The Taliban has retaken control of about 10 percent of Afghanistan's territory, less than seven years after being run out of the country by US military forces, intelligence officials told Congress Wednesday. "The Taliban was able to control ... in the area about 10 to 11 percent of the country," Mike McConnell, US Director of National Intelligence (DNI) said in testimony before the Senate's Armed Services Committee.
The US-backed Hamid Karzai government meanwhile, controls just "30, 31 percent, and then the rest of it was local control," McConnell told lawmakers.
Another top intelligence official, General Michael Maples, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency told lawmakers that the gains can be attributed in part to aid from the Al-Qaeda international terror network. "We believe that Al-Qaeda has expanded its support to the Afghan insurgency," Maples said at the hearing.
Afghanistan has in the last year seen its most violent period since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, increasing pressure on the United States and its allies in NATO to beef up their military contingents to avoid the country falling again to the radical Islamists. "At the same time, Al-Qaeda presents an increased threat to Pakistan, while it continues to plan, support and direct transnational attacks from its de facto safe haven in Pakistan's largely ungoverned frontier provinces," Maples told the senators at the hearing.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/28/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
The taliban control 0% since they can't stop western or Afghan forces from walking in at any time. They only temporarily occupy space until they attract attention. Then they occupy a plot 6 ft by 2 ft.
Posted by: ed ||
02/28/2008 8:49 Comments ||
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#2
That 10% is most likely worthless, mountainous land adjacent to Pakistan, where the Taliban are indistinguishable from the local Pushtun, and are pretty much day laborers for anybody with money.
Around 10,000 angry Sudanese marched through Khartoum on Wednesday, carrying banners and shouting slogans against a Denmark newspaper which had published blasphemous cartoons.
Organised by a number of Islamist movements, the rapidly swelling crowd demanded diplomatic ties with Denmark be severed and voiced support for a boycott of Danish produce. University students, school pupils and men dressed in traditional white robes and turbans as well as Western dress, marched from Khartoum University shouting Bin Laden strike again.
Al Qaeda mastermind Osama bin Laden lived in Sudan during the 1990s. Carrying banners scrawled with slogans such as We all sacrifice our lives for the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) and cut Danish produce, the crowd arrived in a festive mood, dancing to live music and drum beats, before turning angry.
Western embassies urged foreign nationals to steer clear of the rally. On Monday, Sudans trade ministry declared a national boycott of Danish produce on the orders of President Omar al-Beshir with importers instructed not to buy further products from the Scandinavian country.
Last Friday, several hundred Sudanese demonstrated in the capital calling for an end to diplomatic relations with Denmark and a trade boycott.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/28/2008 00:00 ||
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A culture of impunity is the root cause of Somalia's humanitarian and political crisis and unless the world urgently addresses it, war crimes and crimes against humanity will continue unabated, a civil society activist has told IRIN. "No one has ever been held accountable for these crimes," Marian Hussein Awreeye, chairwoman of the Isma'il Jimale Human Rights Centre, said. "If they had charged even one warlord, it would have been an example and would have discouraged would-be warlords from committing atrocities."
Over 17 years, she said, hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced inside and outside the country, while thousands have been killed. Awreeye accused the international community of turning a blind eye to events in Somalia, "making it possible for people to continue committing crimes and getting away with it".
She said many Somalis were disappointed when the UN Security Council recently renewed the mandate of the African Union peacekeeping force in the country, but failed to "even send warnings or threats of referral to the International Criminal Court [in The Hague], to those who committed horrific crimes. "Unless the international community seriously deals with the issue, any hope for lasting peace and stability will fade," she said.
Daniela Kroslak, deputy director of the Africa programme at the International Crisis Group, told IRIN that referring crimes committed in Somalia to the ICC may "not necessarily be the best tool to provide accountability. In the case of Somalia, transitional justice processes are more conducive to produce accountability at all levels and produce more results in such a fragile peace process," she said.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/28/2008 00:00 ||
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LONDON - British police said Wednesday they foiled a suspected plot to murder King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia when he made a state visit here last year. Detective Superintendent Mark Holmes, head of the National Terrorist Financial Investigation Unit, said they disrupted the plot, which they believe was being masterminded by Saudi dissidents.
They don't use the word 'dissident' in this case the way we ordinarily do ...
We seized 330,000 US dollars (220,000 euros) in a cash disruption exercise at (Londons main) Heathrow airport, he told a counter-terrorism conference of Britains most senior police officers in Brighton, on Englands south coast. The money was coming to the United Kingdom for distribution around UK-based Saudi dissidents. We suspect this was going to be used to facilitate the murder of Crown Prince (King) Abdullah.
The money, found on a courier stopped at the airport after a tip-off from an informant, was made up of 100-dollar bills. But detectives said there was insufficient evidence to bring charges against the cash smuggler.
Now if he'd been bringing in 200-dollar bills it would be different ...
Holmes, whose unit includes officers from British intelligence and the governments revenue and customs department, said the case showed how money was an essential resource for any active extremist network.
Brilliant, Holmes, brilliant ...
King Abdullah visited Britain as part of a European tour last October-the first Saudi monarch to do so for two decades-and met Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Queen Elizabeth II. But his visit, although high on pomp and ceremony, was also controversial and he faced protests from human rights activists and anti-arms trade campaigners.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/28/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Too bad....
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
02/28/2008 19:59 Comments ||
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The Muslim spiritual leader of a group of men charged with planning violent jihad in Australia, was not a terrorist and was not plotting to kill former Prime Minister John Howard, his lawyer told a court on Wednesday. Australias biggest terrorism trial has heard that 12 Muslim men, including spiritual leader Abdul Nacer Benbrika, had talked about staging a bombing attack that would force Australia to withdraw its troops from Iraq. Australia has about 550 combat troops in Iraq, which it plans to withdraw by about the middle of 2008.
Australia also has about 1,000 troops in Afghanistan. Benbrika, 47, who praised al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden as a great man, told the group that Australia was a land at war and jihad was justified, the prosecutor has told the court.
He is a man who is not a terrorist, defence lawyer Remy van de Wiel said on Wednesday in opening his case, reported Australian Associated Press from the court. He said the group was not a terrorist organisation, it did not have weapons, explosives or ammunition and did not have a plot to kill Howard. The prosecutor said police raids on the mens homes had found literature on how to make bombs and video tapes with messages from Osama bin Laden and showing beheadings.
This article starring:
ABDUL NACER BENBRIKA
Takfir wal-Hijra
Posted by: Fred ||
02/28/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
He is a man who is not a terrorist,
Well Remy he is a Muzzie so you are wrong on both counts.
The Red-Green Alliance's earlier parliamentary candidate, Asmaa Abdol-Hamid, has stated she is taking a one-year break from the party and will not run in the next election due to the uproar over her wearing a headscarf.
Abdol-Hamid has been a controversial figure in Danish politics since she was selected as an MP candidate last year. She has since made several unpopular comments based on her Muslim faith and is again in the news for saying she would not remove her headscarf if she were to address the assembly.
In the last election, Abdol-Hamid was not selected for a seat because the Red-Green Party secured only four parliamentary seats and already had sitting MP's to fill those slöts.
Abdol-Hamid told Politiken newspaper she was disappointed in both her critics and her own party. 'I have to admit that my disappointment in the left wing hasn't waned,' she said. 'And while there's all this hubbub out there over Muslims, with one over-the-top suggestion after the other, the Red-Green Alliance has been disturbingly silent.'
Abdol-Hamid also said she was troubled by comments from Socialist People's Party leader Villy Søvndal telling members of radical Muslim group Hizb ut-Tahrir they could 'go to hell'. The Muslim politician did say, however, that she would remain with the Red-Green Alliance and would likely run for MP again after returning from her break.
Seems they have covered all the other stories. I have a suggestion: compare/contrast the 'everybody wins' sports rules -vs- nazification of german sports 1933.
this cretinous loser keeps beating this dead horse, but ignoring YOUR national safety in thrall to their leftist fringe and trial lawyer remoras. Keep digging, Nancy, a zero % approval's gotta be down there somewhere
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi asked the Justice Department on Thursday to open a grand jury investigation into whether President Bush's chief of staff and former counsel should be prosecuted for contempt of Congress.
Pelosi, D-Calif., demanded that the department pursue misdemeanor charges against former White House counsel Harriet Miers for refusing to testify to Congress about the firings of federal prosecutors in 2006 and against chief of staff Josh Bolten for failing to turn over White House documents related to the dismissals.
She gave Attorney General Michael Mukasey one week to respond and said refusal to take the matter to a grand jury will result in the House's filing a civil lawsuit against the Bush administration.
The White House branded the request as "truly contemptible." The Justice Department had no immediate comment. The top House Republican called it "a partisan political stunt" and "a complete waste of time," according to a spokesman.
The Democratic-controlled House voted two weeks ago to hold Bolten and Miers in contempt for failing to cooperate with committee investigations.
"There is no authority by which persons may wholly ignore a subpoena and fail to appear as directed because a president unilaterally instructs them to do so," Pelosi wrote Mukasey. She noted that Congress subpoenaed Miers to appear before the House Judiciary Committee, which is investigating the firings.
"Surely, your department would not tolerate that type of action if the witness were subpoenaed to a federal grand jury," Pelosi wrote.
She added: "Short of a formal assertion of executive privilege, which cannot be made in this case, there is no authority that permits a president to advise anyone to ignore a duly issued congressional subpoena for documents."
Pelosi sent an additional letter to U.S. Attorney Jeff Taylor, the chief federal prosecutor for the District of Columbia, whose office would oversee the grand jury. The letters point to sections of federal law that require the Justice Department to bring the House contempt citations before a grand jury to investigate.
At the White House, spokesman Tony Fratto said House Democrats "have been trying to redefine the notion of contempt and they succeeded." contempt? I feel it
Both Fratto and House GOP leader John Boehner said the House should focus on passing legislation allowing the government to more easily eavesdrop on phone calls and e-mails of suspected terrorists.
"Rather than passing critical national security legislation, they continue to squander time on partisan hijinx," Fratto said. Boehner spokesman Michael Steel said "this sort of pandering to the left-wing fever swamps of loony liberal activists does nothing to make America safer."
The Justice Department historically has resisted directing its prosecutors to enforce congressional subpoenas against White House officials. Fratto referred questions to the department and noted the agency "has longstanding views on this question, which they have repeated recently."
The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. John Conyers, said he hoped Pelosi's demand would spur the department to "put the partisan manipulation of our system of justice behind it" and take the issue to a grand jury. "To do otherwise would turn on its head the notion that we are all equally accountable under the law," said Conyers, D-Mich.
The letter was the latest chapter in a yearlong saga that began with the firings of nine federal prosecutors and led to Alberto Gonzales' resignation as attorney general last August.
The House voted 223-32 this month to hold Miers and Bolten in contempt for failing to cooperate with an inquiry into whether the prosecutors' firings were politically motivated. Angry Republicans boycotted the vote and staged a walkout in an unusually bitter scene even for the fractious House.
At the time, the Bush administration was no less harsh, saying the information sought by the House was off-limits under executive privilege and that Bolten and Miers were immune from prosecution. The White House said the department would not ask the U.S. attorney to pursue the House contempt charges.
It was the first time in 25 years that a full chamber of Congress voted on a contempt of Congress citation. The White House pointed out that it was the first time that such action had been taken against top White House officials who had been instructed by the president to remain silent to preserve executive privilege.
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/28/2008 19:40 ||
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#1
Jeebus! Who's the moron that didn't catch the headline typo in preview??? Oh, wait....
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/28/2008 19:46 Comments ||
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#2
Contempt of Congress? She gonna rent out FedEx Field for the show trials? Gonna send out the subpeonas with everybody's rebate checks?
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., continued to attack Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., today for suggesting during a Democratic debate that after withdrawing combat troops from Iraq, Obama, as commander in chief, would be willing to send U.S. troops back into Iraq "if al Qaeda is forming a base" there.
"The fact is, al Qaeda is in Iraq," McCain said. "Al Qaeda is in Iraq today. If we left Iraq there's no doubt that al Qaeda would then gain control in Iraq and pose a threat to the United States of America. Ask anyone who knows about the situation on the ground in Iraq. I look forward to continuing this debate."
The remarks constituted the third time in one day that McCain had assailed the Democratic front-runner for his comment, in what seemed a preview of the general election matchup.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/28/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Obama plans to disarm America. McCain needs to hammer this home again and again.
#2
MCCAIN himself has reportedly said it will be the Iraqis whom will eventually take charge from the US-Brits of combatting any local insurgency, indic that a MCCAIN ADMIN IS ANTICIPATING INSURGENT/ISLAMIST VIOLENCE TO CONTINUE IN IRAQ-AFGHANI FOR A LONG TIME YET. Iff he hasn't already, Johnny should expect the Dems to hit him on this one.
#3
Obama fired back that he knew AlQ was in Iraq, but that they were there only because of W's invasion.
Well, suppose it's entirely true. Then so what? Would you rather they be scattered throughout the world wherever they choose for their own strategic reasons, or would you rather they be brought to a head at the place of your choice where you can deal with them where they should be dealt with: In their own back yards. I'm sure O's next argument would be that if W hadn't attacked, that they would all have remained innocent cobblers or something. I'm curious how O would have dealt with them. Would he deny their existance or the need to deal with them, or would he just wish them away?
#5
Obama fired back that he knew AlQ was in Iraq, but that they were there only because of W's invasion.
Still doesn't change the fact they're still there now [and making our job easier than chasing them down elsewhere]. And let's remember that Saint F Roosevelt invaded French North Africa where there were no Germans either [and Vichy France was a neutral there being no American declaration of war or authorization to use force]. We ended up fighting Germans eventually though.
#6
Sen Obama is a victim of his own consultants here (who in turn are the victims of their own rhetoric).
However, he is bright enough that he will be expanding his remarks pretty soon to try to blur the Al Qaeda issue. I wouldn't be surprized to have him schedule a major address on this.
#7
I want these 2 jerks to focus the debate on the issue of amnesty. That's the only place McCain can win votes, and he better wake up and take a stand with one foot on Bush's throat.
No amnesty, no illegals, no NAU.
If McCain fails to be absolutly clear on this issue, then he loses.
And good riddance.
#8
Captured Document: Zarqawi in Iraq Long Before the War Started This is a letter from an Iraqi intelligence officer dated August/7/2002 (7/8/2002 per Iraqi date numbering system) talking about the presence of individuals from Al Qaeda inside Iraq and that they possess multiple passports. The has attached pictures of Ahmad Fadil Nazal AlKhalayla that we know him by his nick name of Zarqawi (Abu Musaab Al Zarqawi) and some other individual.
Page 7 translation:
Secretary 384 7/8/2002
In the name of God the Merciful
From I.M 53/1/5
Document No 513387 per our letter 3077 in 23/6/2002 and in reference to proclamation illegible number numbered 9096 in 8/1/2002. Information are available from a trusted source about the individual existence of illegible word our letter above inside the country and they are accused of dealing with the Al Qaeda organization that is lead by the Saudi Osama Bin Laden and they possess more than one passport. illegible word to the respectful Mr. Director of the apparatus illegible word 515 to direct your sources to track the existence of the people mentioned above within your work domain and inform us in case you prove this 515. illegible words your view to inspect the pictures of those mentioned with the pictures of the Jordanian community with your work domain 535 illegible word tourist hotels, residential apartments, rented homes. Relate the subject illegible words with our boss.
Posted by: ed ||
02/28/2008 9:43 Comments ||
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#9
Obama is a stupid f**k if he thinks that reasoning means anything.
Fact is AQ is in Iraq. We are KILLING them there. THey are starting to fail.
McCain is talking about how to deal with the facts that exist, and how to win, something vital for the nation.
Obama, the f**king moron, is ignoring what we must do to deal with the facts at hand, and is instead talking about who to blame, something divisive and counterproductive.
#11
Obama wants us out of Iraq so he can use the money we spend there to socialize medicine.
McCain, if he has any smarts at all, should make that clear. Then press the point that most of the honest, hard working Americans would rather have tax relief and a balanced budget than socialized medicine for the fat, lazy, stupid, cigarette smoking degenerates who don't have enough ambition to get a job and get their own health insurance.
Obama is so weak on this issue that it's pathetic.
Maybe that's why McCain thinks he can ignore those of us whom he's alienated by his immigration policies. Smart by very, very cynical. I feel sick to my stomach.
#12
I have had concerns about the first debate between McCain and the O -- simply how that looks on camera. Kinda that Kennedy - Nixon thing. Young vs Old.
But after listening to McCain talking to the O yesterday and today, maybe McCain will have his (older) Senator Lloyd Bentsen line that he delivered to (younger) Dan Quayle, "Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy: I knew Jack Kennedy; Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy."
Maybe McCain just might have some war image he can deliver to O on this war stuff..... and the press would have to cover it!
Might not help, however, since Quayle and George HW Bush won that election.
#13
Sherry - I heard that at the time (God help me, I actually listened to a political "debate"), and my first thought was I wish Quayle would have immediately come back with, "Neither was he."
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
02/28/2008 20:04 Comments ||
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Pakistan came up again as Hillary Clinton and Barrack Obama sparred with each other in their last debate on Monday night, six days before the crucial Texas and Ohio primaries. If Clinton loses those two states, she is out of the race for her partys presidential nomination.
Clinton said, Senator Obama ... last summer, he basically threatened to bomb Pakistan, which I dont think was a particularly wise position to take. I have long advocated a much tougher approach to Musharraf and to Pakistan and have pushed the White House to do that. And I disagree with his [Obamas] continuing to say that he would meet with some of the worst dictators in the world without preconditions and without the real, you know, understanding of what we would get from them.
Obama was quick to react with, With respect to Pakistan, I never said I would bomb Pakistan. What I said was that if we have actionable intelligence against [Osama] Bin Laden or other key Al Qaeda officials and we and Pakistan is unwilling or unable to strike against them, we should. And just several days ago, in fact, this administration did exactly that and took out the third-ranking Al Qaeda official. That is the position we should have taken in the first place.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/28/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
If something good happens, it should've been done sooner. Otherwise, if it hasn't happened yet, it's bad, and we should effect change to get it to be changed to something good, so that it should've been done sooner.
Posted by: Obama Bobby ||
02/28/2008 6:03 Comments ||
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#2
Beautiful snark, I got whiplash on the third reversal.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
02/28/2008 13:18 Comments ||
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White House hopeful Barack Obama Tuesday stressed his stalwart support for Israel and ties to the Jewish community after receiving unwelcome backing from a militant Muslim leader. Obama said the repeated anti-Israel and anti-Jewish tirades of Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who has endorsed the Illinois senators presidential run, were unacceptable and reprehensible.
I have been very clear in my denunciation of his anti-Semitic comments, Obama said at a presidential debate with Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, insisting he had not sought Farrakhans endorsement in any way. Asked about his own Chicago pastors warm words for Farrakhan in the past, Obama insisted I have some of the strongest support from the Jewish community. And the reason is because I have been a stalwart friend of Israels. I think they are one of our most important allies in the region, and I think that their security is sacrosanct, he said.
Clinton weighed in to argue that she had taken a principled stand against the minor Independence Party in New York state, which was under the control of people who were anti-semitic, anti-Israel during her 2000 Senate run. And it looked as though I might pay a price for that. But I would not be associated with people who said such inflammatory and untrue charges against either Israel or Jewish people in our country, the New York senator said. Clinton also suggested that Obamas remarks on Farrakhan had been weak, arguing he should reject the 74-year-old Nation of Islam figurehead rather than denounce him.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/28/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
I have been very clear in my denunciation of his anti-Semitic comments, ...but all that other stuff about "blue eye devils" and the like is quite accurate.
#7
Thanks SR - thats very telling (but not suprising....) that Obama's actions (having a rabid anti-israeli as a top foreign policy advisor) and his words are opposite.
The president of Pakistan's episcopal conference called on the government to protect Christians in the wake of increased violence and pressure to convert to Islam.
In a statement coinciding with last week's presidential elections, Archbishop Lawrence Saldanha of Lahore described to Aid to the Church in Need the growing "hatred and intolerance" of militant groups whom, he said, were contravening Pakistan's constitution by trying to force Christians to turn to Islam.
Archbishop Saldanha highlighted the case of a young Catholic father of four who was kidnapped and threatened with death.
During his captivity, last month, the banker, whom the archbishop referred to as Haroon, was ordered to phone his wife and tell her that he would be killed if she dared to inform the police. He was later able to escape.
His kidnappers are part of Jamaat-ul-Dawah, which has been classified as a terrorist organization by the United Kingdom, Pakistan and other countries.
Stressing how religious freedom is enshrined in Pakistan's constitution, Archbishop Saldanha called on the government to crack down on extremism.
He wrote: "Haroon's story illustrates a new trend that underlines the difficulties and pressures of living in a land where extremism is growing and there is little tolerance for people who are non-Muslims.
"Especially Christians who live in remote and isolated towns are vulnerable. Here the level of hatred and intolerance is even more intense.
"Fortunately Haroon is an educated man and strong in his Catholic faith. He was able to resist his attackers."
Forced marriages
In the message, Archbishop Saldanha went on to describe the plight of Christian girls who are abducted and forced to marry Muslim boys and change their religion.
These events follow warnings issued by Archbishop Saldanha last May that Muslim extremists were now trying to force Christians to convert by threatening violence.
In an interview with Aid to the Church in Need, the archbishop highlighted a case where about 500 Christians had received anonymous letters warning of violent retribution if a mass conversion to Islam did not follow within 10 days.
Yet more evidence that India knows who its friends are in troubled times ... and who amongst its friends can actually help.
NEW DELHI - India will jointly build a surface-to-air missile with its second biggest weapons supplier Israel and hopes for such collaborations with other countries, the defence minister said Wednesday. A project has been finalised with (state-run) Israeli Aerospace Industry for the joint development of a futuristic long range surface-to-air missile, Defence Minister A.K. Antony announced in parliament.
He did not give details of the project but others said New Delhi earlier this month had approved the 625-million-dollar joint venture with the Jewish state to build the anti-aircraft missiles for the Indian navy.
Antony said Indias ambitious missile development programme launched in 1983 was nearing its completion following the successful trials and mass production of an array of ballistic and guided missiles. The countrys Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme has not been abandoned, but it is now near completion, Antony said. India has received a number of offers for the joint collaboration in various kinds of missiles from various countries, Antony said without giving details.
Antony meanwhile said India was giving up a project to locally build a short-range surface-to-air missile called Trishul (Trident). The project has been dogged by frequent failures during trials in the past few years.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/28/2008 00:00 ||
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WAFF.com > IRANIAN OFFICIAL: THE COUNTDOWN FOR THE END OF ISRAEL HAS BEGUN.
NASA has said that the NORTH ARCTIC WILL BE ICE FREE BY 2013, + ARCTIC DOOMSDAY SEED VAULT, both of which have gener affirmed old dreams/visions of mine, and which basically has also indirectly = roundaboutly narrowed the timeline scope for ISRAELI INTEL.
#2
ION, REDDIT > NASA TO SMASH TWO SPACECRAFT ON MOON'S SURFACE ON PURPOSE. IMO, PDeniability > says mission is ostensibly officially for USGovt-NASA purposes other Year 2030, Comet APOPHIS?, + WORLD SEEING MASSIVE MOON EXPLOSIONS???
#3
And India's former President, a Muslim, proposes greater space cooperation...
Kalam proposes joint investment in space by India, Israel
Tel Aviv (PTI): India and Israel should consider jointly investing up to USD one billion in selected areas in space technology based on their mutual core competence, former Indian President APJ Abdul Kalam said here on Wednesday.
"India and Israel should consider investing in equitable proportion to the tune of $ 1 billion investment for implementing certain selected missions based on the mutual core competence," Kalam, the keynote speaker at Israel Annual Conference on Aerospace Sciences here, told an august audience while laying out his 'World Space Vision 2050'.
Pointing towards the large number of satellites in the geosynchronous orbit leading to a "clutter", Kalam, a renowned rocket scientist, emphasised on the need of immediate steps to enhance cooperation between the space-faring nations.
As a first step towards achieving these goals, Kalam suggested that the Indian and Israel aerospace agencies should consider establishing a world knowledge platform to enable joint design, development, cost effective production and marketing of the aerospace systems and products.
Posted by: john frum ||
02/28/2008 6:01 Comments ||
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#4
But the Paleos need not worry... a statement from the Indian foreign ministry will express support - tea and sympathy and all that...
Posted by: john frum ||
02/28/2008 6:04 Comments ||
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ISLAMABAD - Pakistani opposition parties which inflicted a crushing defeat on President Pervez Musharrafs allies in last weeks election vowed on Wednesday to banish the military from politics.
At a show of strength gathering attended by 171 National Assembly members-elect, they also called on President Pervez Musharraf to immediately summon parliament so they can show they have the majority needed to choose the next prime minister.
While Musharraf did not take part in the Feb. 18 parliamentary elections, the main party that backs him suffered heavy losses, largely because of the presidents unpopularity and anger over rising prices and food shortages.
The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) of assassinated former prime minister Benazir Bhutto won the most seats but not enough to form a government on its own. The Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) of another former prime minister, Uncle Fester Nawaz Sharif, came second and the two parties are in talks, along with a smaller third group, on a coalition government that could force Musharraf from power.
Gomez Asif Ali Zardari, Bhuttos widower who now leads the PPP, said the opposition should work together to end the supremacy of the military-led establishment. I think the homage to my ... wife would be that we unite together, we take democracy, we take power for parliament and once and for all, finish the establishment, Zardari told the meeting.
Sharif assured Zardari that his party would extend full support to him, although he did not say his party would accept cabinet posts. Some senior officials in Sharifs party have said it might support the PPP, but not serve in the government. We must see that we have a long-lasting democracy in this country and abandon the role of the army and the military in the politics of Pakistan forever, Sharif said. This is what we should be striving for.
Zardari did not mention Musharraf, but Sharif said the people had sent him a message on election day. It should be amply clear to him that the nation has given its verdict against dictatorship, Sharif said.
Musharraf has rejected opposition calls to resign and has said he was ready to work with whoever becomes prime minister.
Confrontation between the president and a hostile parliament in nuclear-armed Pakistan could prolong instability, which allies fear could distract attention from the battle against rising militant violence.
Is there anything in Pakiwakiland that doesn't prolong instability?
Bhutto and Sharif were arch rivals in the 1990s when they both ruled as prime minister twice, but they became allies in opposition to Musharraf.
Sharif said the opposition parties would end up with two-thirds of National Assembly seats and he called on Musharraf to call the session as soon as the Election Commission issues official results. It is expected to declare results by Saturday. We are not prepared to wait for a single more day for the assembly to be convened, he said.
Neither Zardari nor Sharif contested elections and a senior PPP leader, Makhdoom Amin Faheem, is expected to be nominated for the post of prime minister.
Brave lads. Just wait til Faheem is the PM and realizes that he, with the army chief, could be running the whole show ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/28/2008 00:00 ||
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Whilst the crazed Talibs try to drag their marginally saner countrymen back to the 11th Century, India moves smartly into the 21st ...
NEW DELHI - India and the United States on Wednesday held talks to enhance defence ties and said they will work on removing differences in connection with wide-ranging defence pacts to ensure greater military cooperation. The discussions between US Defence Secretary Robert Gates and Indian Defence Minister AK Antony in New Delhi also covered sales of US military hardware to India.
According to Indian defence officials, Gates held talks on the proposed Logistics Support Agreement (LSA), the Communication Interoperability and Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA) and the end-use verification of US defence equipment.
Under the LSA, India and US militaries propose to provide each other with logistic support, re-fuelling and berthing facilities for each others warships and aircraft, spares and other services on a reimbursable or equal-value exchange basis. Indian officials told the visiting delegation that New Delhi would require time to look at various aspects of the LSA. The Defence Minister said that India would revert in due course after holding consultations, one official said on condition of anonymity.
The Indian government is taking time to decide on the pact, proposed by the US two years ago, as it has faced opposition from its communist partners who have already stalled the India-US civil nuclear deal.
Since the commies are trying to stall anything that benefits us and India ...
He said India and US also resolved to iron out differences on certain clauses in the end-use verification agreement to which New Delhi had raised objections. Discussions were also held on the CISMOA, which is an accord to have common communication systems and codes for using US equipment. The official said Gates expressed satisfaction about the defence engagement with India mentioning that Washington did not enjoy such wide-ranging defence ties with any other country.
Hear that, Perv?
Regarding sales of military hardware, Gates said Washington wanted a level playing field for US companies in Indias purchase of 126 combat jets, estimated to be among the worlds biggest defence deals worth over 10 billion dollars. Besides this, US companies are also trying to sell missiles, anti-missile systems, heavy and medium helicopters, electronic warfare systems, drones and other advanced military systems to India.
Gates visit comes close on the heels of the Indian government clearing a 1.1-billion-dollar deal for the purchase of C-130J Hercules military transport planes, as well as acquiring warship USS Trenton (renamed INS Jalashwa) and six Weapon Locating Radars (WLRs).
Before embarking for Turkey on the next leg of his tour, the US official also met LK Advani, the leader of main opposition Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) in connection with the India-US nuclear deal. According to party sources, Gates sought to convince Advani, whose party is opposed to the draft of the deal, of the importance of finalizing the nuclear deal as soon as possible. The US official has stressed the need for an early conclusion of the nuclear deal, saying that the nuclear pact would have positive global consequences besides serving the interests of both countries.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/28/2008 00:00 ||
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Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif has said that his party and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) had come to an agreement on most issues, including the restoration of the 1973 Constitution and doing away with the amendments the dictators brought into the Constitution.
In an interview published in the Hindustan Times on Wednesday, Nawaz described the removal of the judges as an ugly development, and said his party, civil society and many other parties had committed to the people that if we come to power, we will restore the judiciary to the November 2, 2007, position. Democracy isnt possible without the judiciarys independence. He said he had made it clear to PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari that this was his partys top priority. There was no disagreement with the PPP on the matter, only the modalities had to be worked out and this would happen when parliament was in session, he added.
Unconstitutional: Nawaz contended that the presidential election was unconstitutional and illegal in the eyes of the people. Hence, he said his party members would never like to take oath as cabinet ministers under him. Hes the one who will administer oath if he does not step down before that. He added that the inclusion of the pro-Musharraf Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) in the government was also an [unresolved] issue.
Unthinkable: Asked about PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardaris statement on the need for a working relationship with Musharraf, Nawaz said: I dont know on what grounds a working relationship can be established with the president? What will be the target? What will we achieve out of it? It will be a great disappointment for the people of Pakistan ... If we have to go back to democracy, we cannot think of working with a man responsible for getting this (sic) country in such a great mess.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/28/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Nawaz contended that the presidential election was unconstitutional and illegal in the eyes of the people.
But is it "Unconstitutional" in actual fact? Or only in the people's "Opinion"?
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
02/28/2008 13:29 Comments ||
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US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said on Wednesday that Pakistan should be wary of holding talks with he local Taliban. He told the British Broadcasting Company that earlier efforts to negotiate with the militants had not worked out.
Speaking in Delhi, Gates said the February 18 polls had been bad for President Pervez Musharraf, but the US hoped to continue working with him. Opposition parties are uniting to form Pakistans next government after faring well in the last weeks polls. President Pervez Musharrafs allies fared poorly. He described Musharraf as the elected president of Pakistan. Gates said a new government would have to face the reality that Al Qaeda militants and insurgents were operating along the frontier.
Didnt work out: Even the Musharraf government tried talking and doing deals in Waziristan. That didnt work out very well. Maybe this new government in Pakistan will have to go through the same experience itself, he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/28/2008 00:00 ||
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Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said on Wednesday that, if invited, his party might join a government of national consensus. I favour restoration of the judiciary and hope that the next coalition government will fulfil the promises it has made to the people, Fazl told reporters at the residence of Senator Talha Mehmood. Fazl, who is also the general secretary of the religious alliance, admitted that a rift in the MMA had led to its defeat in the elections. However, he said that the MMA would be revived, adding that two senior leaders, Prof Sajid Mir and Allama Sajid Naqvi, had met with him for this purpose.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/28/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
...or tour with Parliament Funkadelic. He doesn't know yet.
Turkey said on Wednesday it had "no timetable" to withdraw troops fighting Kurdish guerrillas in northern Iraq, resisting pressure from the United States and other allies to end the offensive quickly. Thousands of Turkish troops crossed the border last Thursday to root out PKK fighters. The PKK has used remote mountainous northern Iraq as a base in their armed campaign for self-rule in the mainly Kurdish southeast of Turkey.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/28/2008 00:00 ||
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Egypt's powerful intelligence chief will visit Israel next week for talks on border issues and on captured IDF soldier Gilad Schalit, defense officials said Wednesday. Omar Suleiman, who often serves as an envoy for Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, will meet with Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Defense Minister Ehud Barak, the officials said.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/28/2008 00:00 ||
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Hamas has helped Al Qaeda militants enter the Islamist-controlled Gaza Strip and formed an alliance with them, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas was quoted as saying on Wednesday. Al Qaeda is present in Gaza and Im convinced that they (Hamas) are their allies, Abbas said in an interview with the London-based pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat. I can say without doubt that Al Qaeda is present in the Palestinian territories and that this presence - especially in Gaza - is facilitated by Hamas, he said.
Hamas rejects: Hamas rejected the claim. There is no truth in these allegations, spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told AFP, adding that Abbas is seeking to mobilise international opinion against Hamas.
Israel has claimed in the past that Al Qaeda was present in the Gaza Strip, where Hamas militants in June routed forces loyal to Abbass secular Fatah faction. In January, militants from a hitherto unknown group claiming links to Al Qaeda ransacked a private school in the Gaza Strip. A statement signed by the Army of Believers, Al Qaeda in Palestine Organisation was left behind at the American International School after the attack.
Five militants killed: Five Hamas militants were killed in an Israeli air strike on a minibus in the Islamist-ruled Gaza Strip on Wednesday, as the United Nations called on all sides to find ways to end the violence. The raid on the southern town of Khan Yunis, which also wounded one person, was followed by a second strike on the same site that left three people injured, medical sources told AFP. An army spokeswoman confirmed that the military had carried out strikes on vehicles in Khan Yunis and identified hitting them.
Another militant from the armed wing of the radical Islamic Jihad movement was killed overnight in a similar air strike in the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, Palestinian medical sources said.
In the West Bank, undercover Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian militant during an arrest raid in the town of Nablus, security and medical sources said. They entered Nablus in a private vehicle and opened fire at four members of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a group loosely linked to Abbass secular Fatah movement. They then nabbed two of the militants who had been wounded by the gunfire. The deaths brought to around 205 the number of people killed since Israel and the Palestinians resumed peace talks in November, most of them militants, according to an AFP count.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/28/2008 00:00 ||
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#7
Hand receipt a couple to the Colorado National Guard, just in time for crowd control duty during the [Days of Rage! It's 68 again!] convention. A whiff of grape has shown remarkable success in deterring second offenses.
#8
You just know that the first time they use this thing, the screaming and ranting and raving they're gonna get over it from the usual suspects.
Better if they develop some kind of weapon based on the lemon meringue pie.
#9
That appears to be round shot. Now imagine what could be done if they packed little steel pyramids together, each with multible sharp edges. Less distance, wider spread, and blood, don't mention it. I'm sick for even thinking this way.
#17
IIRC, a punt gun is a boat-mounted 1 to 6 bore shotgun used by waterfowl market hunters. During the 19th century, it wasn't uncommon to have several of these small cannon arranged in battery for the purpose of wiping out a flock of "sitting" ducks.
#18
I do. My Grampaw had one in Alabama back in the '50s.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
02/28/2008 14:28 Comments ||
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#19
Hey Redneck Jim!!! I'm right there with you on this one. Punt guns are... .somewhat frowned upon up here in Canada. . . . not to mention being totally illegal. But if flock shooting is your desire then there's no better tool. Of course proper mounts for the gun are always a problem too.
#20
The biggest problem with using a tool like this. The brave Lions of Islam (tm) never travel alone. They always have their flock of kiddies, pregnant women, fluffy ducks and bunnies as shields. So, if we used this on a crowd, we would get a bunch of them too.
Of course, under the Geneva Convention, using human shields like this is a war crime, but fortunately, the Jihadis didn't sign the GC. Only the US is bound by it.(Even the parts we didn't sign.)
Posted by: Rambler in California ||
02/28/2008 16:19 Comments ||
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PRESIDENT Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared that Iran was the world's "number one" power, as he launched a bitter new assault on domestic critics he accused of siding with the enemy.
"Everybody has understood that Iran is the number one power in the world," Mr Ahmadinejad said in a speech to families who lost loved ones in the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war.
"Today the name of Iran means a firm punch in the teeth of the powerful and it puts them in their place," added Mr Ahmadinejad, who on Sunday will become the first president of the Islamic republic to visit neighbouring Iraq.
Mr Ahmadinejad's comments come amid renewed Western efforts on the UN Security Council to agree a third package of sanctions against Tehran over its refusal to suspend sensitive nuclear activities.
They also came a day after former top nuclear negotiator Hassan Rowhani launched an unprecedented attack on Mr Ahmadinejad's foreign policy, accusing him of using "coarse slogans and grandstanding".
"You can see how some people here... try to materialise the plans of the enemies and by showing that Iran is small and the enemy is big," seethed Mr Ahmadinejad.
"These are the people who put the enemies of humanity in the place of God," said the deeply religious president.
Mr Ahmadinejad once again insisted that Iran was winning the standoff over its atomic programme, which the West fears could be used to make nuclear weapons but Iran says is peaceful.
"The Iranian nation is on the verge of the final nuclear victory and no power can stop this nation."
"The enemies of the nation and bullying powers do not dare to admit that this nation has won in the nuclear field."
Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who this week congratulated Mr Ahmadinejad for his role in Iran's nuclear case, said that Islamic countries do not need US approval to achieve great works.
Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki meanwhile sent a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon criticising what he described as "baseless accusations" by UN Security Council members about the Iranian nuclear drive, the official IRNA news agency reported.
Mr Rowhani's speech on Wednesday was extraordinary for its explicit criticism of the president's policies and for its attack on his inflammatory anti-Israel rhetoric, which has once again provoked Western condemnation.
While Mr Ahmadinejad did not mention Mr Rowhani by name, his address is likely to be seen as a clear message to his opponents that such criticism of his rhetoric is not welcome.
Mr Ahmadinejad also told the families of the "martyrs" of the war that their loss was not in vain as the message of the Islamic revolution of 1979 that ousted the pro-US shah was spreading all over the world.
"Today the message of your revolution is being heard in South America, East Asia, in the heart of Europe and even in the United States itself," he said.
Mr Ahmadinejad said he talked with people everywhere he travelled in the world and "it is like I am in district 17 in Tehran", referring to the low-income area in the south of the Iranian capital where he was giving his speech.
"I have been to most parts of the world. I read the news every day. Every day I speak to different figures from different countries and have meetings with them," he commented.
Posted by: tipper ||
02/28/2008 09:49 ||
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#11
Since Iran is #1, they should be able to dictate to the other countries, right? So Israel should just shut up and die, America should pay jizya or convert to Islam, etc, etc.
Man, I wish I were short so I could have delusions of grandeur like Dinnerjacket.
Posted by: Rambler in California ||
02/28/2008 12:38 Comments ||
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#12
Was he wearing one of those big green "We're #1!" foam hand thingies?
#16
OK, dinnerjacket. You pick any place in the world outside Iran and the US. The US will pick the time - say in about one month. We will meet the Iranian forces with the US forces. One on one. Mano a mano. We'll see who a) shows up firstest with the mostest. b) comes out on top.
Heck, we'll even promise not to attack you while you're going to the meeting place, even though we could.
Posted by: Rambler in California ||
02/28/2008 16:13 Comments ||
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#17
Nutjob's latest speech: Link at Memri
"The Islamic Revolution and the Islamic Republic of Iran are Both Great Divine Gifts Awarded to the Entire Mankind"
"Building a model society and introducing the Islamic Revolution are our nation's missions The Islamic Revolution and the Islamic Republic of Iran are both great divine gifts, not only awarded to the Iranian nation, but to the entire mankind.
"Yet, we had better say that the Islamic Revolution of Iran and the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran were the greatest events of the contemporary history, since they marked the continuation of the path laid before the mankind by divine Prophets, next to the appointment of Prophet Muhammad as messenger of Allah and the martyrdom of the Prophet's grandson Imam Hussain."
"The Islamic Revolution Was a Long Leap towards Mankind's Reaching the Peak of Perfection"
"Like those great events, the Islamic Revolution, too, was a long leap towards mankind's reaching the peak of perfection The Iranian nation, the practicing Ulema, and the followers of the idea of leadership of the blessed (Wilayah) are shouldering the responsibility of keeping on hoisting the flag of a movement whose nature is the same as the revolutions of divine Prophets.
"The Iranian nation also has two heavy responsibilities, one of which is constructing Iran, since the message of a revolution would be heard and welcomed when it would be accompanied by practical models. Such model making would lead to leading the mankind towards the peak of perfection, and assist the world nations in embracing eternal salvation in the Hereafter, by convincing them that Islam is capable of presenting an ideal model for social life.
"Our culture and our administrative structure must be reshaped rapidly so that their basis would be the divine laws of Islam so that we would be able to claim that we have reached the status of a model society that can be the witness for the entire mankind."
"The Only Perfect School of Thought That Can Lead Human Society towards Blessed Life in This World and Salvation in the Other World is Mohamedan Islam"
"By grace of God, such a movement began as of the victory of the Islamic Revolution, despite the entire heavy obstacles and hindrances on its way, which have been removed one after the other, and the movement of the Islamic Revolution aimed at constructing a model society has kept on accelerating ever since then.
"Our nation's second important mission is introducing the Islamic Revolution to the entire mankind. Today, the mankind has reached a point of dissatisfaction with the status quo of the social life and is so desperately in pursuit of better lives that the nations' minds are quite ripe for grasping such truths.
"Based on such presuppositions, the only perfect school of thought that can lead the human society towards blessed life in this world and salvation in the other world is Mohamedan Islam.
"We need to elaborate the divine rules of this school of thought and present to the world nations a model of social life based on it, while atop those who shoulder this responsibility there are the Ulema who gain the divine thoughts from the origin of divine revelations, or from the Prophet and the Infallible Imams."
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was quoted Wednesday as rejecting the naturalization of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and stated he is against any demographic change in Lebanon . Abbas made the remarks in an interview published by the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat.
"We would never accept any settlement that leads to naturalizing Palestinians in Lebanon," Abbas said. "We would not accept any settlement that leads to a demographic change in Lebanon. This is totally unacceptable we won't accept a settlement that obliges Lebanon to naturalize even one Palestinian. We would find a settlement that satisfies Palestinians in Lebanon and satisfies Lebanon I'm sure of this and time will prove it," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/28/2008 00:00 ||
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Almakaziyeh News agency has learned from diplomatic sources that the Arab League chief Amr Moussa is expected to return to Lebanon towards the end of the first week of March, about 48 hours ahead of the presidential elections set for March 11 .
Mousa will head to Lebanon after the Arab Foreign ministers meeting on March 9, during which he will report on his mission to Lebanon. Prior to his trip to Lebanon, Moussa may stop in one of The Arabian Gulf countries to meet with Syrian Foreign Minster Walid Moallem who will be visiting the leaders of these countries to deliver invitations to the summit in Damascus. During his meeting with Mouallem , Moussa intends to solicit Syria's cooperation over the presidential elections in Lebanon.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/28/2008 00:00 ||
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A prominent Iranian cleric voiced harsh criticism of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's frequent vitriolic diatribes against Israel, saying that his "coarse slogans" harmed Iranian national interests, AFP reported.
According to the report, Hassan Rowhani, who was Iran's top nuclear negotiator until Ahmadinejad rose to power in 2005, said that the interests of the Islamic Republic would be better served by a show of flexibility and an openness to dialogue with the rest of the world.
"Does foreign policy mean expressing coarse slogans and grandstanding?"
"Does foreign policy mean expressing coarse slogans and grandstanding?" Rowhani, one of the two representatives of the Ayatollah Khamenei on the Supreme National Security Council, reportedly asked in a speech at a foreign policy conference in Teheran. "This is not a foreign policy. We need to find an accommodating way to decrease the threats and assure the interests of the country." He warned that "if the international community thinks that a country wants to play troublemaker and eliminate others, it will not let the country do this and will confront it."
Only last week, the Iranian president said: "The world powers established this filthy bacteria, the Zionist regime, which is lashing out at the nations in the region like a wild beast."
This article starring:
HASAN ROWHANI
Government of Iran
Posted by: Fred ||
02/28/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
"The world powers established this filthy bacteria, the Zionist regime, which is lashing out at the nations in the region like a wild beast."
Well, stop trying to kill the wild beast and it will leave you along and lay down. This sounds like projection. He can't imagine anything else.
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.
The Taliban has retaken control of about 10 percent of Afghanistan's territory, less than seven years after being run out of the country by US military forces, intelligence officials told Congress Wednesday. "The Taliban was able to control ... in the area about 10 to 11 percent of the country," Mike McConnell, US Director of National Intelligence (DNI) said in testimony before the Senate's Armed Services Committee.
Around 10,000 angry Sudanese marched through Khartoum on Wednesday, carrying banners and shouting slogans against a Denmark newspaper which had published blasphemous cartoons.
LONDON - British police said Wednesday they foiled a suspected plot to murder King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia when he made a state visit here last year. Detective Superintendent Mark Holmes, head of the National Terrorist Financial Investigation Unit, said they disrupted the plot, which they believe was being masterminded by Saudi dissidents.
The Muslim spiritual leader of a group of men charged with planning violent jihad in Australia, was not a terrorist and was not plotting to kill former Prime Minister John Howard, his lawyer told a court on Wednesday. Australias biggest terrorism trial has heard that 12 Muslim men, including spiritual leader 
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., continued to attack Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., today for suggesting during a Democratic debate that after withdrawing combat troops from Iraq, Obama, as commander in chief, would be willing to send U.S. troops back into Iraq "if al Qaeda is forming a base" there. 
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif has said that his party and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) had come to an agreement on most issues, including the restoration of the 1973 Constitution and doing away with the amendments the dictators brought into the Constitution. 
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said on Wednesday that Pakistan should be wary of holding talks with he local Taliban. He told the British Broadcasting Company that earlier efforts to negotiate with the militants had not worked out. 
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said on Wednesday that, if invited, his party might join a government of national consensus. I favour restoration of the judiciary and hope that the next coalition government will fulfil the promises it has made to the people, Fazl told reporters at the residence of Senator Talha Mehmood. Fazl, who is also the general secretary of the religious alliance, admitted that a rift in the MMA had led to its defeat in the elections. However, he said that the MMA would be revived, adding that two senior leaders, Prof Sajid Mir and Allama Sajid Naqvi, had met with him for this purpose.
A prominent Iranian cleric voiced harsh criticism of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's frequent vitriolic diatribes against Israel, saying that his "coarse slogans" harmed Iranian national interests, AFP reported. 
