pledged to hold a new peace conference in the spring, restating a standing invitation to insurgents ready to swear an oath to the country's constitution.
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband promised the initiative would have international backing.
US special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, in his recent visit to Kabul said his government also supports Karzai's reintegration plan.
Afghan officials say the Kabul government has learned from earlier mistakes and promise that the plan will be far more comprehensive, offering in some cases, a totally new life to the Taliban, the report adds.
The initiative, which was presented to senior western diplomats in Abu Dhabi earlier this month, will include jobs or land to farm, education for young fighters and pension for older insurgents who may have fought for much of the past three decades of conflict.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/21/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Great! They can supplement their Taliban income with a government check.
[Al Arabiya Latest] Some U.S. citizens suspected of training in al-Qaeda camps in Yemen, including dozens who converted to Islam in prison, may pose a serious threat to the United States, a report by a U.S. Senate committee said as the Security Council added the Yemen-based al-Qaeda wing to a U.N. blacklist.
Two groups of Americans based in Yemen are causing concern for U.S. counter-terrorism experts in the Gulf region, according to the report by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee staff. The report was prepared for release at a committee hearing on Wednesday on al-Qaeda and Yemen.
Most worrisome is a group of up to 36 former U.S. criminals who converted to Islam in prison and arrived in Yemen in the past year, ostensibly to study Arabic, the report said.
Radicalization
Some members of the group have disappeared and it is feared they were "radicalized in prison and traveled to Yemen for training," the report added.
Another group includes nearly 10 non-Yemeni Americans who traveled to Yemen, converted to Islam, became fundamentalists and married Yemeni women so they could stay in the country, the report said.
This last group of people "fit a profile of Americans whom al-Qaeda has sought to recruit over the past several years," and most reside in Sanaa, Yemen's capital, the report said.
The report comes amid rising concern in the United States and elsewhere about al-Qaeda's activities in Yemen. Instability in Yemen has prompted fears that al-Qaeda may exploit the chaos to strengthen its foothold in the poorest Arab country and plan attacks against U.S. and other targets.
U.S. officials have said the Nigerian man accused of attempting to blow up a Detroit-bound U.S. airliner on Dec. 25 was trained by al-Qaeda in Yemen.
U.S. diplomats and law enforcement officials said they had no evidence yet that any of the Americans in Yemen had received training, according to the report, prepared by staff working for Senator John Kerry, the committee's Democratic chairman.
"They (the U.S. officials) said they are on heightened alert because of the potential threat from extremists carrying American passports and the related challenges involved in detecting and stopping home-grown operatives," it said.
The report said the botched Christmas Day bombing attempt was a "nearly catastrophic illustration of a significant new threat" from al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the al-Qaeda offshoot operating in Yemen and Saudi Arabia.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/21/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Can we please distinguish between "legally entitled to claim US citizenship" and Real Honest-To-God US citizen? Sounds Starship Trooperish, but it's a worthy distinction nonetheless...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
01/21/2010 0:16 Comments ||
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#2
I don't have a problem with someone who converted and moved to Yemen to live a fully Muslim life. His children will inherit his American citizenship -- should he choose to pass it on -- but his grandchildren will not unless they are born on American soil. It's the ones that go over to become jihadis who should be that act give up their citizenship.
#4
This sounds a lot like the Jamaat al-Fuqra prison converts who had that terrorist training compound in NY - Islamburg. They disappeared en mass, until now.
Posted by: ed ||
01/21/2010 10:24 Comments ||
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#5
Jamaat al-Fuqra aka Muslims of America
Posted by: ed ||
01/21/2010 10:26 Comments ||
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#6
Oooh, good catch, ed. It would be nice to know they're over there instead of wandering our countryside.
#7
Problem is they will be Yemen for advanced training. And they still have US passports.
Posted by: ed ||
01/21/2010 11:28 Comments ||
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#8
If there are only thirtysix, which I doubt, it shouldn't be too hard to get their names, and even to find many of them -- I'm sure foreigners stick out there, if only by their walk and their height. After that it's a matter of putting their names and passport information on the no-fly list, which even the State Department should be able to handle.
#9
It not just a no fly list. They can return to the US at any time and set up new recruiting, recon, logistics and action cells. Wait a few years then launch mass casualty attacks.
Posted by: ed ||
01/21/2010 15:04 Comments ||
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#10
Yes, but how do they back get to the US without flying, ed? Surely we share our no-fly list with Canada, and the Mexican border is tighter than it used to be.
The National Association of Muslim Police (NAMP) claimed that ministers were wrong to blame Islam for being the driver' behind recent terrorist attacks. Far-Right extremists were a more dangerous threat to national security, it said.
The officers told MPs that Muslims were being stigmatised' by the Government's attempts to tackle terrorism, which was adding to hatred' against entire communities. In the official intervention, the association said the Government's anti-terrorism policies could not continue unchecked'.
The comments, made in a seven-page memorandum to a parliamentary committee investigating extremism, are embarrassing for Gordon Brown. They indicated that Muslim officers may be reluctant to take part in hearts and minds' anti-terrorism campaigns. The organisation, which represents more than 2,000 officers, was previously publicly backed by Mr Brown. The Prime Minister said the association was crucial to bridge the historic divide between Muslims and the police.
In an analysis of the Prevent strategy, which is a set of policies designed to stop radicalisation, the organisation claimed: The strategies of Prevent were historically focused on so-called Islamist extremism. This has subjected the biggest black and ethnic minority community, and second biggest faith group, in an unprecedented manner, stigmatising them in the process.
Never before has a community been mapped in [such] a manner . . . it is frustrating to see this in a country that is a real pillar and example of freedom of expression and choice. Our British system is a model for the world to follow, yet we have embarked on a journey that has put this very core of British values under real threat.'
The association warned there were echoes' of the racism of the 1970s and 1980s which led to inner city riots. We appear to have ignored the lessons learnt from these dark days,' the officers said.
There is growing criticism among Muslim groups of the government strategy, which was welcomed by mainstream police organisations. The policies are aimed at stopping Muslims from becoming radicalised through measures such as sponsoring moderate community groups.
Ministers insisted that the strategy, which costs more than £140 million a year, had real successes'. More than 200 people were convicted of terrorist offences in the past eight years. But the NAMP claimed the policies had led to hatred against Muslims' which has grown to a level that defies all logic and is an affront to British values'. The organisation said Prevent should focus on confronting far-Right extremists such as the BNP.
The memorandum warned that Muslims were subjected to daily abuse' due to the strategy. We must not diminish our British values further by continuing to allow such behaviour and polices to continue unchecked,' it added.
The Muslim officers believe the Government is wrong to blame Islam as the main driver of terrorist activity. Research by those convicted of terrorism acts shows Islam was not, and is not, a real driver but all our strategy seem to focus on is this un-evidenced view of Islam being the driver,' they said. The Government said that confronting Islamic terrorism was one of the key priorities of the anti-radicalisation strategy. Last night, the Foreign Office admitted that funding for counter-terrorism policies in Pakistan had been cut.
A spokesman from the Department of Communities and Local Government said: The idea that we only focus on Muslims on terror issues is completely false. Muslims, like other faith groups, engage with government departments right across Whitehall, from health to education to work and pensions, to culture, media and sport. They rightly play a full role in our society, and across public and civic life.'
#1
funny, in the last 20 years, i don't remember any 'far right extremists' downing an airplane or beheading people on video, or blowing up buses, or...
but a certain religious group...
Posted by: abu do you love ||
01/21/2010 2:22 Comments ||
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#2
The association warned there were "echoes" of the racism of the 1970s and 1980s which led to inner city riots. "We appear to have ignored the lessons learnt from these dark days," the officers said.
#3
British Muslim police say Islam not to blame for terror attacks
Of course they're not to blame. Just because 91% of prisoners on UK prisons on terrorist charges are muslims, doesn't prove nothing.
The Director General of MI5 pointed out, there are at least 2,000 suspected al-Qaeda operatives based in Britain and NAMP represents more than 2,000 officers.
Co-incidence or just hiding in plain sight.
#5
So I guess that "Allahu Akbar" business is just so much misdirection, eh? Actually, though, the Islamofascists would be nowhere without their Politically Correct Multicultural Enablers. PC is the real culprit here.
#6
They also said not to blame clouds for rain, sun for sunburn and their government for your death. They did however, say to blame man for global warming.
#7
I just praise the Lord that we are so fortunate to have these fine Police ( Moslem) Officers to tell is what's what.
What would we do without men like these in our country? I mean count yourself truly fortunate that Divine Providence has seen fit to secure our wellbeing with Moslem Police.
And so discerning too.
is there any way we can get MORE Moslem Police to look after our communitys? People with names like Salim and Abdrool, and Mudhead and things like that.
Will the Moslems be gracious enough to get someone named Hussein to run for President? We can only hope.
#9
NAMP's statements seem to fall just short of saying Muslim police are unwilling to police muslims. Might want to sift through the entire NAMP for isalmists before you've got a Ft. Hood situation on your hands.
They indicated that Muslim officers may be reluctant to take part in hearts and minds anti-terrorism campaigns.
See? Refusing to police. Better yet, just fire them all and stop accepting cadets whose religious beliefs conflict with domestic law.
#10
I'm with you g(r)om. I suspect a future history student will write his graduate dissertation on the comparison of Justinian's efforts to reestablish the Western Roman Empire with that of the American Republic's efforts to 'save' Western Europe. Both exhausting the resources of the entity while making it vulnerable to the opportunities of others.
#12
The National Association of Muslim Police (NAMP) claimed that ministers were wrong to blame Islam for being the driver behind recent terrorist attacks. Far-Right extremists were a more dangerous threat to national security, it said.
I think the President Barack Obama just found his new cabinet appointees.
Posted by: ed ||
01/21/2010 10:08 Comments ||
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#13
Personally, I blame Justinian. If, instead of trying to reconquer the Western Empire, he'd just sent Belisarius to conquer Arabian Peninsula...
Justinian's campaign of religious persecution (of unbelievers and heretics alike) divided the empire and Eastern Christendom itself, and the hatreds caused by the killings that resulted from this campaign may have paved the way for the rise of Islam. An ecumenical approach to religious faith within the empire, provided that all faiths acknowledged his worldly authority, would have served the Eastern Roman Empire better.
#14
Never before has a community been mapped in [such] a manner
This show an extraordinary ignorance of 16th and 17th century British history that will redound to the detriment of the speaker. Bring back Jeffries. He'd know what to do with 'em.
#16
"The National Association of Muslim Police (NAMP) claimed that ministers were wrong to blame Islam for being the driver behind recent terrorist attacks."
Not so many years ago, before we were all subjected to the constant PC Brainwashing, it might have occurred to more people that these policemen are displaying a clear lack of basic common sense and intelligence. It's a modicum of intelligence a requirement for being a police officer any more? Grounds for dismissal on simple incompetence anyone?
#19
Who is causing all this trouble, must be the British people, /sarc off.
What Bulldog said, no Muslim police ön the streets öf Britain. Too late, their lack of respect betrays their position, and I note, no Muslim names mentioned.
The University of Birmingham has been accused of allowing "a notorious Jew-hater and supporter of terrorist attacks" to speak to students at an event on campus.
MP Denis MacShane has written to the university's Vice Chancellor urging him to cancel a planned talk by Azzam Tamimi, a Palestinian-born academic and supporter of terror group Hamas. But the university has refused to intervene, saying the talk should go ahead in the name of freedom of speech.
Oh, those romantic terrorists, modern day Che Gueveras. Be not so petty and earthbound in your concerns, MP MacShane!
Dr Tamimi has been invited on to campus by the University of Birmingham Islamic Society, which has organised a seminar to commemorate the Israeli invasion of Gaza 12 months ago. The society, which has also invited Labour elder statesman Tony Benn to the event, said the invitation did not mean it agreed with all his views.
How many jihadis has the U of B Islamic Society sent forth? Our discussion of the issue can move from there.
In an interview with the BBC in 2004, Dr Tamimi defending violence against civilians, saying: "We don't call it violence, we call it legitimate struggle, we call it jihad." Asked specifically about suicide bombs which killed civilians, he said: "If the Israelis want it to stop, it can stop today. It doesn't make me feel better to see anyone killed but if you come and kill me and kill my children and drive me out of my land, what do you expect? I have to defend myself." Dr Tamimi also told the interviewer: "At one time Nelson Mandela was called a terrorist. It doesn't matter what people say today."
Mr MacShane, a Labour MP and former Minister for Europe, who led a Parliamentary inquiry into anti-Semitism in 2006, urged university Vice Chancellor Prof David Eastwood to cancel the meeting. In a letter to Prof Eastwood, he said: "I understand that a notorious Jew-hater and supporter of terrorist attacks on Jewish women and children in Israel is scheduled to give a talk . . . at Birmingham University."
He accused Dr Tamimi of "glorifying Jihad and the killing of those opposed to his fanatical Islamist world view" and asked: "Should your campus be used as a platform for someone linked to Jew-hate and incitement to terrorist acts?"
But the university has released a statement insisting it will not intervene. A spokesman said: 'The University of Birmingham has a code of practice on freedom of speech on campus, and those seeking to invite outside speakers onto campus must fill in a freedom of speech request form at least 15 days before the proposed event.
'The University has received a freedom of speech request from the Islamic Society for Azzam Tamimi to speak on campus and the event will go ahead as planned. Universities are plural societies which are home to differences of opinion, debate and views. The University of Birmingham hosts many visitors and events every year and itself is a community of 150 nations situated in a vibrant multi-cultural city. We respect the right of all individuals to exercise freedom of speech within the law; we are also intolerant of discrimination of any kind."
A spokesman for University of Birmingham Islamic Society said: "We don't advocate Hamas or its views. Dr Tamimi represents an important part of the dialogue which has to take place."
#2
We respect the right of all individuals to exercise freedom of speech within the law; we are also intolerant of discrimination of any kind."
Double-talked themselves right into a corner. "freedom of speech within the law. Advocating violence against civilians is not within the law.
intolerant of discrimination of any kind. Kill all the jooce and infidels. Now that's discrimination. Your right to swing your arms in pinwheels stops where they meet my nose.
[Kyodo: Korea] An estimated 200,000 political prisoners are being held in special camps in North Korea, South Korea"s state-run human rights commission agency said Wednesday. In a report on the human rights situation in North Korea, the National Human Rights Commission also said the political prisoner camps, which have been in place since the late 1950s, once numbered as many as 13 but have been reduced to six at the present through closure and integration.
How many non-political prisoners? I've read that entire families are swept up to punish a single political prisoner, and that two generations have now been born there, knowing nothing else. As for reducing the number of camps, reduction of number by amalgamation does not imply a reduction in the number of prisoners, merely the reduction in the number of camp commandants. Increased management efficiency is not admirable such cases.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/21/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
N. Korean camps estimated to hold 200,000 political prisoners
We call those reeducation camps universities in this country.
[Kyodo: Korea] South Korea"s defense chief said Wednesday that his country would attack North Korea first if it were to detect clear signs that the North was preparing to launch a nuclear attack against the South, Yonhap News Agency reported. ""We would have to strike (North Korea) right away if we detected a clear intention to attack (South Korea) with nuclear weapons,"" Defense Minister Kim Tae Young was quoted as telling a local defense forum.
How clear do the clear signs need to be to trigger South Korean action?
Posted by: Fred ||
01/21/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
TOPIX > JAPAN REJECTS CHINA'S ARGUMENT OVER OKINOTORI ISLAND CLAIM; + ASSEMBLY FOR SHIMOJI ISLAND SAYS "NO" TO FUTENMA BASE RELOCATION.
HMMMM, HMMMM, so IOW CHINA WINS ONE, LOSES ONE FOR NOW.
#1
Blair has since backpedaled. He now states that that group to question high value targets hasn't yet been formed. The recommendation to establish this group is still being reviewed (with commas being replaced by semicolons, etc)
Posted by: lord garth ||
01/21/2010 13:20 Comments ||
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Pakistani citizen Aafia Siddiqui has told jurors at her trial that she was held in a secret prison in Afghanistan, her children were tortured, and the case against her is a sham.
On Tuesday, Siddiqui was thrown out of the New York courtroom where her trail is being held after shouting the remarks at the jurors.
The MIT-educated neuroscientist is currently on trial, facing charges of trying to kill US soldiers and FBI agents in Afghanistan in 2008 and connections with Al-Qaeda operatives.
She was ejected from her federal court trial after her second outburst, Bloomberg reported.
"Since I'll never get a chance to speak," she said in the courtroom. "If you were in a secret prison, or your children were tortured..."
She insisted that she knew nothing about a plan to carry out terrorist attacks on targets in New York, The New York Daily News reported.
"Give me a little credit, this is not a list of targets of New York," she said. "I was never planning to bomb it. You're lying."
Siddiqui vanished in Karachi, Pakistan with her three children on March 30, 2003. The next day it was reported in local newspapers that she had been taken into custody on terrorism charges.
US officials allege Aafia Siddiqui was seized on July 17, 2008 by Afghan security forces in Ghazni province and claim that documents, including formulas for explosives and chemical weapons, were found in her handbag. They say that while she was being interrogated, she grabbed a US warrant officer's M-4 rifle and fired two shots at FBI agents and military personnel but missed and that the warrant officer then fired back, hitting her in the torso. Man, they could've saved themselves a lotta aggravation if the WO could shoot better...
She was brought to the United States to face charges of attempted murder and assault. Siddiqui faces 20 years in prison if convicted.
However, human rights organizations have cast doubt on the accuracy of the US account of the event. Of course they do ...
Many political activists believe she was Prisoner 650 of the US detention facility in Bagram, Afghanistan, where they say she was tortured for five years until one day US authorities announced that they had found her in Afghanistan.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/21/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
We are deliberately intentionally wilfully NOT contacting Madonna fans from PENN STATE, aren't we, AAFIA???
D *** NG IT, MORIARITY, BY DEFINITION I AM FORCED TO CONCLUDE THAT AAFIA DEMANDS TO BE SENT TO GUANTANAMO!
#5
Once they had squeezed any data out of this woman, she truly needed to get acute lead poisoning and never to be seen again. No way in heck she should have even been put in the books. Too damn dangerous.
#6
Oh, the tears of unfathomable sadness! Yummy.
/Cartman
Posted by: ed ||
01/21/2010 10:53 Comments ||
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#7
Dear Aafia: There are several nuances of American life of which you should be aware, for the next time you are free: although every single U.S. Attorney has at one time or another felt he should have the right to pick up a pistol and shoot at an FBI agent, that is just something we do not do. Successful criminals do not shoot at FBI agents, successful criminals ride around in chauffered limos, do not talk onto the telephone, nor send emails, and they are quiet in Court. You should take up another line of work, you do not have what it takes to be a successful criminal. A "successful criminal" is an oxymoron, but you are a regular moron.
NEW YORK The State Department has cleared the way for the return to the United States of two prominent Muslim scholars once accused of having ties to terrorism, a spokesman said Wednesday. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has signed orders enabling the re-entry of professors Tariq Ramadan of Oxford University in England and Adam Habib of the University of Johannesburg in South Africa once they obtain required admittance documents, department spokesman Darby Holladay said.
Clinton "has chosen to exercise her exemption authority for the benefit of Tariq Ramadan and Adam Habib," Holladay said. "We'll let that action speak for itself."
In a prepared statement, Holladay noted the change in U.S. posture since both professors, who are frequently invited to the United States to lecture, were denied admittance after making statements counter to U.S. foreign policy. "Both the president and the secretary of state have made it clear that the U.S. government is pursuing a new relationship with Muslim communities based on mutual interest and mutual respect," Holladay said.
The American Civil Liberties Union sued in recent years to challenge the exclusion of the professors. It said the State Department's action means the scholars will now get visas within weeks of requesting them.
Habib, a well-known South African scholar who has been a critic of the war in Iraq, was denied a visa by the U.S. government in a letter saying he "engaged in a terrorist activity," an accusation Habib has vigorously denied. One of the groups that invited him to speak was the Boston Coalition for Palestinian Rights.
Ramadan had his U.S. visa revoked in 2004 as he was about to move to Indiana to take a tenured teaching job at the University of Notre Dame. Later, his visa applications were denied on the grounds that he had donated $1,336 to a charity that gave money to Hamas, which has been designated a terrorist organization by the U.S.
In an ACLU statement, Habib called it a personal victory and also a victory "for democracy around the world."
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/21/2010 00:00 ||
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#3
With these Muslim Brotherhood ideologues reuniting with the thousands of Brotherhood adherents in the USA, it will be goods times. Like a madrassa reunion in Peshawar.
But be warned, you better have a license if you want to fire off your pistols in the air.
Posted by: ed ||
01/21/2010 11:00 Comments ||
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The Pakistani army said Thursday during a visit by U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates that it can't launch any new offensives against militants for six months to a year to give it time to stabilize existing gains. Because that would mean going into North Wazoo and the "good Taliban". They managed to say 'stabilize' and 'gains' without their lips falling off?
Let's wait for the next major Taliban attack against army cantonments or something, and see if the generals still want to consolidate their positions. Gains is a word of fluid meaning for them, along the lines of winning the war. Or at least it's been so until recently...
The announcement probably comes as a disappointment to the U.S., which has pushed Pakistan to expand its military operations to target militants staging cross-border attacks against coalition troops in Afghanistan. Washington believes such action is critical to success in Afghanistan as it prepares to send an additional 30,000 troops to the country this year.
But the comments by army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas clearly indicate Pakistan will not be pressured in the near term to expand its fight beyond militants waging war against the Pakistani state. Whether it can be convinced in the long term is still an open question.
*shrug* We've got plenty of Predator missiles begging to be used. You should see how cute they are, wiggling their tails with excitement, when they know they're about to be programmed.
Posted by: ed ||
01/21/2010 13:11 ||
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#1
Please replace title with "Pakistani army: No new offensive for 6-12 months"
Posted by: ed ||
01/21/2010 13:17 Comments ||
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#2
Thats because bambi has told pakistan we wont be in afghan for long so isi plans are in place for pakistan to get the taliban back in power!
[The News (Pak)] Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, the operational commander of a banned organisation and the alleged mastermind of the Mumbai attacks, has filed an appeal with the Lahore High Court (LHC), Rawalpindi Bench, against the dismissal of his application for acquittal by a trial anti-terrorism court (ATC) that he had filed under Article 265-K.
Lakhvi, in his petition filed through his legal counsel, Khwaja Sultan Ahmad, said the only evidence of his involvement in the Mumbai terror attacks was the statement of Ajmal Kasab. "Kasab has recorded his statement in India and it could not be used here in the Pakistani courts," he said, adding proceedings initiated against him were malafide.
Khwaja Sultan Ahmad, while talking to The News, said the Indian government was trying to pose itself as the boss in this case. "The Pakistani government is acting as a subordinate to the Indian government and is trying to satisfy India," he added. A division bench of the LHC in November had rejected Lakhvi's acquittal petition, directing him to file an acquittal plea under article 265-K before the ATC. The LHC will take up the case today (Wednesday).
Posted by: Fred ||
01/21/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Wehell, 'twas either the HADRON COLLIDER, versus L-IGHT H-ELICOPTER C-OMPETITION.
[Dawn] A flag meeting was held between Pakistani and Indian military commanders at the Rawalakot sector along the Line of Control on Wednesday.
Pakistan rejected Indian allegations of infiltration and warned of retaliation if India did not stop firing across the border.
The Pakistan army lodged a strong protest with its Indian counterpart over Tuesday's unprovoked cross-border firing at Keir sector.
One soldier was killed while another sustained injuries when Indian troops fired across the Line of Control.
It was the second time Indian troops had fired across the line of control in just as many days.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/21/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Pakistan: Say old chap. Could you not return fire while we pound your positions to infiltrate terrorists into your country? It's very unsporting of you.
Posted by: ed ||
01/21/2010 11:04 Comments ||
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#2
When I first read the headline I thought Masonic lodges in Pakistan were protesting the firings, but that made no sense at all.
The Senate on Wednesday paased a landmark amendment in the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) aimed at protecting women against sexual harassment at the workplace.
The bill was moved by the Leader of the House, Senator Nayyar Bokhari, in accordance with the report of the Senate Standing Committee on Law.
Under the new law, the violator is liable to pay Rs500,000 as fine and would be subject to three years of imprisonment as well.
The house, however, rejected the amendment passed by JUI (Jamiat Ulema Islam) in the bill asking women to follow an Islamic dress code.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/21/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
"Vague" law leaves alot up to interpretation.
I don't know their court system there, but if it were US, I'd say the lawyers were trying to drum up business.
Posted by: Tom- Pa ||
01/21/2010 9:13 Comments ||
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Warning: A-Pee article.... Excerpt: In response [to the food-for-oil investigation findings of corruption, U.P.], it established a special anti-corruption unit, the Procurement Task Force, in 2006 that over the next three years uncovered at least 20 other major schemes affecting more than $1 billion in U.N. contracts and international aid.
But at the beginning of 2009, the United Nations shuttered the agency and diverted its work to the Office of Internal Oversight Services' permanent investigation division.
Since then, the number of cases opened, pursued or completed has dropped dramatically and the division has let go most former task force investigators, the AP found in an examination of U.N. documents, audits and e-mails, along with dozens of interviews with current and former U.N. officials and diplomats. Mohamed ElBaradei overseeing this division as well...?
Al Jezeera exploding with stories of preachin' and bible-burning and scripture on scopes. This is just one.
The US army in Afghanistan has burned Bibles printed in local languages, a US colonel in Afghanistan has said, amid concerns they could have been used to try to convert Afghans.
"My understanding is that the [military] leadership confiscated these Bibles so that they could not be distributed around Afghanistan," Colonel Greg Julian told Al Jazeera on Wednesday. "It was their best judgement at the time, that the best way to deal with it, was to destroy them and I understand that they were burnt."
Al Jazeera broadcast footage earlier this month showing troops apparently discussing how best to convert Afghans to their faith.
Some of the soldiers who appeared in the video have been reprimanded, US government and military officials told Al Jazeera correspondent James Bays.
The video, shot about a year ago, appeared to show military chaplains stationed in the US air base at Bagram discussing how to distribute copies of the Bible printed in the country's main Pashto and Dari languages.
In one recorded sermon, Lieutenant-Colonel Gary Hensley, the chief of the US military chaplains in Afghanistan, tells soldiers that, as followers of Jesus Christ, they all have a responsibility "to be witnesses for him".
"The special forces guys - they hunt men basically. We do the same things as Christians, we hunt people for Jesus ... we hunt them down," he said. "Get the hound of heaven after them, so we get them into the kingdom. That's what we do, that's our business."
Questioned about the footage earlier in the month, Julian told Al Jazeera: "Most of this is taken out of context ... this is irresponsible and inappropriate journalism.
"This footage was taken a year ago ... the Bibles were taken into custody and not distributed. There is no effort to go out and proselytize to Afghans."
The military said a soldier at Bagram received the Bibles and did not realise he was not allowed to hand them out.
"It's not a preference but, under the circumstances, the leadership made the best decision that they could to ensure that they weren't distributed among the Afghan population. So, unfortunately, this is the route that we went," he said.
Regulations by the US military's central command expressly forbid "proselytizing of any religion, faith or practice".
But in the footage chaplains appear to understand their actions were in breach of regulations.
"Do we know what it means to proselytize?" Captain Emmit Furner, a military chaplain, said to the gathering.
"It is General Order Number One," an unidentified soldier replied. "You can't proselytize, but you can give gifts", another said. It's official. It's a crusade. This is going to be bigger than the Danish cartoon kafuffle. Use the BIG bowl of popcorn.
#4
I don't know about the Afghans in general, but the best way to convert the Taliban to our faith is to hunt them down and shoot them.
That's how the Afghans were converted out of the faith of their ancestors - Buddhism - in the first place. Arab invaders gave them a choice - Islam or death.
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Muslim groups reacted angrily Wednesday after it emerged that the US military in Iraq and Afghanistan were using rifle sights inscribed with coded Biblical references.
The company producing the sights, which are also used to train Afghan and Iraqi soldiers under contracts with the US Army and the Marine Corps, said it has inscribed references to the New Testament on the metal casings for over two decades.
The British Ministry of Defense meanwhile announced it had placed an order for 400 of the gunsights with Trijicon but added it had not been aware of the significance of the inscriptions, in a decision criticized by the opposition Liberal Democrat party.
The Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) called on US Defense Secretary Robert Gates to immediately withdraw from combat use equipment found to have inscriptions of Biblical references after it emerged that Trijicon has contracts to supply over 800,000 of the sights to the US military.
The Pentagon sought to defuse the brewing controversy, saying it was "disturbed" by the reports.
"If determined to be true, this is clearly inappropriate and we are looking into possible remedies," Commander Darryn James, a Pentagon spokesman, told AFP.
The codes were used as "part of our faith and our belief in service to our country," Trijicon said.
"As long as we have men and women in danger, we will continue to do everything we can to provide them with both state-of-the-art technology and the never-ending support and prayers of a grateful nation," a company spokesman said on condition of anonymity.
The move appeared to be a direct violation of a US Central Command general order issued after the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq that strictly prohibits "proselytizing of any religion, faith or practice."
A whistleblower group that first alerted ABC News to the issue this week warned the practice was putting troops in harm's way by raising fears of Christian proselytizing in Muslim-majority nations home to militants resentful of US military presence.
"This is the worst type of emboldenment of the enemy that you can imagine," Military Religious Freedom Foundation founder and president Michael "Mikey" Weinstein said in an interview.
Weinstein, a former White House legal counsel in Ronald Reagan's administration, said his group would submit a filing in US federal court in Kansas City, Missouri by February 4 in a related case.
"Having Biblical references on military equipment violates the basic ideals and values our country was founded upon," MPAC Washington director Haris Tarin said in a statement.
"Worse still, it provides propaganda ammo to extremists who claim there is a 'Crusader war against Islam' by the United States," he added.
The shocking revelation raises fresh fears of Christian fundamentalism seeping through the US military's ranks.
"It's got to stop. It's wrong on a million levels," said Weinstein. "This is massively endangering the lives and well-being of our members of the military."
His foundation, he added, represents nearly 16,000 troops, the bulk of them Christians.
A Muslim-American soldier, who declined to be named due to fears of persecution, said he was "ashamed" and "horrified" by the writings on the gunsights of weapons he used during deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"There are many other soldiers who feel as I do. Many are Protestant and Catholic and they fear reprisal just as much as I do for trying to stand up to the Christian bullies in uniform who outrank us," he said in a letter dated January 14 and addressed to Weinstein and his foundation.
The Secular Coalition for America demanded the US military end its contracts with Trijicon.
"Trijicon knew that the scopes they were producing were for the use of the US military and their decision to keep these engravings shows a flagrant disregard by a private contractor of the laws that govern our land," said the group's director Sean Faircloth.
According to photographs seen by AFP, the coded inscriptions include JN8:12, an apparent reference to John 8:12: "Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."
Trijicon, a defense contractor founded by devout Christian Glyn Bindon, vows on its website to follow "biblical standards" it says make America great.
#1
How about telling them that they are free to get stuffed move to Saudi Arabia?
A Muslim-American soldier, who declined to be named due to fears of persecution, said he was "ashamed" and "horrified" by the writings on the gunsights of weapons he used during deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan.
He should better keep his shock and horror for events like Fort Hood.
#2
Heart and minds, gentlemen. Two in the chest, one in the head.
Posted by: ed ||
01/21/2010 11:15 Comments ||
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#3
The (night) shot that was heard around the world.
The number of suicide bombers is going to, well, explode. pity is, regardless of how one feels about the scripture on scopes, the islamists are going to be mad enough to, well, explode.
Regardless of the intentions of the scope company, American and other western soldiers have been placed firmly into a greater danger than ever.
#4
Regardless of the intentions of the scope company, American and other western soldiers have been placed firmly into a greater danger than ever. They never liked us anyway. Next controversy will be about firemen wearing their suspenders to form a cross on their books, LIKE CRUSADERS.
#7
Not sure how a few alphanumerics at the end of a part number counts as proselytizing. Most of the offended ones are either lawyers or illiterate anyway. Certainly none of the offended would ever look at the part number unless they were so directed and had the meaning explained. This whole thing is bogus. If the offended ones would focus their "anger" on the Muslim extremists who keep killing innocent people, then there would be no need for "crusader" weapons to kill said extremists.
#8
Well, I am glad that there is nothing else about us the Muslim groups are mad about. Maybe if they will go and burn down a girls' school or blow up a kindergarten, they will feel better.
Perhaps I should etch "JN8:12" on my shotgun, in case they should want to come and discuss the matter further.
#10
I urge these Bible passages be engraved on all US ports of entry. Oh, and all taxicabs and 7-11s.
Posted by: ed ||
01/21/2010 12:14 Comments ||
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#11
I am here at the SHOT Show in Vegas. I will go by the Trijicon booth and thank them for pissing off these whining wankers. And try to get a decent discount on on of their ACOGs, suckers cost muchly.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
01/21/2010 12:21 Comments ||
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#12
on ONE of their ACOGs.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
01/21/2010 12:23 Comments ||
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#13
Keep haring about Muslims saying that Jesys is recognized as a prophet but when "Jesus" verses pop up any where their panties get into a wad. But what's new...
Posted by: Boss Snomotle8280 ||
01/21/2010 13:56 Comments ||
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#17
Thes *&^#ers don't mind beheading innocent people, restricting religious beliefs, suppressing women, strapping bombs to kids, or blowing up planes but they do mind religious inscriptions on scopes. Screw em.
#20
I must have missed the outcry from the athiests over the shouting of 'Allan's Snack-bar' by the splodey-dopes. And New Zealand can p!ss off, I used to think better of them.
#22
I'm sure that if there was some sura engraved on them, they'd have no problem with it whatsoever.
I think sura 5:81 might work. Had they believed in GOD, and the prophet, and in what was revealed to him herein, they would not have befriended them. But many of them are evil.
Yeah, I know, it needs to have something about everybody else being the sons of pigs and monkeys, and how fabulous Islam is, blah blah blah...but since they keep telling us all these guys named Abdul and Mohammed aren't representative of oh-so-peaceful Islam, wouldn't this be appropriate for these tender, easily inflamed flowers?
(Yeah, I know. Especially coming from a woman who walks around without a male escort and has flashed ankle from time to time....)
#26
In light of this, shouldn't Dwight Eisenhower be officially declared an unperson?
There's reason to believe that the very mention of his name would be offensive to Muslims and provoke additional attacks on western targets bot military and civilian.
His choice of words in official statements and literary works was certainly highly insensitive, if not implicitly islamophobic, equating "Islam" with the notion of "Evil" and "Enemy".
I'm torn between laughing at that and outrage over this tempest in a part number. I can't think of another example from history where organized murderers had such tender sensibilities.
[Iran Press TV Latest] Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki says adopting regional approaches can ensure sustainable security and stability in the Caucasus region.
In a Wednesday meeting with former Armenian president Robert Kocharian in Tehran, Mottaki highlighted the age-old relations between Iran and Armenia and stressed the importance of maintaining calm in the Caucasus.
"The stability and security of the Caucasus must be strengthened with regional approaches."
"The interests of regional countries are served by strategic approaches that resolve regional woes and crises in the Caucasus region and guarantee sustainable security there," Mottaki was quoted as saying.
The senior Iranian diplomat added that faulty economic systems were to blame for the global economic recession.
"This [global economic] crisis revealed that the approaches based on post-WWII theories are no longer applicable and world countries by adopting new economic policies must lessen the role US dollar in transactions as well as their dependence on international monetary organizations."
Kocharian, for his part, pointed to the relations between Iran and Armenia, saying, "We will make every effort to expand relations with Iran."
He went on to describe the presence of foreign troops in the Caucasus as harmful to the security and stability of regional states, adding that regional approaches are the best solution for development and stability.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/21/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[12 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
We missed informing MEDVEDEV + VLAD, didn't we.
DIMITRI per se has repor ordered the revampment and revitalization of ARMORED TRAINS to improve Military + Transportation Security in the NORTH CAUCASUS, espec as per CHECHEN MILITANTS. These modernized, highly mobile protected Trains will be used as both mobile armored base for local Russian security troops, + Mil-protected delivery, storage platforms for materials needed for regional, logistics network refurbishment andor new construx.
#2
NEWS KERALA > GLOBAL MELTDOWN: IS IT THE END OF KEYNESIANISM, OR ITS REVIVAL?
* SAME > INDIA ASKS WHO TO EXPLAIN SWINE FLU ALARM ["false pandemic"? meant to benefit pharmaceutical companies]???
IOW, dare the UNO = WHO, etal. needs a BAMMER BAILOUT/STIMULUS
Also, SAME > LEAD FIGHT AGZ CLIMATE CHANGE, GREENPEACE TELLS B-A-S-I-C COUNTRIES. B-razil, A-rgentina, S-outh Africa, I-dia, and C-hina. GREENPEACE warns BASIC nations should not behave like the USA + Other World States in prioritizing their wily dastardly pesky EARTH/ENVIRON-DESTROYING NATIONAL INTERESTS.
#3
SAME > URBAN GREEN SPACES MAY CONTRIBUTE TO GLOBAL WARMING/CLIMATE CHANGE.
D *** NG IT, MEN OF THE WORLD ARISE AND FERGIT WHAT THE BABES DEMAND, THE FUTURE OWG-NWO SAYS YOUR PERSONAL MOWING + BUSHCUTTING + OTHER FOSSIL-FUELED HOUSE-GROUNDS MAINTENANCE ACTIVITIES IS KILLING THE EARTH, SO STOP IT, STOP IT NOW...................OR ELSE!
Relax, barbecue some Soy = Fake Meat, and let the Flora, Fauna run free! SKYNET, MATRIX, + "I, ROBOT", BOYZ FROM BRAZIL, etc. will do all the pesky yard work for youse - WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG!?
#4
If he is criticizing the Bretton Woods economics agreement, this is one of the more dangerously *sane* statements to have come out of Iran in decades.
It is militarily important to remember that underneath a crust of ignorant religious fanaticism, Iran has some very urbane, educated and sophisticated people.
This means that Iran actually could have its "place in the sun", like pre-WWII Japan, if it was just not handicapped with corrupt and superstitious kooks.
#5
He's definitely correct...to a point. To dismiss the prevailing economic theories out of hand would be a mistake. But there is no doubting that some of the fundamental elements, from multiplier effects to velocity of money need to be looked at very carefully. The truth is, regardless of this administration's bungling of the economy, we should be making more head way than we are. Money supply and more importantly velocity are not reacting as most theories say they should.
Excerpt: WELLINGTON, New Zealand Biblical citations inscribed on U.S.-manufactured weapon sights used by New Zealand's troops in Afghanistan will be removed because they are inappropriate and could stoke religious tensions, New Zealand said Thursday.
#3
IIUC:
1) The inscriptions mean nothing until you look up the words in the Bible that go with the chapter & verse identifiers.
2) You can't even see them unless you take the scope apart - which should be left to professionals.
#5
"And he came to the house of his mother's brother's servant
And there was no one to answer him, nay not no one
And he lay in that land a long time
Like a hot cheese log."
Yea......
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
01/21/2010 20:42 Comments ||
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#6
Next they will want all US dollars out of the middle east because it says in God we trust. As far as I'm cincerned, Aim straight, aim true.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
01/21/2010 22:30 Comments ||
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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.
NEW YORK The State Department has cleared the way for the return to the United States of two prominent Muslim scholars once accused of having ties to terrorism, a spokesman said Wednesday. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has signed orders enabling the re-entry of professors Tariq Ramadan of Oxford University in England and Adam Habib of the University of Johannesburg in South Africa once they obtain required admittance documents, department spokesman Darby Holladay said.
