The U.S. ambassador to Kabul has issued a thinly veiled warning to Afghanistan's Caped PresidentHamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai ... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use... that harsh criticisms of the West could jeopardize the troops and funding critical to the Afghan government's survival.
Ambassador Karl Eikenberry ...retired United States Army Lieutenant General currently serving as U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan... said he found comments from "some" Afghan leaders "hurtful and inappropriate," according to a transcript of a speech released late on Sunday.
Although he did not mention Karzai by name, the speech appeared to be a direct response to a string of verbal broadsides against Western troops serving in Afghanistan and the diplomatic and aid programs that accompany them.
In one recent fiery speech Karzai warned that foreign soldiers risked being seen as occupiers because of civilian casualties they caused. Last week he said the West was polluting the country with weapons containing toxic chemicals.
Eikenberry said those comments left him ashamed and speechless in front of the relatives of U.S. war dead.
"When I hear some of your leaders call us occupiers, I cannot look at these mourning parents, spouses, and children in the eye and give them a comforting reply," Eikenberry told an audience of students and academics at Herat University in western Afghanistan.
"When we hear ourselves being called occupiers and worse, our pride is offended and we begin to lose our inspiration to carry on," he added, in a personal addendum to a speech on education and transition.
CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM?
But Karzai's front man said some of the president's comments had been misunderstood and warned against "over-reacting" to constructive criticism, saying that Afghan people standing up for their own interests should not be dubbed offensive.
Karzai's front man said that in his controversial speech on civilian casualties the president was only warning western allies that their image in his country was at risk, and that details may have been lost in a bad translation.
"The president has never termed international forces as occupying forces ... He has said if the bombardment of civilian homes and civilians continue, there is a risk that (this view of western troops as occupiers) could become part of public opinion in Afghanistan," Waheed Omer said.
But Omer also warned against "over-reacting" to criticism, and added that although effective assistance was appreciated, the west had not come to Afghanistan for altruistic reasons.
"No one can deny that international community came to Afghanistan for the sake of their own interests in the first place. We as Afghans have every right ... to make sure that international community's presence also serves the interests of the people of Afghanistan," Omer said.
"I don't see why this should be termed as offending."
DRAWDOWN LOOMS
Eikenberry was speaking as U.S. President Barack B.O. Obama mulls how steep a U.S. troop withdrawal that starts in July should be.
That will coincide with the first phase of a gradual handover of security control to the Afghan police and army, who are due to take responsibility for all of Afghanistan by the end of 2014, though critics warn this date is premature.
At present NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the style of the American pants... is rushing to expand and train up security forces that have long struggled with problems ranging from widespread illiteracy, drug abuse and corruption to a dearth of leaders and equipment and a damaging rate of attrition.
Although the training team say progress is impressive, it will still be years before they have a real hope of holding off disciplined and battle-hardened bully boyz across the country.
Even when they can fight alone, the size of the security forces and Afghanistan's sickly economy means they will need help paying salaries and buying equipment for years to come.
Eikenberry warned that patience to help Afghanistan seek security would not be infinite if Afghan partners were dismissive of U.S. sacrifices of lives and money.
"At the point your leaders believe that we are doing more harm than good ... especially at a time our economy is suffering and our needs are not being met, the American people will ask for our forces to come home," Eikenberry said.
THE Afghan soldier who murdered army cook Lance Corporal Andrew Jones has been shot dead.
Excellent!
Shafidullah Guhlamon was cornered like a rat by coalition troops near his home village in the Khost Province of eastern Afghanistan near the Pakistan border and told to surrender.
I guess he didn't understand the English so good: "Come out wit yer mitts in da air!"
He refused
"Youse'll never take me alive, youse flatfoots!"
and drew a rod weapon and was whacked killed by the joined American-Afghan International Security Assistance Force patrol.
The murderer had been on the run since May 30 when he shot Lance Corporal Jones, from Melbourne, in cold blood at Combat Outpost Mashal in the Chora Valley near Tarin Kowt. Lance Cpl Jones was described as a popular and quietly spoken man who was a "bloody good soldier and a bloody great cook''.
Shafidullah escaped over the wall of the fort-like outpost and was seen running towards the nearby green zone. He escaped an immediate dragnet and was heading for his home when he was killed.
"Ma! I'm coming Ma! Hold dinner for me!"
Afghan commander Brigadier General Abdul Hamid told heraldsun.com.au that he had been confident Shafidullah would be found in his home territory.
He also confirmed that he was not a Taliban infiltrator and the method of his demise supports that view. If he was Taliban he would have been welcomed into the fold as a hero and given safe haven.
Just a day before he was gunned down, Lance Cpl Jones had shared recipes with Afghan cooks who run a separate mess to the Australians at the isolated base.
Afghan soldiers at the combat outpost had been deeply affected by the murder and were ashamed of their former comrade.
Lance Cpl Jones was the 20th foreign soldier to be murdered in Afghanistan this year by a member of the local security forces. Another 13 died between July and December, along with eight civilians, taking the total to 41.
#1
In this one case, I think that without saying it, they are trying to strongly imply that there was something personal between the Afghan and the LC.
[Maghrebia] A recent court ruling in Tunisia ordering internet filtering is raising concerns of a potential return to censorship.
The removal of internet controls in the wake of the Tunisian revolution raised the ire of some Islamists, including three conservative lawyers who sued to seek the re-imposition of internet controls. The Tunisian Internet Agency refused to implement a judge's May 26th order to block pornographic sites. Instead, the agency sought a stay of the ruling, a motion which was denied on June 13th.
"These pornographic sites have negative effects on the psychological, physiological, social and educational level on individuals and they go against the values of Arab-Islamic society," lawyer Monem Torki told Magharebia.
In response to the court ruling, the Tunisian Internet Agency (ATI) said it did not bear sole responsibility for closing such sites. "There are other parties directly concerned with the matter, namely internet service providers," agency chief Moez Chakchouk said at a June 7th presser.
"The agency refuses to re-enter the game of blocking sites, as was imposed upon it by the former regime of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who signed off on decisions to block sites," Chakchouk stressed.
However, Switzerland makes more than cheese... ATI announced on June 14th that it would comply with the appeal court's ruling and implement a block on pornographic websites.
"The internet has many repercussions on the economy of the country and the country's image abroad. Thus, any process to block hurts its image, and moreover, blocking must be within clear legal frameworks," Chakchouk said.
He also suggested giving pornographic websites their own internet domain in order to make it easy for consumers to filter the web as they saw fit. Seven pornographic sites rank in the top 100 most-visited internet pages in Tunisia, according to officials.
Blocking the controversial web pages raised concern on the Tunisian street, with some saying that visiting such sites was a personal freedom and that shutting them down would do nothing to tackle corruption or other pressing issues.
"Frankly, such judicial lawsuits make me sick and make me laugh," commented Mounir Belkacem, a young Tunisian. "Those who want access to such porn sites or to watch pornographic films have many solutions. These lawyers are promoting the theory of 'everything prohibited is desirable,' and Tunisian youth are intelligent and skilled in technology and will find many ways to access such sites."
Media student Lobna Sassi told Magharebia, "Shutting down these sites may be the beginning of going backward and returning to the rejection of control of the internet proclaimed with the demise of the former regime."
"It is better for those who decided to close these sites to educate young people about their danger and psychological and physiological impact," Sassi added.
There were also those who supported the decision to block pornographic sites, seeing them as an encouragement to vice.
"The decision to close such sites is a good step to control negative use of the internet," Mouna Belhej said. "I think what is on these sites, in addition to being contrary to Islamic and human morals, has negative effects we can do without."
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2011 00:00 ||
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CAIRO: Egypt's prime minister has added his weight to calls for a delay of September's parliamentary elections to allow more time for nascent political parties to organize in the aftermath of President Hosni Mubarak's ouster. In an interview posted Sunday on Egyptian news website Masrawy.com, Essam Sharaf said the delay would allow the nation's "political landscape" time to take shape.
For or against the Muslim Brotherhood?
Sharaf made clear that a delay is his personal preference, and that his interim government would do everything it can to ensure a fair and secure vote if the election went ahead as scheduled.
But his view lends considerable weight to complaints by liberal and secularist parties that a September vote would be unfairly advantageous to the Muslim Brotherhood, the country's largest and best organized political group after the fall of Mubarak in February.
How does a delay fix that? Perhaps a delay gives the most organized political party even more time to organize.
Sharaf also hinted that he wanted to see a delay so a new constitution could be drafted before the vote. As things stand now, the next legislature will select a panel to draft a new constitution, and some fear a Parliament dominated by Islamists could result in a document with an Islamist slant.
The question of whether the constitution or the elections should come first is one of several key issues dividing Egyptians after Mubarak's ouster. Others are related to the secrecy of the ruling military, as well as disagreements over the extent to which police powers should be curtailed and how best to halt the deterioration of the economy.
Sharaf's wish to see a delay is shared by new political groups that arose from the Jan. 25-Feb. 11 uprising that toppled Mubarak. Most of these groups have their genesis in the youth organizations behind the uprising, and while they are not opposed outright to the Muslim Brotherhood playing a role in post-Mubarak politics, they don't want to see it win a representation disproportionate to its base of support.
Or proportionate representation, either. It's not clear how many Egyptian voters would like to see Sharia made the law of the land, but I've seen survey numbers up to 70%, which must be an uncomfortable idea for the young secularists who started this brouhaha.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/20/2011 00:00 ||
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#2
Yes, most unfortunate if the current leaders had to remain in their temporary positions for the next decade or so...
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/20/2011 9:09 Comments ||
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#3
Temporary, like income taxes.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
06/20/2011 11:53 Comments ||
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#4
It's not clear how many Egyptian voters would like to see Sharia made the law of the land, but I've seen survey numbers up to 70% Too bad they couldn't get rid of the present Egyptian electorate and substitute another, more progressive, one.
[An Nahar] Egypt on Sunday appointed Mohammed al-Orabi as the new foreign minister to replace Nabil al-Arabi who will head the Arab League ...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... , the official MENA news agency reported.
"Prime Minister Essam Sharaf has tasked Ambassador Mohammed al-Orabi, the deputy foreign minister for economic affairs, to take up the position of minister of foreign affairs," MENA said.
Orabi was previously Egypt's ambassador to Germany and had also served in Kuwait, London and Washington.
He joined the foreign service in 1976 and served as deputy ambassador in Tel Aviv before becoming Egypt's envoy to Berlin in 2001.
A man of the world. I hope for his sake the Arab League is headquartered in a modern city with good catering. Saan and Cairo are picturesque, but at the moment a bit difficult for a man of refined sensibilities.
He also served as the coordinator of the Arab Economic Summit which was last held at the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2011 00:00 ||
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MANAMA: Lawyers for three former top editors of Bahrains main opposition newspaper on Sunday challenged allegations of unethical coverage by their clients during mass anti-government protests in the country.
The trial of the editors of Al Wasat newspaper, who were forced to resign from Bahrains most widely read newspaper after the government imposed emergency rule in March to quell dissent, is part of a sweeping crackdown on the island nations opposition.
The charges against the three former editors, who pleaded not guilty last month, include publishing false news and endangering public order. If convicted on all charges, they face at least two years in jail and hefty financial fines.
Two employees of Al Wasat newspaper told Bahrains highest criminal court on Sunday that the editors overlooked fabricated information because of the difficult conditions facing the kingdoms only opposition paper during anti-government demonstrations.
The two employees said the newspapers offices had been vandalized and its staff had been threatened, forcing reporters and editors to work from home.
Al Wasats founder and former chief editor, Mansoor Al-Jamri, told the court during last weeks hearing that the paper published the fabricated items after it fell victim to a plot aimed at undermining Al Wasats role as the main voice for pro-reform advocates.
Another hearing in the case is set for July 3.
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3 Iranian spies reportedly on house arrest after they forged passports in Istanbul; spies have had contact with al-Qaida, German 'Bild' reports.
Iran's suspected connection to the Turkish IHH flotilla is at risk of being exposed, German daily Bild reported on Saturday, citing intelligence sources. Following the Iranian government's concern over the possible revelation, three Iranian spies have reportedly been placed under house arrest after they falsified passports and travel documents in Istanbul for organizers of the IHH flotilla. According to the Bild report, the spies' cover names are "The Broker," "Bit Taxim" and "Hot Chai" and they reportedly have been in contact with al-Qaida and the Iranian al-Quds Brigade.
On Friday, the IHH announced that it will not take part in a Gaza protest flotilla later this month due to repairs needed for the Mavi Marmara, prompting activists to pledge that they will reach the shores of Gaza independently.
Bulent Yildirim, head of the IHH, announced at a news conference that the vessel will not sail for Gaza because of unrepaired damage caused by the IDF raid on the ship which left nine Turkish activists dead in May 2010. "The Mavi Marmara unfortunately suffered so much damage we couldn't get it ready in time," Yildirim said. Speaking to reporters in Istanbul, he denied that Ankara had forced the organization's hand, saying "there is absolutely no obstruction by the government."
Following the IHH's announcement, the Free Gaza Movement posted a message on their website in which they said: "the fact that the Mavi Marmara will not participate in the FF2 [Freedom Flotilla 2], means that the misinformation put forward by the Israeli government and its supporters that the flotilla is a "Turkish" and "Islamist" effort will be exposed.
"Hundreds of people from around the world are sailing to break the blockade on Gaza. FF2 will include more ships than the first flotilla, even without the Mavi Marmara. Moreover, the coalition consists of significantly more member organizations this time -- from all over Europe, North America, the Middle East and North Africa," the message continued.
Earlier this month, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was quoted in the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet as saying that "Israel should wait for a new Palestinian government to be set up and then lift the blockade on Gaza. The aid flotilla should also wait to see what happens with the Rafah border crossing being opened, and to see how Israel perceives the new government."
Soner Cagaptay, a senior fellow and director of the Turkish Research Program at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said Friday night that he believes Ankara pressured the IHH to pull out of the flotilla, partly out of a desire to avoid seeing the organization designated a terrorist group.
Cagaptay added that while Turkey is a democracy, the power of Erdogan's AKP party is such that the IHH would be hesitant to ignore their concerns. "Their political power everyone feels -- they are the longest ruling party since multi-party democracy began in Turkey," he said. "Any Turkish organization that would cross them would feel their weight."
Cagaptay said that with US-Turkish relations currently in a "happy phase," they may have wanted to prevent the IHH from taking part in order to avoid souring the "vast avenue of cooperation" between the two countries. "I think that Turkish-US policy has entered a positive phase," he said. "The relationship with the US is kind of taking off, and there is now not only a positive area for cooperation, but it's possible to move forward. Perhaps they're saying in Ankara that things are sweetening up with Washington."
Detailing the latest on the lawfare front of the Gaza flotilla issue, Roger Simon has a post in the Pajamas Media "Tatler":
These tactics are bearing fruit. Darshan-Leitner told Poulos that Lloyds has responded to Shurat HaDin's letter by saying it will not insure any boats participating in the flotilla. A French insurance company didn't respond to the group directly, but announced that it will not insure a boat destined for the flotilla that is coming out of Marseille. Inmarsat has said that as the boats are not owned by Hamas, they are under no obligation to withhold satellite communications services; but Darshan-Leitner counters that the US Attorney General recently indicted a group that provided legal advice to the Tamil Tigers, which is a terrorist organization. If Inmarsat goes ahead, it opens itself up to the possibility of huge liability.
Centrist and right-of-center national security experts reacted with contempt to Attorney General Eric Holder's claim at a legal convention that the courts are the nation's "most effective terror-fighting weapon."
"That's utter nonsense ... it is simply lunatic," said Ralph Peters, military analyst, author and former soldier. In the war against the jihadis, he said, the courts "have been totally ineffective when they're not outright destructive."
"He's unconsciously shilling for his own profession," said Michael Rubin, a Middle East expert at the American Enterprise Institute. "Holder, like many ambitious bureaucrats, wants to build a bureaucratic empire ... [and] by doing so, he will get Americans killed."
On Sunday, Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell added his voice to the criticism. "The attorney general said the other night our biggest weapon in the war on terror was the U.S. civilian court system," he said on CBS' Face The Nation. " I don't know what planet he's living on."
Holder's declaration came in a Thursday speech to hundreds of progressive lawyers, advocates, judges and students gathered at the American Constitution Society's annual gala. "I know that -- in distant countries, and within our own borders -- there are people intent on, and actively plotting to, kill Americans," he told his legal peers in the enthusiastic audience. "Victory and security will not come easily, and they won't come at all if we adhere to a rigid ideology, adopt a narrow methodology, or abandon our most effective terror-fighting weapon -- our Article III [civil] court system," he declared to much applause.
Holder delivered his speech several months after Congress and public opinion defeated his two-year political campaigns to transfer five captured Al Qaeda leaders from the military's legal commissions to the legal profession's civilian courts, and to close the military's Guantanamo Bay terrorist detention facility.
At the lawyers' convention, Holder called for an advocacy campaign that would give civil lawyers the lead role in the struggle against the jihadis. "We cannot -- and we must not -- allow the public safety concerns that all Americans share to divide us ... we must ensure that the rule of law ... must be recognized as the foundation for our continued security," he said.
"Achieving this goal is our collective responsibility. And it must become our common cause," he declared to his fellow lawyers.
#2
Let's parachute America's million strong legal army into North Waziristan armed to the gills with restraining orders. This will improve both nations by providing Pakistan with much needed organic fertilizer.
#7
Sweet Jesus, this News wasn't Released it fucking escaped... doesn't anyone think for a second up there?
Posted by: Goldies Every Damn Where ||
06/20/2011 16:29 Comments ||
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#8
""He's unconsciously shilling for his own profession," said Michael Rubin"
FTFY, Mr. Rubin.
Posted by: Barbara ||
06/20/2011 17:17 Comments ||
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#9
this News wasn't Released it f**king escaped... doesn't anyone think for a second up there?
"Holder's declaration came in a Thursday speech to hundreds of progressive lawyers, advocates, judges and students gathered at the American Constitution Society's annual gala."
Kinda like his boss and Gen. McChrystal- they get comfortable with those of political likeness and the talk gets loose.
#10
if he had a chin we'd call it jaw-flapping. As it is...
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/20/2011 19:23 Comments ||
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#11
D *** NG IT, this Artic can't be right, I'm sure the trailer for USA Channel's new TV SHow "SUITS" said that a Lawyer's job is to be a Politician + "MAKE THE LAW", NOT FOLLOW OR OBEY OR SERVE, ETC. THE LAW???
Clearly someone NOT-A-LAWYER + their Cracker Jack University Law Professor(s) is confused.
#13
E.g. WAFF > {MEMRI.org] > LEADING TALIBAN COMMANDER VOWS JIHAD AGZ THE WEST, OSAMA BIN LADEN'S "IDEOLOGY OF FIGHTING A GLOBAL JIHAD AGZ THE FORCES OF INFIDELS HAS PENETRATED OUR VERY SOULS". Taliban Commander Khalid Al-Khorasani,
"Emir" of the TTP for Mohmand Agency.
ARTIC > KHORASANI = argues that the IDEA/PREMISE that JIhadi Groups have been weakened after the death of Sheikh Osama Bin Laden is "TOTALLY BASELESS"???
Ayman Zawahiri would agree, i.e. that the Jihad is more than just One Man, even iff that man is Osama.
HMMMM, HMMMMM, Ayman Zawahiri's "ALL-OUT/TOTAL WAR" + Khorasani's "GLOBAL JIHAD" = Move along, People, clearly wid the GWOT the USA + UNO are waging a MERE MINOR "POLICE ACTION", NOT MORTAL DEFENSE AGZ SOME SILLY "WAR OF ANNIHILATION" LET ALONE A COVERT REGIONAL, GLOBAL MUSLIM CONQUEST.
The MilTerrs are coming to attack the irregardless off America = Amerika, the OWG Mighty USSA or OWG Weak USRoA Global SSR, espec once they acquire aysmmetric Nuke-WMDS capabilities - A EURO-SOCIALIST STYLE, US "POLICE STATE" WILL HINDER THEM, BUT NOT STOP THEM.
Considering how many Euros would seemingly prefer their Nations be militarily, geopol weak = toothless, than to reform or give up STATE WELFARISM = NANNY STATE.
IRONY > Will it take for the US to adopt BLOODY/VIOLENT STALINISM + TOTALITARIANISM to defeat the coming Jihad in America = Amerika???
"NUCLEAR" MILITANCY-TERRORISM IN CONUS-NORAM???
More than just a "Police State", will the US require a SECULAR SOCIALIST TOTALITARIAN "ARMY STATE" TO DETER ANDOR DEFEAT GOD/FAITH-BASED SOCIALIST TOTALITARIAN "ARMY" = ISLAMIC SHARIA STATE???
'Audacity of Hope' organizers at NY press conference: "We'll carry no goods. Our mission is from US society to Gaza civil society."
Passengers on a US-flagged boat, The Audacity of Hope, spoke at a press conference Monday to discuss their plans and reasons for joining the "International Freedom Flotilla II -- Stay Human," a flotilla intended to break the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza. It is estimated that people from more than 20 countries will participate in the eight to ten boat flotilla, which will sail the last week of June, in part from Greece. One quarter of the participants on the US boat, which will have 36 passengers, are American Jews.
Proving once again that nothing provides a shield against determined stupidity.
According to a letter the Audacity of Hope group sent to US President Barack Obama, in addition to 36 passengers, 4 crew members, and 10 members of the press, the US-flagged boat "will carry thousands of letters of support and friendship from people throughout the US to the women, children and men of Gaza. There will be no weapons of any sort on board."
The iron pipes with tape-wrapped handles and small machetes are merely the normal tools of your common seaman. They need lots of them, to replace the ones that fall overboard.
"We will carry no goods of any kind for delivery in Gaza," the group's letter read. "Our mission is from American civil society to the civil society of Gaza. We do not serve the agenda of any political leadership, government or group. We are engaged solely in non-violent action in support of the Palestinian people and their human rights."
Here findeth the reader novel definitions of non-violent and human rights not found in any reputable dictionary.
Carrying no goods? It's just theater then, and the Israelis will be the final critics.
"Citizen activists are coming to the Mediterranean from all over the world to confront the illegal Israeli blockade of Gaza and US government protection of Israeli criminal acts," Audacity of Hope passenger Ann Wright said. "As a former US diplomat and retired military colonel,
Being a member of the military also does not protect one from determined stupidity. Diplomacy, on the other hand, encourages it.
I strongly believe it is the responsibility of citizens to act when our governments fail to protect the human rights and dignity of any people--in this case, the Palestinians."
Leslie Cagan, the US boat coordinator leading Monday's press conference, said the Israeli government acted with extreme violence against Freedom Flotilla I in 2010, killing nine passengers and injuring more than 50, and has threatened the use of attack dogs and snipers against this Freedom Flotilla II.
Something to ponder, for those considering this adventure...
Cagan said, "Following the example of years of non-violent Palestinian protests,
Those are the ones where the youths hurl large chunks of concrete, and boys play dead for the cameras?
everyone participating in this project is deeply committed to non-violence. We hope and plan to arrive in Gaza City safely by the beginning of July. Any other outcome is the responsibility of the US and Israeli government's decision to maintain the illegal and unjustifiable imprisonment of 1.5 million people in the Gaza strip."
"We are trying to act in alignment with our conscience," Audacity of Hope passenger Kathy Kelly said at the press conference.
No doubt.
Cagan added that the flotilla organizers have urged United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to put into place a UN inspection of the ships but have received no official response as yet.
In late May, the Secretary General expressed his opposition to flotilla operations intended to challenge the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza, believing that assistance and goods bound for Gaza should go through legitimate crossings.
Ban has called on governments to use their influence to discourage flotillas, stating that they carry the potential to exacerbate rather than ameliorate the conflict. The United States government, participants in the US-flagged ship said, have warned the US citizens not to participate in the flotilla.
#2
Sink the ships, burn the bodies, dead or alive. Then simply send a bill to the organizations involved along with a notice that supporting terrorists is terrorism and they are now listed terrorist organiztions.
No mercy for vermin.
Posted by: Silentbrick - Halliburton Lost Drill Bit Division ||
06/20/2011 14:53 Comments ||
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#3
We do not serve the agenda of any political leadership, government or group.
Citizen activists are coming to the Mediterranean from all over the world to confront the illegal Israeli blockade of Gaza and US government protection of Israeli criminal acts.
Supporting an organization which deliberately and with full knowledge targets innocent civilians (men, women and children) is supporting terrorism - which, in my book, is an act of violence. You may not wield the blade - but you sure do support it.
Posted by: Barbara ||
06/20/2011 17:26 Comments ||
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#6
Make sure Media is watching for 20minutes while you announce over loudspeaker and radio to stop and prepare for inspection. They don't after 20minutes then sink em.
Posted by: Charles ||
06/20/2011 20:17 Comments ||
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#7
"The Audacity of Hope?"
Nice name, real catchy.
Apparently they have been "in touch" with Cynthia McKinney.
Its still "cool" to be an Obama supporter, you know. Well, back to 1967 and let's begin there and trade our way up to the present....yeah.
Dont you just love watching this from your living room and knowing that somewhere Obama is planning to give us all World Peace....Nobel, kinda guy, that he is?
Yasss, I can feel it. the Audacity of Hope. Gitchi gitchi...
Posted by: de Medici ||
06/20/2011 22:58 Comments ||
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Lawsuit filed in NY court seeks to confiscate 14 ships slated to participate in upcoming flotilla on grounds they were outfitted with unlawful funds.
That would be the effort by some of President Obamas friends and "acquaintances".
Dr. Alan Bauer, an American- Israeli victim of a Palestinian terrorist attack, on Thursday filed a first of its kind lawsuit in an effort to seize ships to be used by Islamic and anti-Israel organizations to try to breach the blockade of the Gaza Strip later this month.
We'll see if Eric Holder is right when he proclaims that lawyers are the best 'terror-fighting weapon' around...
The suit, Bauer v. The Mavi Marmara, was filed in Manhattan federal court, seeking to confiscate 14 ships, which are scheduled to participate in the upcoming flotilla and which were outfitted with funds Bauer says were unlawfully raised in the United States by anti-Israel groups, including The Free Gaza Movement. Over the weekend, however, the Turkish IHH organization said the Mavi Marmara was still too damaged to sail for Gaza.
The plaintiff, a biologist from the Chicago area, and his son Jonathan, then aged seven, were seriously wounded when Palestinian suicide bomber detonated a bomb, packed with metal spikes and nails, in the center of a crowd of shoppers on King George Street in Jerusalem on March 21, 2002.
Three people were killed and 85 other people were also wounded.
Bauer alleges that The Free Gaza Movement and other American-based anti-Israel organizations have raised funds in the United States to outfit the Gaza flotilla ships. The lawsuit contends that furnishing and outfitting the ships, which are being used for hostilities against a US ally, violates American law.
The plaintiff rests his claim upon the rarely used 18th-century "informant" statute (18 USC Section 962) that allows a plaintiff (called an "informer") to privately seize ships outfitted in the United States for use against a US ally.
The stature states: "Whoever, within the United States, furnishes, fits out, arms, or attempts to furnish, fit out or arm, any vessel, with intent that such vessel shall be employed in the service of any foreign prince, or state, or of any colony, district, or people, to cruise, or commit hostilities against the subjects, citizens, or property of any foreign prince or state, or of any colony, district, or people with whom the United States is at peace; or Whoever issues or delivers a commission within the United State for any vessel, to the intent that she may be so employed -- Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.
"Every such vessel, her tackle, apparel, and furniture, together with all materials, arms, ammunition, and stores which may have been procured for the building and equipment thereof, shall be forfeited, one half to the use of the informer and the other half to the use of the United States."
The plaintiff is represented by attorneys Robert J. Tolchin of New York, and by Nitsana Darshan- Leitner of Israel, founder of Shurat HaDin -- Israel Law Center.
This is the first lawsuit brought to seize the Gaza Flotilla ships.
"We intend to seize the Gaza flotilla ships and turn them over to a victim of Palestinian terrorism. The extremists organizing these hostile provocations against Israel must not be allowed to illegally raise funds for their operations in the US. Escalating attacks on Israel from all directions require new and innovative responses. This unprecedented private action will help block their efforts to breach the coastal blockade and smuggle materials to Hamas in Gaza," Darshan-Leitner said.
Tolchin added, "This lawsuit will bring judgment to people who have until now ignored the law. Each flotilla ship is an attack on Israel and thus a slap in the face to the United States and every other nation that is at peace with Israel. The flotilla organizers, and the owners of these boats, should be held accountable for the damages and deaths they cause."
Shurat HaDin has been spearheading the legal battle against the upcoming flotilla, filing lawsuits in several countries, targeting the flotilla's organizers and sponsors as well as essential service providers.
Of 72 chemical suicides experts have documented in the United States since 2008, at least 80 percent have resulted in injuries to police officers, firefighters, emergency workers or civilians exposed to the gas. Possible links to terrorism are obvious.
Posted by: Goldies Every Damn Where ||
06/20/2011 16:34 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Despite the claims that it allows for a dignified death, death is never pretty. Death spasms and the evacuation of the bladder and bowels are never "dignified".
#5
The dummies are doing it wrong. Nitrogen gas is quite lethal if you get a big enough concentration, and hold your breath before inhaling. Clunk, and you're out. There is a nerve that gives us pain when we are get more than tolerable levels of CO2 in our blood, but nitrogen does not activate it until it is too late.
What happens far too frequently is that there is some big storage tank full of nitrogen gas, and someone climbs down a ladder to pull maintenance in it. As they step off the last rung, they pass out and collapse. Someone sees them fall and assumes they have had a heart attack, so climbs down there after them. etc. Usually it is three or four bodies before someone actually *thinks* about it, and realizes there is gas down there.
The same thing also happens in old cesspits full of methane.
Even high concentrations of CO2 can nail you. David Letterman wanted to do a stunt where he was lowered into a tank full of water while wearing a suit covered in Alka-Seltzers. They decided to test it before the show, and as soon as the stand in was lowered into the tank, he passed out. They were barely able to save his life.
So when Letterman did it, he was wearing oxygen tanks and a scuba mouthpiece. And they were right, it did look neat.
Go to the link to see the utterly adorable pen-and-ink sketches accompanying each nugget. I haven't yet figured out how to bring them over here.
Osama was America's creation
According to Nawa-e-Waqt Famous Islamic warrior Hafiz Saeed said in Lahore that after Abbottabad America will strike further afield in Pakistan. Other ulema said that Osama was America's creation but burying him at sea was against Islam. In Abbottabad, a procession of youths went around chanting that Osama was not dead (zinda hai).
America had the right to attack!
Governor Punjab Abdul Latif Khan Khosa was quoted by Jinnah as saying that America had the legal right to attack Abbottabad to get Osama because he had attacked them first. He said no effort to unseat the PPP government will succeed.
Osama is shaheed!
Famous columnist Irfan Siddiqi wrote in Jang that he was sad that he could not tell his fellow countrymen that they could not call Osama shaheed because our king and emperor America would be annoyed by it. Pakistan was for ten years in the camp opposed to Osama because Pakistan was begging America for livelihood (naan-nafqa).
It is not our war!
PMLN leader from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Iqbal Zafar Jhagra was quoted in Express as saying that the war against terrorism was not Pakistan's war but had been imposed on Pakistan by Musharraf. On this the PPPP leader Abida Hussain stated that Nawaz Sharif had tested the bomb only to go back to the US for funds. Zafar Hilaly said that the PK was taking orders from the ISI.
America will attack Kahuta!
World-renowned military genius and ex-ISI boss Hamid Gul was quoted by Jang as saying that after Abbottabad, America will act against Kahuta after which Pakistan will not be able say that our radars were jammed.
Osama loved 'desi murghi'
Reported in Jinnah while Osama lived in Abbottabad he favoured local chicken (desi murgha) and had bred a whole lot of them. He also had two buffaloes for providing him with milk which he preferred to cow's milk. At home he had two wives, one spoke Pashto while the other spoke Urdu and the two had three children from him.
America out to defame Pakistan!
Famous military analyst Brigadier (Retd) Hamid Saeed was quoted by Jinnah as saying that the death of Osama was an effort by America to defame Pakistan through subjecting Pakistan's ISI to pressure and to alienate the people of Pakistan from the army.
Osama killed Benazir!
Interior Minister Rehman Malik was quoted in Jang as saying that Osama and his affiliates were involved in the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, therefore Osama could be no hero of Pakistan.
Resham: take house and run!
Reported in Jinnah famous Pakistani actress Resham took a house worth crores of rupees from the famous dress designer Mahmood Bhatti and got engaged to him, but when he pressed for marriage she began to make excuses (tarkhana). The house in Gulberg was worth Rs 10 crore. She also took a 'monthly' of several lakh rupees and was now pretending to suffer from asthma.
Lawyers pray for Osama
According to Jang the pious wukla persons of Peshawar were so prostrated by the death of Osama that they offered a namaz janaza in absentia in the compound of the High Court. In Quetta popular cleric Maulana Nur Muhammad led a procession of youths condemning the killing of Osama bin Laden by Americans. Namaz was said for Osama by lawyers in Abbottabad too.
Osama's death will damage Al Qaeda
Writing in Jang, Suhail Warraich stated that Osama's death will dampen the terrorist campaign of Al Qaeda and affiliates in Pakistan which will give some breathing space to democracy and allow politicians to hold rallies without the fear of being killed.
'Q' stands for 'qalabazian'
Stormy PMLN petrel Ch Nisar Ali Khan was quoted in Jang as saying that the letter 'q' in MQM stood for qalabazian (somersaults) because it was in and out of the government. He said its only intent was to cling to power (chipakna) leading to an unholy alliance (napaak) with the PPP.
Osama was great!
Writing in Jang, Saleem Safi stated that Osama bin Laden was the beloved founder of Al Qaeda because of his commitment to the cause of terrorism and not because of his ability to kill people. He was a rich man but had abandoned the pleasures of this world.
Jamaatud Dawa leads pro-Osama protest
Reported in Express a collection of religious parties, Jamaat Islami, JUI led by Jamaatud Dawa held angry protest marches across the country including funeral prayers for the martyr Osama bin Laden.
Suspicious of General Pasha!
Writing in Jang Nusrat Mirza wrote that he was highly suspicious of the visit of ISI chief General Pashto to the US just before Osama was killed in Abbottabad. Was he in Washington to put a price on Osama's death? He would like to know what Pakistan got in return? The fact is that Pasha had gone to the US to plan the attack on Abbottabad.
Sheikh Osama Lion of Islam!
See? I didn't just make it up.
Front page of the banned but ABC-awarded Jaish newspaper Al Qalam had one named Saadi - probably pen-name of Jaish chief - called Osama the Lion of Islam whose death had caused the Muslims to cry so much that they had developed a hiccup. Such lions are born once in many centuries.
Not Osama but Zain killed!
Daily Nawa-e-Waqt announced that Osama was not killed by the Americans in Abbottabad but another jihadi leader Zain was killed who was Osama's lookalike and was living in the same area with his son. Both are now without a trace.
Fazlur Rehman annoyed by Osama questions
Reported in Express JUI chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman who was in Brussels representing Kashmir Committee was greatly annoyed when journalists kept asking him awkward questions about the killing of Osama bin Laden. He lost his cool when the journalists kept at it even after he had said no comment to their questions.
Americans took Osama alive!
Reported in Jinnah Americans took Osama from Abbottabad and gave out false snaps of him as a dead man while throwing someone else's body into the sea. The photo issued by them could be his son's .Americans took one man alive with them. Who was this man if not Osama?
Unpopular decisions for the sake of country!
President Zardari was quoted by Express as saying that he had taken some tough decisions for the sake of the country and was facing reaction from the people but the country was faced with a big crisis. He said Allah will help while he was not willing to run away from the situation.
Al Zawahiri betrayed Osama!
Daily Nawa-e-Waqt quoted an Arab source saying it was Al Qaeda number two Al Zawahiri who was tired of Osama at the top and finally got rid of him by tipping the Americans on his location in Abbottabad. There were differences between the two, which caused Osama to leave the Tribal Areas.
Go to the link to see the utterly adorable pen-and-ink sketches accompanying each nugget. I haven't yet figured out how to bring them over here.
Osama was America's creation
According to Nawa-e-Waqt Famous Islamic warrior Hafiz Saeed said in Lahore that after Abbottabad America will strike further afield in Pakistan. Other ulema said that Osama was America's creation but burying him at sea was against Islam. In Abbottabad, a procession of youths went around chanting that Osama was not dead (zinda hai).
America had the right to attack!
Governor Punjab Abdul Latif Khan Khosa was quoted by Jinnah as saying that America had the legal right to attack Abbottabad to get Osama because he had attacked them first. He said no effort to unseat the PPP government will succeed.
Osama is shaheed!
Famous columnist Irfan Siddiqi wrote in Jang that he was sad that he could not tell his fellow countrymen that they could not call Osama shaheed because our king and emperor America would be annoyed by it. Pakistan was for ten years in the camp opposed to Osama because Pakistan was begging America for livelihood (naan-nafqa).
It is not our war!
PMLN leader from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Iqbal Zafar Jhagra was quoted in Express as saying that the war against terrorism was not Pakistan's war but had been imposed on Pakistan by Musharraf. On this the PPPP leader Abida Hussain stated that Nawaz Sharif had tested the bomb only to go back to the US for funds. Zafar Hilaly said that the PK was taking orders from the ISI.
America will attack Kahuta!
World-renowned military genius and ex-ISI boss Hamid Gul was quoted by Jang as saying that after Abbottabad, America will act against Kahuta after which Pakistan will not be able say that our radars were jammed.
Osama loved 'desi murghi'
Reported in Jinnah while Osama lived in Abbottabad he favoured local chicken (desi murgha) and had bred a whole lot of them. He also had two buffaloes for providing him with milk which he preferred to cow's milk. At home he had two wives, one spoke Pashto while the other spoke Urdu and the two had three children from him.
America out to defame Pakistan!
Famous military analyst Brigadier (Retd) Hamid Saeed was quoted by Jinnah as saying that the death of Osama was an effort by America to defame Pakistan through subjecting Pakistan's ISI to pressure and to alienate the people of Pakistan from the army.
Osama killed Benazir!
Interior Minister Rehman Malik was quoted in Jang as saying that Osama and his affiliates were involved in the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, therefore Osama could be no hero of Pakistan.
Resham: take house and run!
Reported in Jinnah famous Pakistani actress Resham took a house worth crores of rupees from the famous dress designer Mahmood Bhatti and got engaged to him, but when he pressed for marriage she began to make excuses (tarkhana). The house in Gulberg was worth Rs 10 crore. She also took a 'monthly' of several lakh rupees and was now pretending to suffer from asthma.
Lawyers pray for Osama
According to Jang the pious wukla persons of Peshawar were so prostrated by the death of Osama that they offered a namaz janaza in absentia in the compound of the High Court. In Quetta popular cleric Maulana Nur Muhammad led a procession of youths condemning the killing of Osama bin Laden by Americans. Namaz was said for Osama by lawyers in Abbottabad too.
Osama's death will damage Al Qaeda
Writing in Jang, Suhail Warraich stated that Osama's death will dampen the terrorist campaign of Al Qaeda and affiliates in Pakistan which will give some breathing space to democracy and allow politicians to hold rallies without the fear of being killed.
'Q' stands for 'qalabazian'
Stormy PMLN petrel Ch Nisar Ali Khan was quoted in Jang as saying that the letter 'q' in MQM stood for qalabazian (somersaults) because it was in and out of the government. He said its only intent was to cling to power (chipakna) leading to an unholy alliance (napaak) with the PPP.
Osama was great!
Writing in Jang, Saleem Safi stated that Osama bin Laden was the beloved founder of Al Qaeda because of his commitment to the cause of terrorism and not because of his ability to kill people. He was a rich man but had abandoned the pleasures of this world.
Jamaatud Dawa leads pro-Osama protest
Reported in Express a collection of religious parties, Jamaat Islami, JUI led by Jamaatud Dawa held angry protest marches across the country including funeral prayers for the martyr Osama bin Laden.
Suspicious of General Pasha!
Writing in Jang Nusrat Mirza wrote that he was highly suspicious of the visit of ISI chief General Pashto to the US just before Osama was killed in Abbottabad. Was he in Washington to put a price on Osama's death? He would like to know what Pakistan got in return? The fact is that Pasha had gone to the US to plan the attack on Abbottabad.
Sheikh Osama Lion of Islam!
See? I didn't just make it up.
Front page of the banned but ABC-awarded Jaish newspaper Al Qalam had one named Saadi - probably pen-name of Jaish chief - called Osama the Lion of Islam whose death had caused the Muslims to cry so much that they had developed a hiccup. Such lions are born once in many centuries.
Not Osama but Zain killed!
Daily Nawa-e-Waqt announced that Osama was not killed by the Americans in Abbottabad but another jihadi leader Zain was killed who was Osama's lookalike and was living in the same area with his son. Both are now without a trace.
Fazlur Rehman annoyed by Osama questions
Reported in Express JUI chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman who was in Brussels representing Kashmir Committee was greatly annoyed when journalists kept asking him awkward questions about the killing of Osama bin Laden. He lost his cool when the journalists kept at it even after he had said no comment to their questions.
Americans took Osama alive!
Reported in Jinnah Americans took Osama from Abbottabad and gave out false snaps of him as a dead man while throwing someone else's body into the sea. The photo issued by them could be his son's .Americans took one man alive with them. Who was this man if not Osama?
Unpopular decisions for the sake of country!
President Zardari was quoted by Express as saying that he had taken some tough decisions for the sake of the country and was facing reaction from the people but the country was faced with a big crisis. He said Allah will help while he was not willing to run away from the situation.
Al Zawahiri betrayed Osama!
Daily Nawa-e-Waqt quoted an Arab source saying it was Al Qaeda number two Al Zawahiri who was tired of Osama at the top and finally got rid of him by tipping the Americans on his location in Abbottabad. There were differences between the two, which caused Osama to leave the Tribal Areas.
Go to the link to see the utterly adorable pen-and-ink sketches accompanying each nugget. I haven't yet figured out how to bring them over here.
Osama was America's creation
According to Nawa-e-Waqt Famous Islamic warrior Hafiz Saeed said in Lahore that after Abbottabad America will strike further afield in Pakistan. Other ulema said that Osama was America's creation but burying him at sea was against Islam. In Abbottabad, a procession of youths went around chanting that Osama was not dead (zinda hai).
America had the right to attack!
Governor Punjab Abdul Latif Khan Khosa was quoted by Jinnah as saying that America had the legal right to attack Abbottabad to get Osama because he had attacked them first. He said no effort to unseat the PPP government will succeed.
Osama is shaheed!
Famous columnist Irfan Siddiqi wrote in Jang that he was sad that he could not tell his fellow countrymen that they could not call Osama shaheed because our king and emperor America would be annoyed by it. Pakistan was for ten years in the camp opposed to Osama because Pakistan was begging America for livelihood (naan-nafqa).
It is not our war!
PMLN leader from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Iqbal Zafar Jhagra was quoted in Express as saying that the war against terrorism was not Pakistan's war but had been imposed on Pakistan by Musharraf. On this the PPPP leader Abida Hussain stated that Nawaz Sharif had tested the bomb only to go back to the US for funds. Zafar Hilaly said that the PK was taking orders from the ISI.
America will attack Kahuta!
World-renowned military genius and ex-ISI boss Hamid Gul was quoted by Jang as saying that after Abbottabad, America will act against Kahuta after which Pakistan will not be able say that our radars were jammed.
Osama loved 'desi murghi'
Reported in Jinnah while Osama lived in Abbottabad he favoured local chicken (desi murgha) and had bred a whole lot of them. He also had two buffaloes for providing him with milk which he preferred to cow's milk. At home he had two wives, one spoke Pashto while the other spoke Urdu and the two had three children from him.
I thought two of his wives were educated Saudi women, while the third was a Yemeni girl with "some school", but what do I know?
America out to defame Pakistan!
Famous military analyst Brigadier (Retd) Hamid Saeed was quoted by Jinnah as saying that the death of Osama was an effort by America to defame Pakistan through subjecting Pakistan's ISI to pressure and to alienate the people of Pakistan from the army.
Osama killed Benazir!
Interior Minister Rehman Malik was quoted in Jang as saying that Osama and his affiliates were involved in the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, therefore Osama could be no hero of Pakistan.
Resham: take house and run!
Reported in Jinnah famous Pakistani actress Resham took a house worth crores of rupees from the famous dress designer Mahmood Bhatti and got engaged to him, but when he pressed for marriage she began to make excuses (tarkhana). The house in Gulberg was worth Rs 10 crore. She also took a 'monthly' of several lakh rupees and was now pretending to suffer from asthma.
Lawyers pray for Osama
According to Jang the pious wukla persons of Peshawar were so prostrated by the death of Osama that they offered a namaz janaza in absentia in the compound of the High Court. In Quetta popular cleric Maulana Nur Muhammad led a procession of youths condemning the killing of Osama bin Laden by Americans. Namaz was said for Osama by lawyers in Abbottabad too.
Osama's death will damage Al Qaeda
Writing in Jang, Suhail Warraich stated that Osama's death will dampen the terrorist campaign of Al Qaeda and affiliates in Pakistan which will give some breathing space to democracy and allow politicians to hold rallies without the fear of being killed.
'Q' stands for 'qalabazian'
Stormy PMLN petrel Ch Nisar Ali Khan was quoted in Jang as saying that the letter 'q' in MQM stood for qalabazian (somersaults) because it was in and out of the government. He said its only intent was to cling to power (chipakna) leading to an unholy alliance (napaak) with the PPP.
Osama was great!
Writing in Jang, Saleem Safi stated that Osama bin Laden was the beloved founder of Al Qaeda because of his commitment to the cause of terrorism and not because of his ability to kill people. He was a rich man but had abandoned the pleasures of this world.
Jamaatud Dawa leads pro-Osama protest
Reported in Express a collection of religious parties, Jamaat Islami, JUI led by Jamaatud Dawa held angry protest marches across the country including funeral prayers for the martyr Osama bin Laden.
Suspicious of General Pasha!
Writing in Jang Nusrat Mirza wrote that he was highly suspicious of the visit of ISI chief General Pashto to the US just before Osama was killed in Abbottabad. Was he in Washington to put a price on Osama's death? He would like to know what Pakistan got in return? The fact is that Pasha had gone to the US to plan the attack on Abbottabad.
Sheikh Osama Lion of Islam!
See? I didn't just make it up.
Front page of the banned but ABC-awarded Jaish newspaper Al Qalam had one named Saadi - probably pen-name of Jaish chief - called Osama the Lion of Islam whose death had caused the Muslims to cry so much that they had developed a hiccup. Such lions are born once in many centuries.
Not Osama but Zain killed!
Daily Nawa-e-Waqt announced that Osama was not killed by the Americans in Abbottabad but another jihadi leader Zain was killed who was Osama's lookalike and was living in the same area with his son. Both are now without a trace.
Fazlur Rehman annoyed by Osama questions
Reported in Express JUI chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman who was in Brussels representing Kashmir Committee was greatly annoyed when journalists kept asking him awkward questions about the killing of Osama bin Laden. He lost his cool when the journalists kept at it even after he had said no comment to their questions.
Americans took Osama alive!
Reported in Jinnah Americans took Osama from Abbottabad and gave out false snaps of him as a dead man while throwing someone else's body into the sea. The photo issued by them could be his son's .Americans took one man alive with them. Who was this man if not Osama?
Unpopular decisions for the sake of country!
President Zardari was quoted by Express as saying that he had taken some tough decisions for the sake of the country and was facing reaction from the people but the country was faced with a big crisis. He said Allah will help while he was not willing to run away from the situation.
Al Zawahiri betrayed Osama!
Daily Nawa-e-Waqt quoted an Arab source saying it was Al Qaeda number two Al Zawahiri who was tired of Osama at the top and finally got rid of him by tipping the Americans on his location in Abbottabad. There were differences between the two, which caused Osama to leave the Tribal Areas.
Continued on Page 49
#1
Reported in Jinnah Americans took Osama from Abbottabad and gave out false snaps of him as a dead man while throwing someone else's body into the sea. The photo issued by them could be his son's .Americans took one man alive with them. Who was this man if not Osama?
Was this in Daily Jang or some Jinn Edited Broadsheet. We'll need a hardened team of armoured lawyers to deal with these suckers eventually.
Posted by: Goldies Every Damn Where ||
06/20/2011 16:38 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Yeah, we've got him locked up tight in an undisclosed location.
And he's singing like a canary.
Guess who's next?
Posted by: Barbara ||
06/20/2011 17:34 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Was this in Daily Jang or some Jinn Edited Broadsheet
The Daily Jinnah is the newspaper founded by the Father of Pakistan himself, Mr. Mohammed Ali Jinnah, esq., barrister of the London bar, Indian Muslim intellectual, despiser of Mohandas Gandhi -- who deserved every bit of that despite and then some -- first president of independent Pakistan...and publisher. He had this odd idea that Pakistan could remain a country for Muslims without being a Muslim country, and died so quickly thereafter of tuberculosis that he never had to regret his choices.
I don't know anything about those other johnnie-come-lately rags. An army of hardened lawyers may not be enough to deal with that lot; we may need to call up the infinite nanobots. ;-)
[Dawn] Pakistain's military chief is working to repair his army's maimed pride in the bitter aftermath of the raid that killed the late Osama bin Laden, ... who went shovel-ready... a humiliation that has strained US-Pak relations and raised questions about the top general's own standing.
Retired and serving officers interviewed by The News Agency that Dare Not be Named spoke of seething anger within army ranks over the secret strike the Americans carried out on May 2, undetected by Pakistain's military.
The US helicopter-borne operation set off a nationalist backlash: The usually untouchable army was sharply criticized in the press and on television talk shows, people demonstrated here in the capital demanding accountability, and open calls were made for the resignation of Gen. Asfaq Parvez Kayani, ... four star general, current Chief of Army Staff of the Mighty Pak Army. Kayani is the former Director General of ISI... the military chief.
The army is Pakistain's strongest institution, and Kayani the nation's most powerful leader, but he "has to be very careful," said retired Lt. Gen. Talat Masood.
Like others interviewed, he doubted Kayani's underlings would try to unseat him in an intra-army coup, but he noted occasions in the past when disgruntled officers were found to be plotting against their chief.
These rumblings generally occurred after the army suffered an embarrassing defeat, most notably Pakistain's 1971 loss of East Pakistain, now Bangladesh, when India took 90,000 Pak prisoners of war who weren't released for a year.
Last month's raid on the al-Qaeda leader's Abbottabad compound resurrected public comparisons to that Bangladesh debacle.
In one sign of dented military prestige, Pakistain's Supreme Court ordered the withdrawal of a two-star general after his men were caught on video killing an unarmed youth. The court took the unusual action "in light of the hostile environment in the society toward the military," said defense analyst Hasan Askar Rizvi.
The public disquiet weighs heavily on the officer corps and down through lower ranks, Masood said.
"It could all result in loose talk," he said, but he thought it wouldn't go beyond that. He noted that within days of the bin Laden raid, Kayani met with key corps commanders in an effort to assure his ranking officers they had not been humiliated.
There's "quite a lot of anger" within the military, retired Gen. Jehangir Karamat, a former chief of staff himself, said in a telephone interview from the eastern city of Lahore.
"Maybe there is talk," he told the AP. "Maybe anti-US feeling has gone up in the army. But actually there is in the country a whole lot of anger over the way it happened and the humiliation suffered, and it is inevitably reflected in the army."
But, he added, "all this talk of him fighting for his job, his survival, I don't see any signs of that."
Kayani is consistently described as a "professional soldier" by his own men and knowledgable foreigners. But the general, who as a younger officer did some training in the US, may face criticism because of the Mighty Pak Army's close past cooperation with the US military and dependence on US aid.
At the same time, the Paks have come under sharp criticism in Washington for having apparently missed bin Laden's presence in Abbottabad.
Knowledgable observers here said the fracture with Washington could set back military-to-military relations between the two countries by years, as the Americans seek to step up the joint fight against al-Qaeda and other thug groups in the Afghan border area.
"There is a very strong resentment, a very strong sense of betrayal of being discredited in the eyes of our own public. What our enemies have not been able to do they (the US) have done to us," said a senior military official, who asked that his name not be used to speak candidly.
Perhaps the Americans are better at their job than are Pakistan's unnamed enemies.
Pakistain has already sent home nearly 100 US military personnel, most of whom were training the Frontier Corps, the tribal force that patrols Pakistain's long and mostly non-existent border with Afghanistan.
Pakistain is holding up visas for CIA officials waiting to come here, and Pakistain's intelligence agency has nabbed alleged CIA informants said to have helped lead the Americans to bin Laden.
In Washington last week, Adm. Mike Mullen, the Joint Chiefs of State chairman who has been to Pakistain to try to patch up differences, said letting the relationship with this nuclear-armed nation deteriorate isn't an option.
If the relationship crumbles or "were we to walk away, I think it's a matter of time before the region is that much more dangerous and there would be a huge pull for us to have to return to protect our national interests," Mullen added.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2011 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[10 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#1
You gotta actually have something before you can repair it...
#4
grom, what would a terrorist outbreak prove about the strength of the Pakistani military? The terrorist proxy is a Muslim foreign-policy tool used by nations with weak and unprofessional armies who can't legitimately project power through military display or the waging of actual war. It doesn't increase or repair the prestige of said military if they use the terrorist proxy crutch *again*, whatever it does for the state proper.
No, if they want to do something active with the army, it's either a real fighting war with India - which they'd lose going away, assuming it doesn't come to a nuclear exchange - or another butcher-and-bolt campaign in the Northwest Frontier. The latter option doesn't seem particularly likely - maybe they'll gin up some sort of limited-exchange "Glacier War" with India or Afghanistan? Make faces at Karzai and IFAR? Cut off supplies to Afghanistan?
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
06/20/2011 8:32 Comments ||
Top||
#5
grom, what would a terrorist outbreak prove about the strength of the Pakistani military?
You're not thinking like someone from the "Land of the Pure". Their martial pride is inflated by the blood of innocents, and the knowledge that their government trained the murderers.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
06/20/2011 9:23 Comments ||
Top||
#6
Look at Paleos and what they consider to be glorious victories.
#7
It's total casualties that count towards the win, even your own, maybe especially if they're your own. It's the Pal way.
Posted by: Goldies Every Damn Where ||
06/20/2011 16:41 Comments ||
Top||
#8
ION WAFF > OBAMA DOJ SAYS US DRONE STRIKES DON'T CONSTITUTE HOSTILE ACTS, of unilateral aggression agz the sovereignty of Pakistan.
and
* DEFENCE FORUM INDIA > AJAI SHUKLA: HOW LONG CAN INDIA IGNORE THE TALIBAN? | US DIALOGUE WID THE TALIBAN [Mullah Omar] IS BEING SERIOUSLY PURUED + CAPTIVATES EVERYONE WHO MATTERS, espec when it comes to Hindu India protecting its own Security from rival Muslim Pakistan's known or alleged myriad shennanigans.
IIUC ARTIC = India has a long history of prferring to make proverbial "Deals wid the Devil" [necessary evil] to protect itself as per the stability of its northern flanks, IT ONCE AGAIN MAY PROVE TO BE IN INDIA'S INTERESTS TO SUPPORT A TALIBAN-LED/DOMINATED, POST-US PULLOUT GOVT IN PAK IFF IT MEANS INDO-PAK REGIONAL PEACE + SUBORNMENT, DEFEAT BY THE TALIBAN OF THE MANY VARIOUS ANTI-INDIA, PRO-VIOLENT JIHAD MILTERR FACTIONS EXISTING WIDIN PAKISTAN???
FYI methinks KAYANI's pic is j-u-s-t begging for somoene to photoshop an Angelic Halo-Aura around his Beret.
Gaza in crisis? Johnson! Stop the presses!
GAZA CITY (Maan) -- Egyptian fuel smugglers are expanding their network to Libya and reducing deliveries to Gaza causing a fuel crisis in the Strip, traders told Ma'an. Lousy bastids...
Gaza trader Ayman Abu Shanab said Egypt was exploiting the unrest in Libya to smuggle fuel into the country for high prices. Libya has huge reserves of oil but due to the fighting in the country traders were smuggling fuel to the Libyan coast on fishing boats. Trader. Sounds so much better than "smuggler"...
Abu Shanab said a liter of petrol in Gaza sold for less than one shekel ($0.29) but in Libya, Egypt could sell fuel for $1 per liter. So we're voting with our wallets. Good luck to our Palestinian "brothers"...
Egyptian smugglers preferred to trade with Libya, leading to a shortages in the Gaza Strip, specialists in the coastal enclave said. Hmmmmm...wonder why that is?
Gaza needs 200,000 liters of petrol daily but over the last week only 50,000 liters of fuel was smuggled into the Strip each day, Abu Shanab said.
He said the gas smuggled into Gaza through tunnels under the Egyptian border was low quality, and that Egyptian smugglers had diluted the fuel. But we get back at them because we pay them in counterfeit money...
Gaza gas station owners rejected the fuel, which was sometimes black, red or brown, he added.
Vice-chairman of the assembly of oil and gas companies Mahmoud Al-Khazandar urged the Hamas government to establish a laboratory to test the quality of oil imported to Gaza. They already do that. If it explodes in the tunnel, it's good gas...
"The quantities of fuel which entered Gaza in the past few days are limited, and the petrol doesnt match our fuel standard so we rejected some shipments," he added. Al-Khazandar called on the new Egyptian government to officially export gas to Gaza. At present, residents of Gaza relied on fuel smuggled from Egypt because Israeli gas was too expensive, costing around seven shekels ($2) a liter, he explained.
Since Israel tightened its siege on the Gaza Strip in 2006, Palestinians have relied on goods smuggled from Egypt through underground tunnels. The tunnels provide a life-line to residents of the coastal enclave, but they are known locally as "death-traps" due to the frequency of fatal tunnel accidents.
#2
Metropolitan Pigs are behind this shocking development.
Posted by: Goldies Every Damn Where ||
06/20/2011 18:39 Comments ||
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#3
The market economy works. Adam Smith is vindicated. Hooray for human nature!
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
06/20/2011 19:00 Comments ||
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#4
Abu Shanab said a liter of petrol in Gaza sold for less than one shekel ($0.29 - <$1.07/gal) but in Libya, Egypt could sell fuel for $1 per liter ($3.70/gal).
Who is subsidizing petrol for Egypt and Gaza? The American taxpayer, the Saudi king?
#5
Don't they have, like, an open border with Egypt for this now?
Posted by: Charles ||
06/20/2011 20:18 Comments ||
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#6
Would you want an open border with the Gazans? Besides the counterfeit money, lying, thieving, gang-killing and theft...what could go wrong? Ever share a condo with a Crip or Blood?
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/20/2011 21:01 Comments ||
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[Al Jazeera] A planned announcement of a new Paleostinian unity government has been delayed after the Fatah and Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, movements failed to agree on a prime minister.
The announcement was planned for Tuesday, but Fatah officials told the Rooters news agency that talks between Paleostinian Authority President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas, ... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial... who heads Fatah, and Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal, had been postponed.
The unity deal was reached after both groups agreed to a reconciliation deal in April, when the rival factions agreed to form an administration of ministers without party affiliations, to prepare for general elections within a year.
Fatah, led by Western-backed Abbas, nominated Salam Fayyad, ...Fayyad's political agenda holds that neither violence nor peaceful negotiations have brought the Paleostinians any closer to an independent state. The alternative to both, violent negotiations, doesn't seem to be working too well, either... a former World Bank economist who currently heads the Paleostinian government in the West Bank, to the post.
Hamas, the group which maintains power in the Gazoo Strip since taking control from Fatah in 2007, has rejected Fayyad, accusing him of co-operating with Israel's blockade on Gazoo.
"We asked our brothers and the Egyptian leadership to postpone the meeting for several days," said Azzam al-Ahmed, head of the Fatah delegation to unity talks in Cairo, citing Abbas's busy schedule.
"We will call them in a few days to set a date for a new meeting, and we hope the next session will be successful," he told Rooters.
'Serious implications'
Other Fatah officials, who asked not be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue, attributed the delay to the dispute over appointing Fayyad.
Hamas spokesperson Taher Al-Nono confirmed that Fatah asked for a delay.
"We are ready to meet once they are," Al-Nono told Rooters.
A statement issued earlier from the office of Ismail Haniyeh, ...became Prime Minister after the legislative elections of 2006 which Hamas won. President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed Haniyeh from office on 14 June 2007 at the height of the Fatah-Hamas festivities, but Haniyeh did not acknowledge the decree and continues as the PM of Gazoo while Abbas maintains a separate PM in the West Bank... the head of Hamas' administration in Gazoo, said: "The meeting may be postponed and this will have serious implications for the discussions on forming the government."
Last week, Paleostinian officials said Abbas and Meshaal would meet in Cairo on Tuesday to unveil the new government.
Perhaps they could just enjoy a coffee together, since the time is already scheduled. After all, how often does Mr. Meshaal get to leave the confines of the Gaza Strip?
Fayyad supporters say his standing abroad was an asset for Paleostinians in ensuring the continued flow of international aid and in pursuing a bid for UN recognition of Paleostinian statehood, expected in September.
Israel has said the reconciliation accord, brokered in secrecy by Egypt, would not secure peace and it urged Abbas to continue to shun Hamas.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2011 00:00 ||
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[4 views]
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#1
"Palestinian" & "unity", something doesn't fit.
The chief coordinator of the Network of Youth Organistions in southern Thailand, Artef Sohko, urged the authorities to investigate allegations that certain officials had disrespected the Koran by tossing it on the floor, igniting Saturday's riot that left 20 police and five defense volunteers wounded.
Artef, the former head of the Student Federation of Thailand, said he has been informed by an inmate inside the Narathiwat prison that some of the guards conducting the search in the dorm had done the deed in question.
Narathiwat governor Thanon Vejkornkanont set up a committee to investigate the riot on Saturday, but there were no mention of the disrespecting of the Koran.
The chaos began at about 7 a.m. when Deputy Narathiwat Governor Dejrat Simsiri led a 150-strong team of police, military and civilians to search the male prisoners' dormitory, while the thousand or so male inmates were gathered in the yard.
According to the officials, the investigators were seizing methamphetamine, crystal meth and cell phones hidden in the dormitory when several inmates jailed for national security violations, got upset and suddenly urged others to stop the search. The inmates hurled metal pipes, wooden sticks and stones at the officials.
Or what? Economic boycotts don't work against Syria -- they haven't much of an economy -- so will Turkey invade?
Senior aide to Turkish President Gul says foreign intervention will begin unless Syrian president heeds calls for change
A senior Turkish official warned Monday that Syrian President Bashar Assad has less than a week to start implementing long-promised political reforms demanded by Syrian protesters before foreign intervention begins.
Turkey, Syria's biggest neighbor and main trading partner, has been trying to persuade Assad to halt a military crackdown on demonstrations that have killed more than 1,300 civilians and forced thousands to take refuge across the border.
Ersat Hurmuzlu, an advisor to Turkish President Abdullah Gul, told the Dubai-based al-Arabiya channel on Sunday night that Turkey will be watching closely what Assad tells his people in a planned speech on Monday.
"The demands in this field will be for a positive response to these issues within a short period that does not exceed a week," Hurmuzulu said.
"The opposite of this, it would not be possible to offer any cover for the leadership in Syria because there is the danger ...that we had always been afraid of, and that is foreign intervention."
Several European countries have submitted a draft resolution to the U.N. Security Council to condemn Syria's crackdown on protesters. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has indicated he would not support such a resolution.
#1
Get ready to Roll Babes.... itn your time! Holler if you need the manuals.
Posted by: Goldies Every Damn Where ||
06/20/2011 17:38 Comments ||
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#2
"Turkey warns Assad"
Why talk to the monkey?
Go directly to the organ-grinder - Ahma-dinnah-jacket.
Posted by: Barbara ||
06/20/2011 17:41 Comments ||
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#3
ION CNN AM > US claims that IRAN IS UPPING ITS INVOLVEMENT IN SYRUH, ostensibly in support of Baby Assad + Regime.
Will be intehwesting to see Moud + Mullahs' reax, as US-NATO ally Turkey doe NOT want Iran-dominated Islamist states on its southern flank, ee Lebanon + Syria.
[Iran Press TV] The Human Rights Committee of the Iranian Parliament (Majlis) has decided to bar a special United Nations ...an international organization whose stated aims of facilitating interational security involve making sure that nobody with live ammo is offended unless it's a civilized country... (UN) human rights ...which often intentionally defined so widely as to be meaningless... news hound from entering the country.
"The United States, Israel and the UK are the biggest violators of human rights in the world and the United Nations Human Rights Committee should send their news hounds to those countries instead of Iran," member of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Mohammad Karim Abedi, told IRNA on Sunday.
The senior Iranian politician said the UN acts selectively when it comes to human rights and citied the lack of concrete action in the face of confirmed Israeli war crimes committed during the 33-day war in Leb as proof of UN hypocrisy.
Last month, Abedi announced plans by the Islamic Theocratic Republic to launch an English-language news agency to report on human rights conditions in the West.
Called the Human Rights News Agency, Abedi said the new agency would report on instances of rights violation in Europe and the US. He said such abuses had gone unnoticed over the years by the world media.
Earlier this month, Iran's foreign ministry underlined the need for the international monitoring of human rights violations in Western countries and added that the Iranian Foreign Ministry would actively pursue the issue.
Iran says the West for using human rights as a political tool for piling up pressure on the Islamic Theocratic Republic.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2011 00:00 ||
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[6 views]
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[An Nahar] Hizbullah has uncovered spies within the ranks of the party's leadership, creating a shock to both the Shiite party and Israel, the Kuwaiti daily al-Rai reported Sunday.
The newspaper said that the discovery was made around three months ago
What happened three months ago to make them suspicious?
when Hizbullah intentionally sent "fateful information" to Israelis and put the suspects under tight surveillance.
Israel reacted to the info, al-Rai said. This contributed to uncovering its spies, it added.
According to the daily, the number of Mossad agents discovered from within different ranks in the party is more than 10. Some of the spies are high-ranking officials, it said.
The Kuwaiti daily "Al-Rai al-Aam" reported Sunday that the Lebanese Shiite organization "was dumbfounded over the Israeli infiltration."
Reports claimed that one of the suspects is a relative of a senior Hezbollah official, while another detainee was the liaison between the organization, Iran and Syria.
The newspaper also claimed that many of the suspects hold senior positions within the organization's administration and that their contact with Israel "exceeds imagination."
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2011 00:00 ||
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[8 views]
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#2
And, of course, MOSSAD would never dream of creating the impression that some high ranking Hezbollah leaders were secretly dealing with them. Though they should.
#4
And of course the MOSSAD are complete strangers to the technique of leaking multiple, distinctively worded versions of information so that when the enemy acts on that intelligence it leads you back to the source.~
More likely is that the mullahs are playing hardball with their thuggish colleagues and using this charge to facilitate their enemies' sleeping with the fish.
Posted by: Mike Ramsey ||
06/20/2011 9:28 Comments ||
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#5
My money's on "look! a squirrel!", or possibly, "look! moles!" Great way to distract from the Alawi-on-Sunni slaughterfest going on inside their nearest state sponsor of Lebanese terrorism. Seeing as how the attempt to send human-wave incursions into the Golan failed to move the needle...
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
06/20/2011 16:12 Comments ||
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#6
I dunno, long time ago MOSSAD used to post here regular like. I fear the worst.
Posted by: Goldies Every Damn Where ||
06/20/2011 18:40 Comments ||
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#7
Years ago I knew a Jewish boy who ambition was to move to Israel and join MOSSAD. I liked him because he had a realistically bloody minded attitude about the situation, and wanted to help Israel by messing with its enemies.
But what *really* impressed me was that he did not want to become a James Bond type. Even as a teenager, he was so realistic that he figured he would do better in a desk job.
Ironically as all get out, I later learned that in some intelligence circles, desk jockeys are sometimes *exactly* the kind of people they want to be field operatives.
An overwhelming number of voters believe the United States is involved in too many foreign conflicts and should pull back its troops, according to a new poll conducted for The Hill.
Seventy-two percent of those polled said the United States is fighting in too many places, with only 16 percent saying the current level of engagement represented an appropriate level. Twelve percent said they weren't sure.
Voters also do not think having U.S. soldiers fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq has made the country safer, according to the poll.
Thirty-seven percent said the continued presence of U.S. troops in Afghanistan makes no impact on national security, while another 17 percent said it makes the United States less safe. By contrast, 36 percent said the United States is safer because forces are in Afghanistan.
The findings reflect a fatigue with war after a decade dominated by U.S. invasions and occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan that are now unwinding. War fatigue was also highlighted by House votes last month on Afghanistan in which more Republicans than ever before supported withdrawing U.S. troops immediately. Not surprising and I saw this predicted here and on other blog sites. America will become more isolationist as it is broke and tired of a decade of constant war. A "fix our own home first" attitude is starting to take hold. I think that's right. The real issue is where in this world does the U.S. need to be, and how do we help those who will help themselves to be free? It's in the long-term interest of the U.S. to promote freedom and personal liberty, but I'm a neo-con. We can't do everything but we can't retreat into our shell, either. The next president has to make clear what his/her ideas are in striking the right balance.
#3
Except for Iraq, Afghanistan, and that Libya nonsense, all the other places our people (Marines and Special Forces, I believe) have been -- the Maghreb, various quiet corners of the Middle East and Asia -- have enabled us to keep situations from becoming full-blown wars. I don't know,of course, but at a guess I'd say we have troops or CIA not-spies in about 20 countries, whether training, interdicting, or quietly tracking down people who fondly think themselves invisible.
If you know the answer, please do not tell me. Thank you. If you are the answer, just thank you for whatever you're doing, wherever you are doing it.
#4
tw: There are about 80 more deployments beyond that, that are not active, but either passive, unlikely "trigger" roles, support activities, foreign force training liaisons, or there for foreign policy reasons.
Like in Germany, with some 52,000 (77,917 military personnel are located in Europe); Japan with 35,700; 28,500 in SKor. We even have over 150 in Russia.
(All data decidedly open source.)
They do make an effort to have *some* involvement of these forces in ongoing conflicts, but the question is whether they are essential, or just handy?
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.
[Maghrebia] A recent court ruling in Tunisia ordering internet filtering is raising concerns of a potential return to censorship.
Kayani,
An overwhelming number of voters believe the United States is involved in too many foreign conflicts and should pull back its troops, according to a new poll conducted for The Hill.
