[Tolo News] Amidst highly public tensions with the United States over negotiating a long-term security deal for the coming years, President Hamid 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... has said that the U.S. is behaving like a colonial power.
In a response to a somewhat leading question from the French newspaper Le Monde in an interview published Tuesday, "Do you think the USA is behaving like a colonial power," President Karzai said:
"Absolutely. They threaten us by saying 'We will no longer pay your salaries; we will drive you into a civil war.' These are threats," Karzai said. "If you want to be our partner, we must be friends. Respect Afghan homes, don't kill their children and be a partner. So bluff or no bluff, we want respect for our commitment to the safety of Afghan lives and to peace in Afghanistan."
President Karzai also said that he has been in conversation with the U.S. Special Representative on Afghanistan & Pakistain James Dobbins, who the Afghanistan's Caped President has known for years. According to Karzai, Dobbins has asserted that without the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA), there would be no peace in Afghanistan.
Karzai went on to say that this statement could be either interpreted in a positive light - if the BSA is signed, there will be peace in Afghanistan - or a negative light - if you don't sign, we will cause trouble in Afghanistan. It was clear the President did not think there was any chance the U.S. might take a more passive approach.
The signing of the BSA has been stalled since President Karzai said he would not approve the accord until after the April elections, and only if the U.S. met certain preconditions, despite a Loya Jirga last month recommending the pact be signed as soon as possible.
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#3
The fact that Karzai is still President of that wretched place, and the loya jirga [grand tribal assembly] exists, refutes the "colonizer" accusation.
#4
Colonizer? Doesn't that mean we should be sending lots of Americans over there to live there permanently? Oh, I guess that means we get to make their laws for them. And we can also impose Obamacare on them, too.
[Pak Daily Times] The United States expressed hope on Tuesday that India would persuade 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... to sign a deal allowing US troops to stay, as politicians voiced outrage at the delay. I hope to drop fifty pounds by next week without dieting, too.
Testifying before a Senate committee, a senior US official voiced confidence that Afghanistan would eventually complete an agreement for some 12,000 US troops to stay after 2014, despite Karzai's insistence that he will leave the decision to his successor.
"His upcoming visit to India could, I think, be quite influential, because he highly respects and has good relations with the Indian government," said James Dobbins, the US special representative on Afghanistan and Pakistain. Karzai visits India later this week.
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[An Nahar] Food shortages and fighting between government forces and rebels have forced almost 3,000 people to flee their homes in Sudan's Blue Nile state, the United Nations ...a formerly good idea gone bad... said on Wednesday.
The latest displacement comes after Defense Minister Abdelrahim Mohammed Hussein said in November that an operation had begun to crush Sudanese rebels.
An estimated 2,800 people, mostly women and kiddies, fled from four areas of Bau district southwest of the state capital Ed Damazin, the U.N.'s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in its latest weekly bulletin.
It cited information reported by a non-governmental group on December 1.
"This displacement is the result of fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) as well as a result of food insecurity in their areas of origin," OCHA said.
They sought shelter in El Gerri, east of the capital, where they urgently require food, clean water and access to basic healthcare, it added.
Aid agencies say the latest displacement brings to at least 5,800 the number of people who fled their homes in Blue Nile over a three-week period.
The SPLM-N said one of its fighters was killed along with several government troops in attacks on military convoys in Bau last Sunday.
Rebels of the SPLM-N have been fighting for two years in Blue Nile and South Kordofan states, fueled by alleged political and economic neglect.
Before the latest fighting, more than one million people in the two states had already been severely affected or displaced by the war, the U.N. has said.
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[JPOST] An Egyptian judge on Wednesday halted the trial of leaders of the Moslem Brüderbund after they shouted slogans and refused to cooperate with the court.
Judge Mustafa Salama said the case of the Brotherhood's General Guide Mohammed Badie and fellow defendants, who are charged with inciting the killing of protesters, would be transferred to the Cairo appeals court.
Badie earlier led his co-accused in chants against the army-backed government, shouting "Down, down with military rule" from the cage where defendants are held in Egypt.
They were jugged ... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not... in a crackdown on the Islamist group after the army toppled Islamist President Mohammed Morsi ...the former president of Egypt. A proponent of the One Man, One Vote, One Time principle, Morsi won election after the deposal of Hosni Mubarak and jumped to the conclusion it was his turn to be dictator... in July following mass protests against his rule.
It was the second time their trial had been halted. In October, a separate panel of judges withdrew from the case after a hearing which the defendants did not attend.
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[An Nahar] A Bahraini court on Wednesday sentenced 12 Shiite Moslems to 15-year jail terms for attacking a car warehouse during unrest in the Sunni-ruled kingdom, a judicial source said.
The 12 men were found guilty of setting fire to the warehouse in a mostly Shiite area near the capital Manama in February 2012.
The court also accused the men of taking part in an unauthorized demonstration and possessing Molotov cocktails, and handed the group a fine totaling 383,000 dinars ($1 million, 700,000 euros) for the 59 cars damaged in the warehouse.
Another defendant was cleared of the charges in the case.
Lawyers for the defendants rejected the charges, saying their clients had made their confessions "under torture," the judicial source added.
Security forces crushed a Shiite-led uprising demanding democratic reforms in Sunni-ruled but Shiite-majority Bahrain in March 2011.
But sporadic protests have broken out across the island since then and authorities have banned demonstrations in Manama.
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[Bangla Daily Star] Hefajat-e-Islam ...a madrassa-based false nose and mustache of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, formed in 2010 to protest against secular education. In 2011 demonstrated violentyly against women's rights and in 2013 held large rallies demanding capital punishment of Shahbag Square protesters and banning women working outside the home... has called a daylong hartal ... a peculiarly Bangla combination of a general strike and a riot, used by both major political groups in lieu of actual governance ... for Sunday in Chittagong district protesting the authorities' refusal to allow it to hold a scheduled rally in the city on December 12-13.
The decision came in a meeting chaired by Hefajat chief Allama Shah Ahmad Shafi at Darul Ulum Mainul Islam Madrasa in the city this afternoon, said Azizul Haque Islamabadi, organising secretary of the group.
Hefajat will also stage demonstrations after Juma prayers on Friday in the district, the Hefajat leader told our Chittagong correspondent.
In the meeting, Hefajat leaders informed news hounds that Chittagong police did not give permission to use a field 'Jamaatul Falah Mosque' for holding a religious rally Thursday and Friday.
Police requested them to postpone their schedule and hold the rally after next parliamentary elections as a political instability is prevailing in the country, Islamabadi told The Daily Star.
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[Pak Daily Times] Bangladesh's Supreme Court has adjourned until Thursday a hearing to decide if an Islamist opposition leader can appeal against his death penalty, in a case that has heightened political tension less than a month before elections are due.
Abdul Quader Mollah, found guilty of war crimes committed during the 1971 war of independence, was due to be hanged at Dhaka Central Jail just after midnight on Wednesday, but his lawyers earned a last-minute reprieve.
Later in the morning, lawyers met at the Supreme Court's appeals division and will resume arguments on Thursday, a state prosecutor said. The stay of execution remains until the appeal against the death penalty is resolved, he added.
Mollah is assistant secretary general of the Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... party, which is barred from contesting elections but plays a key role in the opposition movement led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). He is one of five Islamist leaders condemned to death by Bangladesh's International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), set up in 2010 to investigate atrocities perpetrated during the 1971 conflict, in which three million people died. Critics of the ICT say it has been used as a political tool by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina ...Bangla dynastic politician and current Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She has been the President of the Bangla Awami League since the Lower Paleolithic. She is the eldest of five children of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangla. Her party defeated the BNP-led Four-Party Alliance in the 2008 parliamentary elections. She has once before held the office, from 1996 to 2001, when she was defeated in a landslide. She and the head of the BNP, Khaleda Zia show such blind animosity toward each other that they are known as the Battling Begums.. , who is locked in a long and poisonous feud with BNP leader Begum Khaleda Zia Three-term PM of Bangla, widow of deceased dictator Ziaur Rahman, head of the Bangla Nationalist Party, an apparent magnet for corruption ... , as a way of weakening the opposition as January 5 elections approach.
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[An Nahar] U.N. chief the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon ... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan... and U.S. Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State... called Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina ...Bangla dynastic politician and current Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She has been the President of the Bangla Awami League since the Lower Paleolithic. She is the eldest of five children of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangla. Her party defeated the BNP-led Four-Party Alliance in the 2008 parliamentary elections. She has once before held the office, from 1996 to 2001, when she was defeated in a landslide. She and the head of the BNP, Khaleda Zia show such blind animosity toward each other that they are known as the Battling Begums.. on Wednesday to stress the need for talks with the opposition to resolve an election standoff. Hasina did away with having a neutral interim govt implement the polls. Last election the neutral govt arrested about half the BNP on charges of corruption. Guess which party would be arrested this time.
The phone calls stepped up diplomatic pressure on Bangladeshi leaders to find a solution to the stalemate amid a worsening of political violence that has left nearly 80 people since late October. The best thing for Bangla would be for Hasina and Khaleda to be permanently banned from anything having to do with politix. The actual best solution would be to pick a Czech or Luxembourgeois legislator at random and make him/her/it prime minister.
"John Kerry emphasized (the need for) continuous talks between the two parties," and said that the U.S. "expects a peaceful solution" to the stalemate, Hasina's front man Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury told news hounds.
"Kerry said all should refrain from violence and seek a political consensus through dialogue so the upcoming election could be held peacefully," Chowdhury said.
Ban also called Hasina, expressing his hopes for dialogue to end the row that has plunged the country into crisis, her press secretary Abul Kalam Azad told Agence La Belle France Presse.
The U.N. assistant secretary for political affairs, Oscar Fernandez Taranco, who wound up a visit to Bangladesh on Wednesday confirmed the phone calls by the world's top diplomats.
The calls came after officials from the country's ruling Awami League party and the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) held one-to-one talks for the first time in years in a bid to defuse the row.
BNP and its smaller Islamist allies have said they will boycott the January 5 polls and have called a series of crippling strikes and transport blockades.
Some 77 people have died in festivities since late October when the BNP-led 18-party opposition movement launched the protests calling on Hasina to resign and make way for the polls under a neutral caretaker government.
The opposition, led by Hasina's rival Khaleda Zia Three-term PM of Bangla, widow of deceased dictator Ziaur Rahman, head of the Bangla Nationalist Party, an apparent magnet for corruption ... , has said it fears the premier will try to rig the vote in a country plagued by coups and political upheaval for decades
Hasina has rejected the demands for her resignation and is determined to hold the polls as scheduled, insisting it is a constitutional requirement.
Observers said although the two parties have held two rounds of talks, decades of distrust mean it is unlikely a deal is immediately in the cards.
U.N. envoy Fernandez-Taranco said a third meeting between the parties has been agreed but more must be done to build confidence.
"There are measures that would contribute immensely: a call by all sides to end the violence, release of opposition politicians and a mutually satisfactory solution to concerns regarding the election schedule," he told a press briefing.
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[An Nahar] A German court Wednesday rejected a lawsuit by relatives of victims of a deadly air raid in Afghanistan four years ago that was called in by NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... 's German command.
In a landmark ruling, the judges found against a father seeking 40,000 euros ($55,000) after the death of two of his children and a widowed mother-of-six whose claim came to 50,000 euros.
In the September 2009 bombing, U.S. planes hit two fuel tankers stolen by Death Eaters and killed and maimed scores of civilians near the northern Afghan city of Kunduz.
After the tragedy, the German parliament described the strike as "one of the most serious incidents involving the German military since the Second World War."
On Wednesday the court in the western city of Bonn found however that there had been "no culpable official misconduct" on the part of German military officers.
The commander, Colonel Georg Klein, had called in the night-time strike after an informant had claimed in seven separate phone calls that no civilians were near the tankers, said presiding judge Heinz Sonnenberger.
The judge also recalled that in the months before the strike, the security situation had "deteriorated significantly" and that German soldiers had to "anticipate attacks."
The ruling, which can be appealed to a higher court, dampens the outlook for another 77 plaintiffs seeking more than three million euros over the bombing.
The German government had argued the air strike came under NATO command and could not be blamed on Berlin alone.
It has already paid out $5,000 each to families affected by the raid, but stressed that the money was not compensation but humanitarian aid.
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#1
But I tell you, my Hansi never misses. Now, zurück an die arbeit!.
MIAMI (Rooters) - The U.S. general who opened the Guantanamo detention camp said Thursday it was a mistake and should be shut down because "it validates every negative perception of the United States." Such a delayed epiphany, how could I have been so stupid. Why didn't my wife tell me? Somebody, anybody ?
"In retrospect, the entire detention and interrogation strategy was wrong," Marine Major General Michael Lehnert wrote in a column published in the Detroit Free Press. Thanks for jotting down your honest thoughts and firing that flare General. Any plans for a book, or public office ?
Lehnert, now retired from the military and living in Michigan, was the first commander of the task force that opened the detention camp in January 2002 at the Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base in Cuba. Worst case of Global Warming, cabin fever derangement syndrome on record ?
He said the United States opened it "because we were legitimately angry and frightened" by the September 11 hijacked plane attacks in 2001 and thought the captives sent there would provide "a treasure trove of information and intelligence." Well, they appeared to be a logical choice. Was there someone who else who should have been consulted ?
He quickly became convinced that most of them never should have been sent there because they had little intelligence value and there was insufficient evidence linking them to war crimes, he wrote. Your reports obviously indicated as much.... No ?
"We squandered the goodwill of the world after we were attacked by our actions in Guantanamo, both in terms of detention and torture," Lehnert wrote. "Our decision to keep Guantanamo open has helped our enemies because it validates every negative perception of the United States." This is a legitimate STOP READING POINT.
Congress is debating an annual defense bill containing language that would give President Champ more flexibility to repatriate or resettle Guantanamo detainees. But the proposal maintains an "unwise and unnecessary ban" on transferring any to the United States, Lehnert said.
"Still, this is a step forward toward closing our nation's most notorious prison — a prison that should never have been opened," he wrote. What about all of our other prisons? Should they be closed as well ?
The first detainees arrived on January 11, 2002, one week after Lehnert was ordered to build the first 100 cells. The crude chain-link cages known as Camp X-Ray were used for about three and a half months and replaced by a series of more permanent prisons. Might we have a look at General Lehnert's reports to 'higher' back in the 2002-2004 timeframe, as well as any change of command hand-off notes or journals? There must be something, some clue....
The United States has since held 779 men at the facility and 162 remain. Lehnert noted that many had been cleared for transfer by U.S. defense and intelligence agencies but were "stuck by politics." As you may remember General (from you days in the uniform) this type of thing is commonly referred to as 'civilian control of the military.'
He said a handful should be transferred to the United States for prosecution or incarceration. He acknowledged the risk that some released detainees could go on to plan attacks against the United States, but said the U.S. Constitution and the rule of law trump that risk. Transferred to Michigan, the Detroit area perhaps, where you can once again keep an eye on them.
"It is time that the American people and our politicians accepted a level of risk in the defense of our constitutional values, just as our service men and women have gone into harm's way time after time to defend our Constitution," Lehnert wrote. "If we make a mockery of our values, it calls us to question what we are really fighting for."
Stern lecturing and guidance for.....the little people. He added, "It is time to close Guantanamo. Our departure from Afghanistan is a perfect point in history to close the facility." But, but, but have you not heard? We're not leaving.
#1
After 9/11 the objective was not to get the world to like us. To make a physical place a symbol of political ineffectiveness is misguided and immature.
I have no issues with hanging everyone in Gitmo so any day they are alive is a blessing from Allah.
#2
...and there was insufficient evidence linking them to war crimes
Except operating as illegal combatants as defined by the Convention. Silly little things like not wearing proper distinct identification that separates them from civilians and using civilians as cover from a belligerent they engage in combat.
[Pak Daily Times] PESHAWAR: The lawyer for the Pak doctor who helped the United States track down the late Osama bin Laden ... who was laid out deader than a mackerel, right next to the mackerel... has fled Pakistain after receiving threats from Death Eaters, relatives said on Wednesday. Lawyer Samiullah Afridi went abroad after snuffies threatened to blow up his car and kill his family, a relative said. "We cannot disclose the country he left for due to security threats to his life," the relative said, asking for anonymity because he was also scared of Death Eaters. "Militants warned him to stop pleading the case or else he and his family would face the consequences." Lawyer Afridi represented doctor Shakil Afridi, who ran a fake vaccination campaign to try to help US officials find al Qaeda chief bin Laden. Doctor Afridi was incarcerated You have the right to remain silent... after US special forces killed bin Laden in May 2011 in Abbottabad ... A pleasant city located only 30 convenient miles from Islamabad. The city is noted for its nice weather and good schools. It is the site of Pakistain's military academy, which was within comfortable walking distance of the residence of the late Osama bin Laden.... . The secret raid outraged Pakistain and strained relations between the allies. Following the arrest, doctor Afridi was sentenced to 33 years in jail for membership of Death Eater group Laskhar-e-Islam, an accusation he denies. But in August, Pakistain overturned his conviction, citing procedural errors and ordering a retrial. Now the doctor faces murder charges relating to the death of a patient eight years ago. A judgement is expected on December 18. Samiullah Afridi is the second member of the legal team to flee following Death Eater threats.
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#2
Doctor Afridi will likely never be released. His name and alleged exploits regarding events in Abbattabad will continue to be made fresh in the minds of the Pakistani people. As old charges are dropped, new charges will be levied to ensure his continued detention. He is and will remain a convenient diversion and scapegoat for Pakistan's involvement in the Bin Laden take down.
Washington fully realizes the need for Pakistan's scapegoat, hence the lack of political uproar over the failure to release Doctor Afridi. Attention is diverted form Pakistan's involvement, and the details and bravado of "Bin Laden is dead, GM is alive" remains undiminished. A win-win.
[Pak Daily Times] A grand conference of 32 religious groups and political parties under the umbrella of Pakistain Ulema Council (PUC) on Wednesday demanded the government implement the recently prepared code of conduct and make it a formal law to curb sectarian violence in the country. What're the penalties for breaking the code of conduct? Who imposes them?... [silence]
The 'Istehkam-e-Pakistain Conference' was attended by PUC Chairman Maulana Tahir Asharfi, Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... Secretary General and Milli Yakjehti Council Secretary General Liaquat Baloch, Jamaat-ud-Dawa ...the front organization of Lashkar-e-Taiba... leader Amir Hamza, Sunni Ittehad Council Chairman Syed Mahfooz Mashhadi, PPP's Naveed Chaudhry, Shia Ulema Council Vice President Hafiz Raza Naqvi, Mujeebur Rehman Inqlabi from Jamia Ashrafia and other scholars.
Addressing the conference, Maulana Tahir Asharfi said that participants of the conference have announced their support for the prescribed code of conduct and pledged to abide by these regulations.
He said they would also present a resolution on Friday for the arrest of killers of innocents and implementation of the code of conduct across the country.
Presenting the joint statement, Ashrafi announced that they would organise conferences in all provinces of the country to establish peace and harmony in Pakistain.
The conference decided that Sunni Ittehad Council leader Mahfooz Mashhadi would help table the bill of code of conduct in the Punjab Assembly.
Liaquat Baloch said that "today our mosques and imambargahs are target of sectarian violence and we must unmask the faces behind this evil design". He said the code of conduct could ensure religious peace in the country. He also demanded implementation of the capital punishment to make such criminals an example for terrorists.
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[An Nahar] The Organization of Islamic Cooperation called on the international community to recognize the Paleostinian Territories as a sovereign state "in the shortest possible time" as it closed its annual conference of foreign ministers on Wednesday.
The ministers welcomed a United Nations ...aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society... decision in November 2012 to elevate the territories to the status of non-member observer state in a declaration adopted at the end of the three-day meeting in the Guinean capital Conakry.
"We welcome the important recent decision by many countries to recognize the state of Paleostine... and urge states that have not yet done so to fulfil their responsibilities under the charter of the United Nations recognizing the State of Paleostine in the shortest possible time," the statement said.
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#1
Ditto US SecState Kerry???
* MIDDLE EAST MONITOR > KERRY: ISRAELI USE OF [Military] FORCE CAN'T DEFEAT OR DEFUSE [Paleo-centric] DEMOGRAPHIC TIME BOMB.
IOW, IIUC iff Israel won't accept domestic Govt. power-sharing wid a Muslim Paleo majority in Israel proper, its only alternative is a separate sovereign = semi-sovereign? Paleo State in Gaza + the West Bank.
Will EGYPT + JORDAN give their claims to Gaza + West Bank while econ supporting a de facto sovereign Paleo State in same???
#2
General Dayan: "There is no more Palestine. Finished...." and in April 1973 from the peaks of Massada he proclaimed a vision: "a new State of Israel with broad frontiers, strong and solid, with the authority of the Israel Government extending from the Jordan [river] to the Suez Canal." (Avi Shlaim, The Iron Wall, P.316)
[An Nahar] Gulf Arab leaders meeting in Kuwait on Wednesday called for the withdrawal of all foreign troops from war-ravaged Syria, and praised Iran's new government for its shift in policy.
The leaders of the six Gulf monarchies also approved the formation of a joint military command, but postponed a decision on a proposed union apparently over differences.
The declaration came at the end of a two-day summit in Kuwait City of the Gulf Cooperation Council led by Sunni-ruled heavyweight Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... , the longtime regional arch foe of Shiite-dominated Iran.
Adopting a firm position on Syria, the GCC "strongly condemned the continued genocide that (President Bashar) Assad's regime is committing against the Syrian people using heavy and chemical weapons."
It called "for the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Syria," in a clear reference to Iran-backed Shiite militias from Iraq and Leb's Hizbullah which are supporting Assad's troops against Sunni-led rebels.
The GCC backed the rebels' position that Assad play no role in any political transition agreed to in talks scheduled for next month in Geneva, while urging the opposition to attend the meeting.
"Pillars of the Syrian regime whose hands had been stained by the blood of the Syrian people must have no role in the transitional government or Syria's political future," the oil-rich nations said in their closing statement.
The National Coalition, an umbrella opposition group also backed by the West, had agreed to attend next month's Geneva 2 peace conference under certain conditions, the exclusion of Assad from any transitional government.
On Tuesday, Coalition President Ahmad Jarba had urged the GCC "to tell the whole world that the Syrian regime will have no future in the country".
But brushing aside differences with Iran on Syria, the GCC praised the Islamic republic's overtures to Gulf Arab states.
The monarchies "welcome the new orientation by the Iranian leadership towards the Gulf Cooperation Council and hope it will be followed by concrete measures that would positively impact regional peace," said the concluding statement.
They also "welcome the interim deal signed by the P5+1 and Iran as a first step toward an inclusive and lasting agreement on Iran's nuclear program that would end international and regional concerns."
Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif moved last week to assure Gulf states the nuclear deal was not at their expense and called for a new page in relations as he toured the region.
The tour followed comments by Iran's new President Hassan Rouhani who, when he took over from hardliner Mahmoud Short Round Ahmadinejad in August, said he hoped to bolster ties with neighboring countries, especially those in the Gulf.
Like Western powers, Gulf monarchies fear Iran may develop atomic weapons under the guise of a civilian nuclear program. Iran says the program is for peaceful purposes only.
Ties between some Gulf states and Iran have also been strained over Tehran's support for Assad and a Shiite-led uprising in Bahrain.
This year's summit, attended only by the rulers of Qatar, Bahrain, and host country Kuwait, is also being staged amid differences over a Saudi proposal in 2011 to upgrade the GCC into a confederation, on which details were never disclosed.
At the weekend, Oman -- which reportedly hosted secret talks that led to the Geneva deal with Tehran -- threatened to pull out of the loose alliance if a union was announced, while Saudi Arabia, solidly backed by Bahrain, has insisted it is time to move ahead.
Wednesday's final statement said briefly that Gulf leaders had directed the ministerial council to "continue consultations" on the matter.
However, it was a brave man who first ate an oyster... the Gulf Arab leaders approved creating a unified military command "as part of efforts aimed at strengthening security and stability" in their countries.
No details were provided on the structure or duties of this command.
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#1
Translation: The Gulf monarchies are positioning themselves to ride whatever strong horse shows up.
[An Nahar] An online forum that frequently features statements from jihadists has called on an al-Qaeda-linked bad boy group to free two Spanish journalists who were kidnapped in September in Syria.
The Honein jihadist forum urged "our brothers the mujahedeen (holy warriors) in the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" (ISIL) bad boy group to free news hound Javier Espinosa and photographer Ricardo Garcia Vilanova, in a statement accompanied by their photos posted online on Tuesday.
The site said the two journalists were a "good hand for advocating our issues in Iraq and Syria, and carrying the silenced truth," adding "there are those among us who know them well, and were working with them to serve our issues."
"They are only men endangering themselves to convey the truth," it said.
Espinosa and Vilanova have been held by ISIL since September 16, according to a statement released on Tuesday by their families.
Espinosa had ventured into rebel areas of Syria a dozen times since the revolt against Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Light of the Alawites... broke out in 2011.
On his last trip, he was reporting for Spanish daily El Mundo, whose Middle East bureau he heads, on the dismal living conditions for children and the sick.
Freelancer Vilanova, who has had his photographs published widely by both press agencies and humanitarian organizations, had already been kidnapped once before by ISIL in war-battered Aleppo.
His photographs have shown not only battles but also the maimed seeking treatment in the northern city's Dar al-Shifa hospital, which has been destroyed by repeated government bombardment.
In addition to the high risk of violence in civil war-torn Syria, journalists have been increasingly targeted for kidnapping and abuses by jihadist fighters.
And last week, Iraqi cameraman Yasser Faisal al-Joumaili was executed in Idlib by ISIL while on the job.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/12/2013 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Islamic State of Iraq & the Levant
[Pak Daily Times] The commander of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard force has criticised the government, saying it was under the influence of Western ideas and fundamental change was needed.
Major General Mohammad Jafari's comments are some of the sharpest to be made by a bigwig in public since moderate holy man Hassan Rouhani took office as president in August pledging to improve Iran's relations with regional countries and the West.
The Rouhani government's diplomatic initiative led to an agreement with six world powers last month under which Iran is to curb its disputed nuclear programme in return for limited relief from sanctions that have squeezed its economy.
The interim accord has been widely welcomed by Iranians both at home and abroad, but hardliners in the country's multi-layered power structure are irked by the foreign policy shift and warn against the dangers of getting too close to the West.
"The military, systems and procedures governing the administrative system of the country are the same as before, (but it) has been slightly modified and unfortunately infected by Western doctrine, and a fundamental change must occur," Fars news agency quoted Jafari saying on Tuesday.
The comments by Jafari - the commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) - underline the challenging task Rouhani faces in seeking a nuclear deal and improved relations abroad without provoking a dangerous backlash from powerful conservative groups.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/12/2013 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
[Pak Daily Times] Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State... on Tuesday openly admitted that a hard-won nuclear deal with Iran may still fail in the coming months, as he faced a fierce grilling from US politicians seeking to impose new sanctions.
The top US diplomat helped hammer out the accord with Tehran under which it will freeze parts of its suspect nuclear program in return for some sanctions relief as global powers seek a final agreement to dismantle its atomic weapons capability over the next six months.
But he acknowledged to US politicians: "I came away from our preliminary negotiations with serious questions about whether or not they're ready and willing to make some of the choices that have to be made."
Posted by: Fred ||
12/12/2013 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
The US-Allies can't keep pretending to be B ****** about Iran + its NucProgs while covertly help Iran to become the world's first Islamic nuclear superpower.
And Iran, etal. will be Nukulaar [Nuke-armed] because OWG Globalism + its "Multipolar/
Polycentric", "Co-Superpower" agenda expressly denotes or infers PARITY ASAP AMAP ALAP, NOT INFERIORITY, AMONG THE GREAT POWERS + WANNABES.
#2
Do you ever get the impression that Kerry is gutless and so is the United States?
Can you spell W.I.M.P. ?
Why WHY are we "negotiating AT ALL with Iran? What possible reason would we have at ALL with negotiating with Iran?
Educate me/ Tell me WHY we have to negotiate with Iran? Because we are too weak and nadless to combine with our Ally Israel and take them down? Israel has more balls than the US.And they have the resources and size of New Jersey.
We don't have to go in and rebuild Iran after its over, no "nation building". Just trash them completely and thoroughly and leave it to smoke. Who would stop us? Russia? China? Egypt? IF we had any balls we would just laugh at them. Ergo,check your pants. You got what Kerry's got? 'Cause Kerry's got nuthin'.
#3
Why WHY are we "negotiating AT ALL with Iran? What possible reason would we have at ALL with negotiating with Iran?
Because our leader is so desperate for a legacy that he's willing to sacrifice Israel and the entire muddle east to get it. To him and his handlers it's a small price to pay.
#4
"I came away from our preliminary negotiations with serious questions about whether or not they're ready and willing to make some of the choices that have to be made."
Apparently his boss and the rest of the White House didn't.
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
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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.
[JPOST] An Egyptian judge on Wednesday halted the trial of leaders of the 
[An Nahar] A Bahraini court on Wednesday sentenced 12 Shiite 
[Bangla Daily Star] 
...Bangla dynastic politician and current Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She has been the President of the Bangla Awami League since the Lower Paleolithic. She is the eldest of five children of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangla. Her party defeated the BNP-led Four-Party Alliance in the 2008 parliamentary elections. She has once before held the office, from 1996 to 2001, when she was defeated in a landslide. She and the head of the BNP, Khaleda Zia show such blind animosity toward each other that they are known as 
Khaleda Zia
the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
[Pak Daily Times] Secretary of State 
