[Tolo News]Election observers on Tuesday criticized the response of the Independent Election Commission (IEC) to the demands made by presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah ... the former foreign minister of the Northern Alliance government, advisor to Masood, and candidate for president against Karzai. Dr. Abdullah was born in Kabul and is half Tadjik and half Pashtun... regarding electoral fraud in the runoff. Monitors emphasized that responsibility to resolve the current impasse in the process fell on election officials.
Abdullah's team has presented the election commissions with six summarized demands, laying out the conditions for his return to the election process.
The first recommendation was to conduct another round of voting in areas in which, according to the candidates, are under suspicion of ballot stuffing. Abdullah justified this demand with the audio recording evidence he has publicly released allegedly exposing a large-scale fraud plot coordinated by the former IEC Secretariat Chief, Zia-ul-Haq Amarkhail.
The second demand was that votes from sites that were added for the runoff round but were not used during the first round in April be invalidated. Abdullah claimed the added sites were part of the scheme to disadvantage him in the second round.
The election commission has rejected both of the first two demands tabled by the Abdullah team.
Abdullah's third demand was that votes from suspicious sites be reinvestigated under the supervision of new Sherlocks representing the two candidates. To this request, the IEC agreed to review the sites and their results again but stressed that this would only be done with commission staff.
The four demand was that a new IEC Secretariat Chief be nominated to replace Amarkhail, who reportedly left Afghanistan on flight bound for the United Arab Emirates with his family on Monday. The commission also refused this request, saying there was not enough time left in the process.
The fifth demand was that an authorized delegation representing both campaign teams be nominated to be present during all decision-making processes of the election commissions. To this, the IEC emphasized that all meetings of the commission regarding election results are conducted in the presence of media and observers already.
The sixth and final demand was for a new mechanism to investigate cases of fraud to be established. The IEC shifted responsibility and suggested the recommendation be brought up with the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC).
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[Tolo News] Former Independent Election Commission (IEC) Secretariat Chief Zia-ul-Haq Amarkhail boarded a flight for the United Arab Emirates with his family on Monday evening. His unimpeded departure received harsh criticism from those who believe Mr. Amarkhail should be present to answer for the accusations of fraud that have been filed against him, and if found guilty, suffer the consequences.
An official source within the IEC, who spoke to TOLOnews on condition of anonymity, said that Amarkhail left Kabul on Monday evening, around 7 p.m. on a flight bound for Dubai. The same source reported that Amakhail's family left on a flight just before him, and all of them were booked on a flight headed to London, England, at 3 p.m. Tuesday.
Presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah's campaign team had asked President Hamid Karzai and the Attorney General's Office to block Amarkhail from leaving the country while he is under investigation for electoral fraud. Abdullah's team have labeled his departure an "escape".
Continued on Page 49
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[Tolo News] The Afghan National Security Advisor on Monday called on Islamabad to deny safe havens to terrorist groups inside Pakistain and adopt a non-interference policy towards Kabul.
Dr. Rangin Dadfar Spanta, who visited Islamabad last Thursday, told news hounds at the Presidential Palace that he had handed over a request letter to the Pak Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... from 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... , calling on Pakistain to not be selective in the fight against terrorist groups.
President Karzai's two other main requests in the letter were ending the cross-border shelling and release of Taliban prisoners in Pakistain's custody who are willing to engage in a grinding of the peace processor with the Afghan government.
Pakistain had released nearly 20 Taliban prisoners earlier this year, including Taliban's second-in-command, Mullah Baradar. The releases have not resulted in any breakthrough in the grinding of the peace processor and Islamabad has stopped releasing more prisoners.
Spanta's visit to Islamabad comes after a delegation of Pak officials visited Kabul last week as a push to ease the relationship between the two neighbors, who both suffer from hard boyz based in the border regions.
"Afghanistan is looking for a deep, sincere and broad friendship with Pakistain which should be based on good-neighborly relations," Spanta said. "We want a comprehensive strategic relationship with Pakistain as well."
The National Security Advisor, however, said that preconditions of Kabul are a "non-interference policy" of Pakistain towards Afghanistan and the "elimination of terrorist safe havens" inside Pakistain.
The Afghan official said that no country can use terrorism as an instrument of foreign policy towards another country, adding that if Pakistain accepts the Afghan preconditions, Kabul will also do its best to help Pakistain in their fight against Pak Taliban.
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[An Nahar] Moslem "relatives" of a Sudanese Christian woman hiding at the U.S. embassy are taking her to court to try to prove she belongs to their family, a lawyer said Tuesday.
Since it isn't clear that they have a blood relation.
The complainants are the same people who laid an apostasy charge against Meriam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag, 26, said the lawyer, Mohanad Mustafa.
Ishag was sentenced to death in May for apostasy from Islam, under Islamic sharia law that has been in force in Sudan since 1983 and outlaws conversions on pain of death. An appeals court later quashed the verdict and sentence.
Her case raised questions of religious freedom and sparked deep concern among Western governments and human rights When they're defined by the state or an NGO they don't mean much... activists.
"In fact, it is not her family" who filed the cases, Mustafa told Agence La Belle France Presse. "They want to get her in trouble. Somebody supports them. I can't mention who."
Mustafa confirmed that a case has been lodged against Ishag in family court "to prove that Meriam is Abrar and she is one of the family."
Moslems refer to her as Abrar al-Hadi Mohammed Abdalla.
Neither Ishag nor her lawyers have yet received documents confirming when the case will be heard, Mustafa said.
"I think the court will dismiss the case," he added.
It is not a criminal action, meaning it would not affect her chances of traveling abroad.
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#1
Send this American and her child a word of encouragement America:
King Abdullah named Prince Khalid bin Bandar to the post of chief of general intelligence in a decree on Monday.
The Custodian of Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia, has tapped the former deputy defence minister to lead the kingdom's intelligence services and revitalised the political career of a former spy chief and longtime ambassador to the United States by naming him to a new senior advisory post. King Abdullah named Prince Khalid bin Bandar to the post of chief of general intelligence in a decree on Monday, the official Saudi Press Agency reported. Khalid was relieved of his post as deputy defence minister on Saturday, barely six weeks after he was appointed.
Khalid was previously the governor of the Riyadh region, an important post he assumed in February 2013 that involves overseeing the capital and provides opportunities for direct contact with top officials and visiting dignitaries. He is the son of Prince Bandar, one of the eldest surviving sons of King Abdulaziz, the founder of the kingdom.
The monarch also named the former intelligence chief, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, as adviser and special envoy to the king. Bandar was ambassador to the US for 22 years before becoming director-general of Saudi Intelligence Agency in July 2012. His brief in the latter role included oversight of Saudi policy in the Levant, including toward Syrian rebels seeking to oust President Bashar Assad. He was relieved of his post at the helm of the intelligence agency in April.
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07/02/2014 00:00 ||
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[TIMESOFINDIA.INDIATIMES] The European Court of Human Rights on Tuesday upheld France's controversial burqa ban, rejecting arguments that a 2010 law outlawing full-face veils breaches religious freedom.
In a case brought by a 24-year-old French woman with the support of a British legal team, the court ruled that France was justified in introducing the ban in the interests of social cohesion.
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[DAWN] While an inquiry committee set up by the federal government to ascertain causes of the death of seven airport workers has not put the blame on any individual or institution, it has found that the rescue and emergency agencies are incapable of handling 'such sort of exceptional circumstances' and recommended to the authorities to set up a 'designated department for handling emergencies of this sort', it emerged on Tuesday.
A three-page report of the inquiry committee, headed by Air Commodore Noor Elahi Bajwa and comprising Citizens-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) chief Ahmed Chinoy and senior Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) official Bashir Jan Mohammad, which was recently released to the media, identified weak areas of the rescue operation.
The committee said the loss would have been 'much more' if the security agencies such as Airport Security Force (ASF), police, Rangers and army personnel had not played their role in time and effectively.
Recognising efforts of the security and rescue agencies, the committee, however, during its days-long exercises and investigation found the equipment by workers of the fire department and other institutions concerned much below the required standard to handle the crisis of that magnitude.
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[DAWN] Pakistain on Tuesday reiterated that the ongoing Zarb-e-Azb military offensive, launched to eliminate myrmidon hideouts in the North Wazoo tribal area, would target all bad boys, including the feared Haqqani network.
Briefing a delegation of foreign media news hounds, DG Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Asim Saleem Bajwa ... who is The Very Model of a Modern Major General... insisted the current operation would target "Death Eaters of every hue and colour."
"That means any terrorist who is on the soil of Pakistain right now within the area of operation," he told news hounds.
"The Death Eaters of various hue and colour are not wearing different caps, so this will be an indiscriminate operation — when they (soldiers) go there they will eliminate everyone without discrimination."
The military officials also made it clear that the current operation in North Waziristan Agency was Pakistain Army's own operation and had no involvement of other foreign forces.
"It's wrong to link drone attacks with the ongoing operation," a top military official was quoted as saying during the press briefing.
Minister for States and Frontier Regions (Safron) Abdul Qadir Baloch, speaking at the same briefing, said the government was clear that no one would be allowed to use Pakistain as a base for attacks.
"Anybody who has been involved in terrorist activities, whether he is Haqqani or not Haqqani, is very much included," he said.
The Pak military also demanded Afghanistan help the offensive by stepping up efforts to eliminate the leader of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP), Mullah Fazlullah ...son-in-law of holy man Sufi Mohammad. Known as Mullah FM, Fazlullah had the habit of grabbing his FM mike when the mood struck him and bellowing forth sermons. Sufi suckered the Pak govt into imposing Shariah on the Swat Valley and then stepped aside whilst Fazlullah and his Talibs imposed a reign of terror on the populace like they hadn't seen before, at least not for a thousand years or so. For some reason the Pak intel services were never able to locate his transmitter, much less bomb it. After ruling the place like a conquered province for a year or so, Fazlullah's Talibs began gobbling up more territory as they pushed toward Islamabad, at which point as a matter of self-preservation the Mighty Pak Army threw them out and chased them into Afghanistan... , believed to be in hiding across the border.
Bajwa urged Afghanistan to do more to track down hardline holy man Fazlullah, who took over the TTP leadership last year after previous chief Hakimullah Mehsud was killed by a US drone.
"This is something we have been crying hoarse — this has been raised at every level," he said.
"The leader of the TTP Mullah Fazlullah is sitting across the border in Kunar or Nuristan and Afghanistan needs to do something about it."
There have been fears that the Haqqani network, blamed for numerous deadly attacks on NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A single organization with differing goals, equipment, language, doctrine, and organization.... forces in Afghanistan, would be spared.
US officials have in the past accused Pak intelligence agencies of links to the Haqqani network, with one top military officer once calling the hard boyz a "veritable arm" of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency.
Nearly half a million people have fled the fighting in North Waziristan and Bajwa said the only people left there were bad boys.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... doggedly pursued talks with the TTP from February, but to little avail.
A dramatic attack on Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... airport, killing dozens of people, brought a sudden, bloody end to the grinding of the peace processor and sparked the military offensive.
Rumours of a military operation circulated for months before it actually began and there are fears that hardcore hard boyz — including the Haqqanis — have melted across the porous mountain border with Afghanistan.
Resistance to the military's advance has been relatively light, adding fuel to the argument that the Death Eaters the army has vowed to smash are simply no longer there.
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[DAWN] Taking complete political ownership of the Zarb-e-Azb operation on Tuesday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... said the decision had been taken after exhaustive deliberations.
"Full fledged offensive has now started and all imported muscle and local forces of Evil will be wiped out without exception and no sanctuary will be spared by the Pakistain Armed Forces," the PM said in an official statement.
"The state will enforce its writ in the tribal areas," the PM said in a warning to terrorists.
"We have planned the development of tribal areas after completion of the operation," Nawaz said.
Earlier last month, the Pakistain Army launched its long-awaited major operation 'Zarb-e-Azb' in the tribal region a week after an attack on the airport in Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... , deploying troops, tanks and jets to the area in the crackdown on foreign and local Death Eaters.
PM, PAF chief discuss matters relating to air force
Air Chief Marshal Muhammad Tahir Rafique Butt called on Nawaz on Tuesday and the two discussed professional matters relating to the Pakistain Air Force (PAF).
The meeting was held at the Prime Minister House in the federal capital.
During the meeting, the premier lauded the role of the PAF and said the force was engaged in playing a vital role in preserving the country's defence. He also assured Butt that the government would meet the professional requirements of the PAF.
The air chief apprised the prime minister about PAF's modernisation and upgradation plans which he said were aimed at making it one of the best air forces in the world.
The air chief also informed the premier that steps were being taken for the welfare of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) fleeing North Wazoo and said relief goods by PAF had also been distributed among them.
The air chief said PAF was providing complete air weaponry support to the Pakistain Army for the Zarb-e-Azb operation against foreign and local forces of Evil in the North Waziristan tribal region.
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[DAWN] A district court on Tuesday warned former military ruler Gen (retd) Pervez Perv Musharraf ... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ... against his failure to appear before it on July 23 for a hearing of the Abdul Rasheed Ghazi murder case, saying legal action would be taken against him in case of non-compliance with court directives.
Earlier today, the court had granted Musharraf exemption for Tuesday's appearance in the case and subsequently summoned him as well as his guarantors for the next hearing of the case.
The capital city's additional sessions court judge Wajid Ali heard the case.
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[The Nation (Pak)] 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... Amir Sirajul Haq has demanded that FATA and KPK be declared calamity hit areas and special concessions be announced for the people there in view of the military operation in North Wazoo.
Addressing a presser today, the JI Amir claimed that thousands of Tribal Mohammedans have been martyred in the operation while tens of thousands have been rendered homeless. He said the operation in NWA has once again made people homeless and according to him these people were facing unbearable problems.
Sirajul Haq asked the Prime Minister that instead of sitting in his office in Islamabad, he should visit the IDPs camps in Bannu frequently and personally supervise the relief activities. He also demanded that during the month of Ramzan, each IDP family should be given Rs 50,000 to meet his requirements. He said the religious parties were not taken into confidence about the operation while no arrangements were made in advance to look after the IDPs. He said Jamaat-e-Islami has started its relief work and established nine big relief camps with the facilities of twenty five ambulances and three field hospitals.
He said Al Khidmat Foundation has deployed 2050 volunteers and established three big kitchens for Sehr and Iftar of the IDPs.
He said the arrangements made by the federal government so far are insufficient. He also demanded a time frame for the operation and permission to the IDPs to go anywhere in the country. He said there would be dangerous consequences if the operation continued for an indefinite period. The JI Amir proposed the establishment of a task force comprising all parliamentary parties in the national assembly to monitor the relief and rehabilitation activities.
Asked about the statement of Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who is the lightweight's lightweight... regarding dissolution of Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa Assembly, the JI Amir said his party and the people of KPK would not support that step. He said Imran has the power to decide whether to remain in government or not but he has no authority to dissolve the assembly. He said Long March was the decision of Imran Khan and his party and Jamaat-e-Islami was not consulted.
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[The Nation (Pak)] Election Commission of Pakstan (ECP) provided Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) with the details of Dr. Tahirul Qadri ...Pak politician, and would-be dictator, founder and head of Tehreek-e-Minhajul Quran and Pakistain Awami Tehrik. He usually resides in Canada, but returns to Pakistain periodically to foam at the mouth and lead demonstrations. Depending on which way the wind's blowing, Qadri claims to be the author of Pak's blasphemy law. Other times he says it wasn't him... 's assets on Tuesday.
FIA officials went to the ECP to receive the details of Dr. Tahir ul Qadri's assets, according to a private television channel.
Election Commission compiled Dr. Tahir ul Qadri's assets' details after receiving FIA's letter four days ago.
After approval from the Chief Election Commissioner and the members, Tahir ul Qadri's nomination papers, documents regarding Pakstan Awaami Tehrik's registration and manifesto and assets details were handed over to the FIA officials.
According to the records, Tahir ul Qadri's assets were worth Rs. 99, 00,000 in 2003-04 while the party assets were worth Rs. 350,000 in 2010.
It is worth noting that FIA started probe into the assets of Dr Tahirul Qadri ...Pak politician, and would-be dictator, founder and head of Tehreek-e-Minhajul Quran and Pakistain Awami Tehrik. He usually resides in Canada, but returns to Pakistain periodically to foam at the mouth and lead demonstrations. Depending on which way the wind's blowing, Qadri claims to be the author of Pak's blasphemy law. Other times he says it wasn't him... last Thursday. The FIA had written a letter to Election Commission of Pakstan (ECP) seeking details about the assets belonging to PAT chief.
In its letter to the ECP, the FIA had requested the details about manifesto of Dr. Tahirul Qadri's political party, registration and copies of PAT chief's nomination papers and other details about his assets.
Dr Tahirul Qadri had been elected in the National Assembly in 2002 but later vacated his seat in 2004 mentioning a number of reasons including the broken promises of the then President of Pakstan, Prevez Musharraf on accountability and corruption.
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[The Nation (Pak)] Pakistain on Tuesday rejected claims by senior Afghan officials that Pak troops had been involved in fighting in southern Helmand ...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan... province, where Taliban have taken control of some areas.
Afghan national security advisor, Dr. Rangin Dadfar Spanta, claimed on Monday that Pak forces have direct link in deadly festivities in Sangin district of Helmand province.
"We have seen with deep dismay the allegations by certain Afghan officials seeking to link Pakistain security personnel with the armed festivities in Helmand Province," the Pak Foreign Ministry said.
"We reject these allegations as completely baseless," the Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in a statement.
Spanta told a news conference in Kabul the recent festivities in Helmand and attack on eastern Kunar province ... which is right down the road from Chitral. Kunar is Haqqani country..... s are an "obvious violation by Pakistain".
The Afghan adviser who visited Pakistain for anti-terror talks last week, also said he is still doubtful regarding Pakistain's sincere cooperation in fight against terrorism, despite he called his recent trip to Pakistain satisfactory.
"At a time when Pakistain is engaged in serious efforts with Afghanistan to address common challenges, it is imperative to refrain from making comments that would detract us from our efforts to create a conducive environment for positive and productive engagement," the Pak spokesperson said.
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[The Nation (Pak)] In the wake of the Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... airport attack on June 8 that claimed over two dozen lives, the authorities have now decided to bring administrative changes in the Airport Security Force (ASF) setup.
Under the proposed setup, a retired general will be an administrative official of the ASF. The administrator's deputy will be a brigadier ranked officer.
Sources revealed that the new director general of the ASF would be appointed from the army in the next 24 hours. Once the new administrative changes come into effect, experts from the armed forces will provide training to the ASF sky marshal regarding the use of advanced weapons.
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[An Nahar] Iraq's new parliament broke up in chaos Tuesday, with lawmakers walking out and making threats despite global calls for the formation of a government needed to face a Sunni militant onslaught. After a break called to calm soaring tempers, so many Sunni and Kurdish deputies stayed away that the quorum was lost, so a speaker could not be elected as was constitutionally required, and the session ended in disarray.
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#1
As an aside, this advertisement seems rather optimistic.
[Iraq Sun] Iraq's new parliament has ended its first session without selecting a new prime minister.
The politicians met for the first time Tuesday since being elected in late April, but acting speaker Mahdi al-Hafidh ended the session after a number of members failed to return from a break. He said they would continue in a week if there is a possibility of an agreement.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ... Prime Minister of Iraq and the secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party. Maliki imposed order on Basra wen the Shiites were going nuts, but has proven incapable of dealing with al-Qaeda's Sunni insurgency. Reelected to his third term in 2014... was a favorite to claim his third term after the election, but since then Sunni Islamist snuffies have captured large areas of northern and western Iraq and thrown the country into crisis.
Western leaders have urged Iraqi officials to form an inclusive government to counter sectarian divisions among its Shi'ite, Sunni and Kurdish populations.
Iraq has been operating under a system in which the prime minister is a Shi'ite, the president a Kurd and the head of parliament a Sunni.
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#1
So basically they adopted a hybrid of the parlaimentary model and the Lebanese one. Both of which IMHO are weak by design.
Iraq's new parliament failed to elect a speaker as its first session ended in disarray on Tuesday, with MPs due to meet again in a week. Lawmakers were constitutionally required to choose a speaker in their first session, followed over a period of weeks by the selection of a new president, who names a presumptive prime minister.
But a number of MPs failed to return after a 30-minute break meant to restore order, and the session broke down into a debate over whether there were enough lawmakers present to continue. Eventually, Mahdi Hafez, the MP presiding over the session, said parliament would reconvene on July 8 "if there is the possibility of an agreement".
The legislative chaos comes despite repeated international appeals for unity as Iraq faces a major militant offensive that has overrun swathes of five provinces north and west of Baghdad.
Under de facto agreements after past elections, the parliament speaker has generally been a Sunni, the prime minister a Shia, and the president a Kurd.
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[USATODAY] Iraq's parliament met briefly Tuesday with a view to start forming a new government, and with the focus on whether Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki can stay in power. Another looming question, though, is should this war-torn country be divided into three sectarian zones as a way to bring peace?
Last month's blitzkrieg by Sunni Islamic militants across Iraq's north and west has fragmented this country into distinct regions — the Shiite majority in Baghdad and the south, the minority Sunnis in the north and the semi-autonomous Kurds in the northeast.
The United States is pushing al-Maliki to form a unified government with all three groups, but some wonder if that is possible at this point.
"It is so difficult to predict what will happen," said Omar Mohammed, a dentist in Diyala in eastern Iraq. "I would accept any solution to stop the bloodshed, even if it was a confederation or division."
The quick success by the militants, an al-Qaeda splinter group now calling itself the Islamic State, stems in part from a power vacuum. Citizens in Mosul — the second largest city in Iraq — and other Sunni towns have long resented al-Maliki's Shiite-dominated government as corrupt. They often welcomed the Islamic fighters as an alternative to Iraqi soldiers who behaved more like occupiers than protectors. The soldiers put up almost no resistance and fled before the Islamic State advanced.
"Al-Maliki should step down," said Saif Salah Aldeen Al-Azzawi, a Sunni student in Baghdad who believes the government catered only to Shiites and was too sympathetic to Iran. "Establish a national unity government that rewrites the constitution. They don't believe in coexistence. Their hands are full with Iraqi blood, working for Iran to make Iraq its rear garden."
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[Rantburg, Yahoo News] Ibrahim Awwad Ibrahim Ali al-Badri al-Samarrai, aka Abu Dua, aka Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the newly-declared Caliph of the Islamic State and Galactic Overlord, has claimed dominion over Moslems world-wide and called upon them to support his bloody stump of a "state."
The 19-minute audiotape came two days after the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant unilaterally declared the establishment of an Islamic state, or caliphate, in the land it controls. It also demanded that all Moslems around the world pledge allegiance to him.
The implication of the caliphate and al-Baghdadi's demand is that he displaces al-Qaeda supreme turban Ayman al-Zawahiri and Afghanistan's former Islamic overlord Mullah Omar as the dispenser of all things Islamic.
He said the Islamic state is a land for all Moslems regardless of nationality, telling them it "will return your dignity, might, rights, and leadership."
"It is a state where the Arab and non-Arab, the white man and black man, the easterner and westerner are all brothers," sez he. "Moslems, rush to your state. Yes, it is your state. Rush, because Syria is not for the Syrians, and Iraq is not for the Iraqis. The earth is Allah's."
His Enormity will rule as Caliph Ibrahim. Donations can be made to the Widows and Orphans Ammunition Fund.
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07/02/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
Anti-Bammer "YOU/WE BUILT THAT" ...
versus
* FREEREPUBLIC > [BreitBart Big Peace] ISIS RELEASES MAP OF FIVE YEAR PLAN TO SPREAD FROM SPAIN TO BORDER OF CHINA.
Iff Radical Islam = Hard Boyz take over Russia's + China's + India's nukes ... ...?
UK's? France's???
* RELATED SAME > ISIS LEADER: "SOON ... A DAY WILL COME WHEN THE MUSLIM WILL WALK EVERYWHERE AS A MASTER".
#2
back about 1000 years ago, there was a somewhat famous fatwa which said that Moslems living in infidel lands voluntarily instead of building up the caliphate were sinners. This is because a moslem may not be able to fully practice Islam in such a country (for example because there is no caliphate approved charity to which to donate).
Posted by: lord garth ||
07/02/2014 12:59 Comments ||
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#3
They already infiltrated the UK and the American Whitehouse
[An Nahar] The Qaeda-linked Abdullah Azzam Brigades ... Leb's current al-Qaeda affiliate, named after a guy whose car the current head of al-Qaeda had boomed... on Tuesday demanded Hizbullah ...Party of God, a Leb militia inspired, founded, funded and directed by Iran. Hizbullah refers to itself as The Resistance and purports to defend Leb against Israel, with whom it has started and lost one disastrous war to date, though it did claim victory... to withdraw from Syria "before it is too late," vowing to carry out "successive terrorist acts until security is restored" in the war-torn neighboring country.
"I tell Iran's party to quickly withdraw from Syria before it is too late," the Brigades' spokesperson Sheikh Sirajeddine Zouraykat wrote on his official account on social media website Twitter.
"When we bombed — with God's help — the Iranian embassy, and then (Iran's) cultural center to secure victory for the oppressed in Syria and Leb and to respond to the aggression, they called this terrorism," he said.
"And if terrorism is the answer to your crimes, expect more successive terrorist acts that will make you forget all previous rounds until security is restored in Syria," the Brigade's spokesperson warned.
Zouraykat elaborated on what he considers to be the party's activities in Leb and Syria: "Hizbullah's terrorism in Leb was manifested in the attack on al-Taqwa and al-Salam mosques in Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... (in northern Leb), in burning down the Bilal (bin Rabah) mosque in Abra (neighborhood in the southern city of Sidon), in killing sheikhs and youngsters on the streets, and in arbitrary arrests."
Meanwhile, ...back at the revival hall, the pastor had finally been wrestled from the pulpit. Y'got the wrong guy! he yelled just before Sergeant Malone's billy club landed... the "terrorism" of Iran's party in Syria according to the Brigades was manifested in "killing women and kiddies in Aleppo, in besieging Eastern Ghouta (near Damascus), in occupying al-Qalamoun (on the border), in shelling peaceful citizens in southern Damascus, and in continuing to support (Syrian President) Bashar (Assad)."
Zouraykat also considered that Hizbullah was behind the bombing attacks that targeted former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, former army chief Francois al-Hajj, late MP Walid Eido, journalist and activist Samir Kassir, slain chief of the Intelligence Bureau of the Internal Security Forces Wissam al-Hassan, former Finance Minister Mohammed Shatah, and "a long list that the Lebanese are aware of."
The Abdullah Azzam Brigades had claimed the deadly attack that targeted the Iranian embassy in the southern suburbs of Beirut in November.
At least 23 people were killed and 150 maimed in the Bir Hassan twin suicide kabooms.
The bad boy group also claimed the two suicide kabooms that went off near an Iranian cultural center in Beirut's southern suburbs in February 2014.
The blasts killed six people and maimed over 130 others.
The Brigades have repeatedly called on Hizbullah to withdraw from Syria and the release of Islamist inmates in Roumieh prison in order to stop the attacks on the party's stronghold.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
See also DAILY STAR LEBANON > AZZAM BRIGADES DARE HEZBOLLAH TO COME TO IRAQ.
To face the heat of Mano-a-Mano Battle + Sunni Islam???
[PJMedia] United Nations ...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships... Sherlocks have determined that Iran has been violating the arms embargo as the U.S. heads back to the negotiating table with the Islamic Theocratic Republic over its nuclear program.
Rooters reported Friday on a confidential report that found Iran shipping arms to Sudan.
The UN panel concluded that a shipment of rockets and other weapons, concealed on the Klos C and seized by Israel in March, originated from Iran and could have been headed to Sudan as a transit point for Gazoo or points in Northern Africa.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-Calif.) called the report "more evidence of Iran's destructive and destabilizing role in the region."
"Iran was caught red-handed — this shipment is likely the tip of the iceberg. This report should be released for all to see," Royce said.
"During testimony in front of the Committee in March, Secretary Kerry pledged to take action once all the facts are known—I urge him to do so now," the chairman added.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
07/02/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
Won't make any difference. The administration desperately wants a deal.
[Iran Press TV] The Islamic Theocratic Republic of Iran will not send armed forces to fight against Takfiri ...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who most be killed... hard boyz in Iraq but will help Baghdad if it demands military equipment, a high-rankling diplomat says.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks during a visit to Moscow where he held talk with Russian officials on Tuesday.
"If Iraq ever requires our arms for an effective combat against terrorism, we will provide these arms in accordance with international law and our bilateral contracts," he said.
Although Iraq has a strong army, Iran is ready to send military consultants to the neighboring country to help with battles against the al-Qaeda splinter Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ... the current version of al-Qaeda in Iraq, just as blood-thirsty and well-beloved as the original... (ISIL), Amir-Abdollahian noted.
Referring to recent remarks by the leaders of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, he said the Kurdish leaders should face reality.
The Iranian diplomat noted that all Iraqi factions should respect the country's constitution, stressing the necessity to prevent the country from breaking up.
Earlier in the day, Massoud Barzani ... hereditary head of the Kurdish Democratic Party, maybe a little too close to the Medes and the Persians for most people's tastes... , the president of Kurdistan region, said he intended to hold a referendum on the region's independence within months.
"From now on, we won't hide that that's our goal. Iraq is effectively partitioned now. Are we supposed to stay in this tragic situation the country's living? It's not me who will decide on independence. It's the people. We'll hold a referendum and it's a matter of months," Barzani said.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/02/2014 00:00 ||
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Yuuup, Tehran will be sending its Air Force instead, on anti-ISIS strike missions.
At last check, Iran is keeping 10,000 ground troops in ready reserve at its border wid Iraq.
[IsraelTimes] Support for terrorist groups Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, and Hezbollah has slipped across the Middle East, according to a poll released Wednesday by the Pew Research Center's Global Attitudes Project.
The survey was conducted in April and May 2014 (before the ISIL offensive in Iraq) among 14,244 respondents in 14 countries with significant Moslem populations.
Hezbollah is seen unfavorably in almost every Middle Eastern country. It does not poll much better in Africa or Asia, Pew found.
In its home country of Leb, 59 percent have an unfavorable view of the Shiite organization. Not surprisingly, 88% of Lebanese Sunni and 69% of its Christians disapprove of the party/terrorist group.
Still, 86% of the country's Shia approve of Hezbollah.
Citizens of majority-Sunni countries across the region largely disapproved of Hezbollah, including Egypt (83%), Jordan (81%), Turkey (85%), and Tunisia (53%).
Negative opinions of the group have risen dramatically since 2007, the year after the month-long war between Israel and Hezbollah. In 2007, only 41% of Egyptians and 44% of Jordanians disapproved of the organization.
Since then, brutal sectarian fighting has broken out across the Middle East between Shiites and Sunnis. The violence has been especially bloody in Syria, where Hezbollah has openly sent thousands of fighters to support dictator Bashir al-Assad in his fight against Sunni rebels.
Most Paleostinians (55%) see the group negatively. The Gazoo Strip (69%) is much more hostile to Hezbollah than the West Bank (46%).
Israeli Arabs are actually less opposed to Hezbollah than Gazook Paleostinians, with only 65% disapproving of the organization.
Hamas's favorability ratings are only marginally better. In Turkey, whose government supported the Mavi Marmara ship which tried to reach the Hamas-run Gazoo Strip, 80% disapprove of the group.
Egypt (61%), Jordan (61%), and Leb (65%) all are heavily anti-Hamas. Somewhat paradoxically, 55% of Leb's Shia have a favorable view of the Sunni group.
The group doesn't do any better among the Paleostinians for whom it purports to fight — but, paradoxically, Hamas is far more unpopular in the Gazoo Strip (63%) it dominates than in the Paleostinian Authority-run West Bank (47%).
Its support has dropped among Paleostinians since it forcibly took over the Gazoo Strip. In 2007, Hamas enjoyed a 62% favorable rating, which fell to only 35% in 2014.
Negative opinions of Hamas have grown 12% in Tunisia over the past year, and 8% in Egypt.
Of all the countries surveyed, Paleostinians were the most likely to support suicide kabooms against civilian targets "in order to defend Islam from its enemies." Sixty-two percent of Gazooks said it was often or sometimes justifiable, while 36% of West Bank residents said the same. Bangladeshi Moslems were also somewhat supportive of suicide kabooms.
Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal, right, is greeted by Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan ... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi only they haven't dumped him yet... in Ankara, Turkey, March 16, 2012 (photo credit: AP/Yasin Bulbul)
The Pew survey found that support for suicide kabooms has fallen sharply since 2001.
Support for al-Qaeda is low across the Middle East, with Israel (97%) and Leb (96%) showing the highest levels of disapproval.
The Paleostinians are the most supportive of al-Qaeda among all groups surveyed, with 25% seeing the organization in a favorable light.
The study also found that concern about Islamic extremism is high across the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. The levels of concern are on the rise.
[Tampa Bay Times] WASHINGTON Just weeks before Blackwater guards fatally shot 17 civilians at Baghdad's Nisour Square in 2007, the State Department began investigating the security contractor's operations in Iraq. But the inquiry was abandoned after Blackwater's top manager there issued a threat: "that he could kill" the government's chief investigator and "no one could or would do anything about it as we were in Iraq," according to department reports. The Congress of the United States should take a very long hard look at these Private Military Companies (PSC) employed by both the Foggy Bottom and the Klingons.
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.
[DAWN] Pakistain on Tuesday reiterated that the ongoing Zarb-e-Azb military offensive, launched to eliminate
[DAWN] Taking complete political ownership of the Zarb-e-Azb operation on Tuesday, Prime Minister 
Wazoo
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Wazoo
[The Nation (Pak)] Election Commission of Pakstan (ECP) provided Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) with the details of Dr. 
[The Nation (Pak)] Pakistain on Tuesday rejected claims by senior Afghan officials that Pak troops had been involved in fighting in southern 
[The Nation (Pak)] In the wake of the 
Nouri al-Maliki
Iraq's new parliament failed to elect a speaker as its first session ended in disarray on Tuesday, with MPs due to meet again in a week. Lawmakers were constitutionally required to choose a speaker in their first session, followed over a period of weeks by the selection of a new president, who names a presumptive prime minister.
[Rantburg, Yahoo News] Ibrahim Awwad Ibrahim Ali al-Badri al-Samarrai, aka Abu Dua, aka Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the newly-declared Caliph of the Islamic State and Galactic Overlord, has claimed dominion over Moslems world-wide and called upon them to support his bloody stump of a "state."
[Iran Press TV] The 
Massoud Barzani
