(SomaliNet) Eritrea has denied that it has any problems with Djibouti, which accuses it of amassing troops on their border.
Djibouti, earlier this week, appealed to the UN Security Council to intervene in order to prevent a conflict over the border village of Doumeira. Djibouti alleged Eritrea had published new maps showing Doumeira as Eritrean territory.
However, Eritrea's ambassador to the European Union, Grirma Asmerom, said he knew nothing about the letter.
"Lies! All lies!"
Since Eritrea gained independence in 1993, the country has been involved in two serious conflicts over territory with its neighbours.
You get the sense they just don't get along with anyone ...
BBC Somali Service editor Yusuf Garaad Omar says Djibouti's interpretation of events is alarming. He said Doumeira is a small border village of little strategic importance home to ethnic Afar people.
"The sudden growth of troops calls for real intervention by the international community because we see it as a real threat," Djibouti's ambassador to the UN Roble Olhaye told the BBC's Network Africa programme. "We wanted to urge the Security Council to take all necessary measures to prevent any kind of conflagration because the prospect of a real war is there."
But Mr Asmerom said he was bemused by such accusations. "There is no such problem with Djibouti; we have never had a problem with Djibouti," he said.
In 1995, Eritrea clashed with Yemen over the Hanish islands in the Red Sea - one of the world's major shipping lanes. Three years later, Ethiopia and Eritrea fought a two-year war over the border town of Badme, in which tens of thousands of people died. Djibouti and Eritrea clashed twice over their mutual border in the 1990s and nearly went to war.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/10/2008 00:00 ||
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Very long piece at the WSJ that is quite damning. Chavez and FARC go back a long, long way. First section only here, go RTWT.
BOGOTÁ, Colombia -- A cache of controversial computer files closely tying Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez to communist rebels seeking to topple Colombia's government appear to be authentic, U.S. intelligence officials say.
The trove -- found on a dead guerrilla leader's laptops during a military raid in March -- is likely to ratchet up pressure for the U.S. to impose sanctions on one of its most important oil suppliers.
The files that have been made public so far have largely confirmed Mr. Chávez's well-known sympathy for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. But a review by The Wall Street Journal of more than 100 new files from the computers suggests that Venezuela has broader and deeper ties to the FARC than previously known.
These documents indicate Venezuela appears to be making concrete offers to help arm the rebels, possibly with rocket-propelled grenades and ground-to-air missiles. The files suggest that Venezuela offered the FARC the use of one of its ports to receive arms shipments, and that Venezuela raised the prospect of drawing up a joint security plan with the FARC and sought basic training in guerrilla-warfare techniques.
"There is complete agreement in the intelligence community that these documents are what they purport to be," a senior U.S. official said. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence has been sharing its assessments with the White House, this official said.
Washington's stance is likely to hurt Venezuela's already deeply strained relationship with the U.S., its biggest trade partner. It could also add pressure for the U.S. to declare Venezuela a state sponsor of terrorism, alongside Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria, and impose sanctions.
Mr. Chávez has repeatedly said the files were faked by Colombia. "We don't recognize the validity of any of these documents," Bernardo Álvarez, Venezuela's ambassador to the U.S., said in a Wednesday interview. "They are false, and an attempt to discredit the Venezuelan government."
Interpol, the international police organization, has yet to give its view on the files' legitimacy. Colombia asked Interpol to perform an independent forensic analysis, and next week, Interpol Secretary General Ronald Noble is scheduled to travel to Colombia to present the findings.
Mr. Noble declined to comment on Interpol's conclusions. He said Interpol hasn't yet briefed foreign governments on its findings. "Anyone who has told you that Interpol has informed him about our findings has given you false information," he said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/10/2008 00:00 ||
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Turkey expected the regional administration in northern Iraq to "take concrete steps" to end the presence of the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK), the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported on Friday. "Our expectation is that the regional administration will distance itself further away from the PKK and take concrete steps to end its presence in northern Iraq," Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan was quoted as saying.
Babacan said more frequent high-level contacts with the regional administration hinged on a shift in its attitude toward the PKK. "The further they go on these issues, the better our dialogue (with the regional administration) would get," he added.
"This is a whole new development that we are talking these issues with the regional administration face to face. And if we see concrete progress in time, that would certainly make things much easier for everyone," Babacan said.
Noting that the PKK no longer had the support of the region's people, Babacan said "I cannot imagine how an organization can endure when it is denounced by the Arab world, the Middle Eastern countries, the central Iraqi government, Europe and the U.S. as well as the regional administration in Iraq's north."
Ankara has decided to intensify its dialogue with the local Kurdish administration in the northern part of Iraq over the PKK issue. A group of Turkish officials have recently had what the Turkish minister described as "first direct contacts" in north Iraq.
The United States said on Saturday documents handed over by North Korea detailed its weapons-grade plutonium program as far back as 1986 and were an "important first step" in getting a full declaration of the North's nuclear activities.
In a "fact sheet" providing limited details of the documents, the State Department said the 18,000 pages covered three major periods when plutonium was produced by North Korea for nuclear weapons.
"The United States and the other parties continue to press the DPRK to fulfill its declaration commitment," said the statement, referring to Pyongyang's failure to produce a full declaration of its nuclear activities by the end of last year.
The documents were given by Pyongyang to the State Department's Korea expert, Sung Kim, on Thursday who then hand-carried them over the heavily fortified demilitarized zone into South Korea on Saturday.
Kim spoke briefly and said officials now needed to investigate the contents of the documents. The State Department said seven large boxes were carried across the border.
He will return to Washington on Monday where the State Department said the documents would be "examined thoroughly" by a U.S. nuclear verification team and other experts.
Under a six-country deal, North Korea was required to provide a full accounting of its fissile material and nuclear weaponry as well as answer U.S. suspicions that it enriched uranium for weapons and proliferated technology to Syria.
North Korea is expected to submit a 40 to 50-page report on its nuclear activities in the next few weeks to China, the host of the six-way nuclear disarmament talks, South Korea's Yon hap news agency reported on Saturday, citing diplomatic sources.
If North Korea makes the declaration, the United States has promised to take it off its terrorism blacklist and remove sanctions that restrict Pyongyang from tapping into international finance.
NUCLEAR RECORDS
"These operating records date back to 1986 and are expected to cover reactor operations and all three reprocessing campaigns undertaken by North Korea," the State Department said of the plutonium logs.
"Review of the operating records provided on May 8 will be an important first step in the process of verifying that North Korea's declaration is complete and correct," it added.
North Korea, which tested a nuclear device in October 2006, is thought by Washington to have produced about 110 lbs (50 kg) of plutonium, which proliferation experts said is enough for about eight nuclear bombs.
The documents consist of the operating records of the Yongbyon nuclear complex where North Korea has produced its stock of weapons-grade plutonium until it was shut down in July last year under a deal with the United States, Japan, the two Koreas, China and Russia.
Since November, U.S. experts have been on the ground at Yongbyon overseeing disablement of the Soviet-era reactor and the State Department said eight out of 11 agreed disablement activities at three core facilities on the complex had been completed.
As of mid-May, more than one-third of spent fuel rods had been discharged, the State Department added.
The main sticking point in the declaration has been Pyongyang's reluctance to discuss any transfer of nuclear technology to other countries, notably Syria, as well as its suspected pursuit of uranium enrichment.
U.S. President George W. Bush said in late April he released intelligence about the suspected North Korea-Syria nuclear collusion to put pressure on Pyongyang to come clean on all its nuclear activities.
Pyongyang has yet to respond to White House charges that North Korea was helping Syria build the reactor that could produce arms-grade plutonium.
(Xinhua) -- Officials of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) continued talks with the visiting U.S. team of nuclear specialists Friday, a day after Pyongyang turned over to the United States files related to its plutonium program.
Sung Kim, head of the five-member U.S. team, gave no comments on the received documents before entering the DPRK Foreign Ministry where the meeting was to be held.
U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said officials would take time to review the documents to determine whether the DPRK's declaration about its plutonium program is satisfactory, reported the New York Times Friday.
It is believed that the U.S. experts team's trip would set the stage for a deal between the U.S. and the DPRK on Pyongyang's nuclear program.
The six-nation talks on dismantling DPRK's nuclear programs stalled as Pyongyang failed to meet the Dec. 31 deadline to provide a complete declaration of its nuclear programs and materials. This was the second trip of Kim's team to Pyongyang in less than a month. They were scheduled to leave Pyongyang on Saturday.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/10/2008 00:00 ||
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One of Barack Obamas Middle East policy advisers disclosed yesterday that he had held meetings with the militant Palestinian group Hamas prompting the likely Democratic nominee to sever all links with him.
Robert Malley told The Times that he had been in regular contact with Hamas, which controls Gaza and is listed by the US State Department as a terrorist organisation. Such talks, he stressed, were related to his work for a conflict resolution think-tank and had no connection with his position on Mr Obamas Middle East advisory council.
Ive never hidden the fact that in my job with the International Crisis Group I meet all kinds of people, he added.
Ben LaBolt, a spokesman for Mr Obama, responded swiftly: Rob Malley has, like hundreds of other experts, provided informal advice to the campaign in the past. He has no formal role in the campaign and he will not play any role in the future.
The rapid departure of Mr Malley followed 48 hours of heated clashes between John McCain, the Republican nominee-elect, and Mr Obama over Middle East policy. Mr Obama, who has been trying to assuage suspicion towards him among the influential Jewish and pro-Israel lobby, spoke at a Washington reception marking the 60th anniversary of Israeli independence on Thursday when he promised that his commitment to the countrys security would be unshakeable.
However, Mr McCain has high-lighted the Democrats pledge to negotiate directly with nations such as Iran whose leaders talk of wiping Israel off the map and a statement from Hamas saying that it hoped that Mr Obama would win the presidency. This was denounced as an offensive smear by Mr Obama, who repeated earlier statements saying that Hamas was a terrorist organisation [and] we should not negotiate with them unless they recognise Israel, renounce violence. He went on to suggest that Mr McCains attack showed that he was losing his bearings. This remark triggered a furious reaction from Mark Salter, the Republicans senior adviser, who said that Mr Obama was intentionally raising John McCains age as an issue a claim the Democrat vehemently denied. The intensity of this dispute reflects both Mr Obamas desire to move beyond his battle with Hillary Clinton and how Republicans are already beginning to train their sights on him.
The Republican National Committee has amassed a 1,000-page dossier on Mr Obama, with researchers spending weeks in Chicago seeking fresh material. He is already being criticised for his links with Rashid Khalidi, a Columbia University professor who has branded Israel an apartheid system in creation.
Mr Malley, a respected commentator on Middle Eastern issues and part of President Clintons negotiating team at the Camp David talks, has come under attack in recent months from right-wing bloggers. Yesterday, asked if Obama campaign was aware of his contact with Hamas, he said: They know who I am but I dont think they vet everyone in a group of informal advisers.
Randy Scheunemann, Mr McCains foreign policy chief, suggested that Mr Malley was part of an emerging pattern in which other advisers had been repudiated after throwing confusion over policies on trade and Iraq. Perhaps because of his inexperience Senator Obama surrounds himself with advisers that contradict his stated policies, he said.
#4
What I cannot understand is the fact that Jews overwhelming vote for Democrats, when Republicans have been much better to Israel for my entire life.
#5
Obama could have just as easily said: "...John McCain has no foundation to stand on; in those assertions!"
The McCain camp would have fired back, that: "Obama; is suggesting to everyone that Senator McCain will fall down from the platform and hurt himself..."! The Hamas "endorsement" was swallowed by McCain and his camp on nefarious calculations. Watch for Binny's next tape, injecting himself into American politics by recommending Obama to the US for "serious peace considerations"! Will McCain take the bait??
#11
Hussein's chickies are headed to the coop. I hope John Boy hammers this nail until it's driven straight into Obamamessiah's heart. It's a good start. Since Barry has now simply annointed himself the primo caputi, he can start taking incoming fire. I hope, as time goes by, McCain gets his dander up and hits him with every scrap of doodoo that's out there. Think the Magic Man can take it ?
#12
Political Think Tank, what I consider the certified diamond curriors of viewable politics.
This stuff is more telling than relishing his 57 comments.
One of Barack Obamas Middle East policy advisers disclosed yesterday that he had held meetings with the militant Palestinian group Hamas prompting the likely Democratic nominee to sever all links with him.
Don't know about any of you but is it not suspicious that for someone who fancies themself capable of being President of the United States, he is completely ignorant of his closest advisors?
#13
Shieldwolf: Jews vote Democratic for the same reason that Kansans vote Republican: cultural ideals trump naked class or ethnic interests. Jews are overwhelmingly urban, upper-class, educated (often over-educated), usually pro-choice/abortion, statist-minded, and hostile to public displays of religion. That puts them in the modern Democratic Party culturally speaking.
I'm willing to bet that this will continue to shift as the non-Orthodox Jewish population continues to decline relative to their more natalist Orthodox cousins. But even the Orthodox tend more towards a sort of American Toryism than off-the-shelf Republicanism.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
05/10/2008 14:07 Comments ||
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#14
It is also possible that liberal American Jews consider America as their home country, and don't give a fig about Israel. That's how it appears in spite of that fact that numerous Christians and other Americans support the Jews in Israel. Liberals make little sense anyway.
#15
Okay, I can accept that the majority of Jews in the US are in urban areas and may feel closer to the Dems on certain issues, and that a lot may not have any warmth towards Israel. But what I cannot understand is the bloc voting for the Dems after the passes for leading Dems spitting on Jews : Jesse Jackson and Hymietown, the McKinneys and the "jewish conspiracy"; the fact that Louis Farrakan is NOT shunned by the Dems and even gets backdoor recognition; Jimmy Carter's embrace of every major Islamic terrorist organization in the world and his blaming of Israel and AIPC for ALL the problems between Arabs and Jews; and the fact that Hillary got roasted for saying that she would nuke Iran if it nuked Israel; plus the fact that Obama and other Dems are insisting that we talk to Iran without precondition, even though the Iranian President is talking about a thermonuclear Holocaust being unleashed on Israel. Even if you are no fan of Israel, allowing a threat to what is effectively 25% of all the Jews in the world to be exterminated WITHOUT a threat of immediate thermonuclear retaliation is insane. And yet, the American Jewish vote is one of the rocks of the Democratic Party.
#16
Shieldwolf, the party-line Jewish Democrats really are experiencing both falling percentages and falling raw numbers. The number of Jewish Republicans/Conservatives his increased in each of the post-Clinton elections, and probably during the Clinton period as well (I was either pregnant or out of the country during those two election periods, so I didn't pay attention to anything beyond the critical details). I strongly suspect if Barack Obama gets the Democratic nod, the party will lose the Jewish vote, except for a few die-hards.
WASHINGTON: The reason why India issued a thinly-veiled threat to Pakistan after its nuclear test in 1998 was to make sure that Pakistan follows suit so that India is not singled out for international pressure, according to a nuclear expert.
Michael Krepon, co-founder of the Stimson Centre, wrote in the journal, Arms Control: When India finally decided to test, it was almost a foregone conclusion that Pakistan would also test. When New Delhi obliged on May 11 and 13, no inducements or penalties the United States and other capitals could identify were powerful enough to prevent Pakistan from following suit. Just to make sure that Pakistan would reject US offers and to prevent India from being singled out for international pressure, Advani issued a thinly veiled public threat to the effect that now that New Delhi possessed the bomb, its neighbour should watch its step in Kashmir. Pakistan tested its nuclear devices on May 28.
Krepon writes that 10 years later, India and Pakistan still have not accepted any constraints on their strategic autonomy. Along with China, both states are engaged in strategic modernisation programmes of considerable breadth, building nuclear-tipped cruise missiles as well as ballistic missiles to be carried by their land, sea, and air forces.
Plans: India has plans for a deterrent it deems worthy of a major power, which might entail further tests to certify thermonuclear weapon designs. If India tests again, Pakistan is likely to do so as well. The nuclear enclaves in each county are highly respected at home and believe they have more work to do. This spells trouble not only for the CTBT, but also for initiating and successfully concluding fissile material cut-off negotiations in Geneva.
Kepon argues that while the CTBT remains in limbo, India and Pakistan have agreed to several confidence-building and nuclear risk-reduction measures, such as notifications regarding certain missile flight tests and military exercises. After a period of domestic turbulence in Pakistan, these discussions will resume, perhaps yielding more agreements that reduce the possibility of unintended escalation. Each country is focused on trade, economic development, and domestic cohesion, which suggest that the divided territory of Kashmir, which Pakistani officials used to describe as a nuclear flashpoint, will remain calm. These important gains are unlikely to be supplemented by constructive initiatives by India and Pakistan relating to nuclear negotiations.
Posted by: john frum ||
05/10/2008 11:51 ||
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Srinagar, May 9 : A Saudi national has been arrested from Jammu and Kashmir's frontier district of Kupwara, police here said.
Noorul Haq Hussain was nabbed by the army Thursday during a routine check at Karnah, 150 km from here near the Line of Control (LoC) that divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan, and handed over to state police for investigations.
Foreigners travelling to border areas in the state need prior permission from authorities here.
"During questioning Haq claimed he had lost his passport and other travel documents. We are now ascertaining the facts and investigations are going on," said a police official.
Haq apparently told police that he was in Kupwara to meet friends.
Posted by: john frum ||
05/10/2008 06:07 ||
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(Xinhua) -- The ruling party in northwestern Pakistan province on Friday held dialogue with local Taliban operating in Swat valley to settle issues on negotiating table and restore peace in the area. The Awami National Party (ANP) of North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and the local Taliban agreed on ceasefire as confidence building measure, ANP spokesman Zahid Khan told a private Geo TV channel.
Khan termed first round of the talks "positive" and expressed the hope that the negotiations would achieve positive results and normalcy would return to Swat soon. Swat used to be a scenic spot for tourists from around the world.
The delegation of provincial government held talks with a seven-member delegation of Maulana Fazlullah, who is now leading a militant organization which once claimed that they would not lay down arms until the government would enforce Shariah law, or Islamic law.
Taliban gave assurance that no vehicle and checkpost of the security forces or official building would be attacked during the ceasefire, Khan said. The new Pakistani government, since its formation in March, has pledged to hold talks with the militants who will renounce violence and lay down their arms.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/10/2008 00:00 ||
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#2
Because as the article says, this is for EFPs, and adds 5,000 pounds more weight. That makes MRAPs so heavy that they cannot be used in many places.
Also, if the EFP is properly made, it will kill an M-1 Abrams which has several TONS of Chobham armor on it.
The Palestinians' top peace negotiator said on Saturday he feared a criminal investigation of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert could damage the chance of a deal this year on Palestinian statehood.
Though Olmert has denied wrongdoing in his ties to an American businessman at the centre of a police inquiry into allegations of bribery, the prime minister said on Thursday he would resign if indicted -- a likely setback to efforts to secure a peace accord from the U.S.-sponsored talks before U.S. President George W. Bush steps down in January.
"The developments in the Israeli political system and the investigation could make it difficult to conclude an agreement this year," Ahmed Qurie, a former Palestinian prime minister who now leads peace talks, said in a speech in Ramallah. "I am not optimistic that an agreement can be concluded this year, but I am also not pessimistic," he said, echoing concerns expressed by more junior members of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's administration after the affair broke last week.
Bush is scheduled to visit Israel on Wednesday to celebrate its 60th anniversary and give a high-profile push to talks on creating a Palestinian state alongside the Jewish state. The White House, already at pains to overcome mutual recrimination bogging down Israeli-Palestinian diplomacy, has played down the potential fallout of Olmert's legal woes, noting he is not the only Israeli leader committed to peacemaking.
If Olmert were to step down, it could trigger snap elections that opinion polls suggest would catapult hawkish former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu -- a vocal opponent of ceding occupied West Bank land to Abbas -- back to power.
Olmert has the option of taking a leave of absence, in which case his powers would be assumed by Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni -- Qurie's counterpart in the negotiations. Israel's centre-left Labor party, traditionally at the vanguard of peace efforts, may break away from Olmert's coalition and run for top office.
Such a major shake up in Israeli politics could be reflected in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Palestinian territories split between Abbas's secular Fatah and Islamist Hamas since the factions fought a brief civil war last June.
Hamas, which won elections in 2006 only to be sidelined by Abbas and the West for refusing to foreswear violence and recognize Israel, has sought reconciliation with the Palestinian president but resisted his demand to submit to his authority.
The internal Palestinian deadlock has prompted some experts to predict a new poll, though that might not favor Abbas. "I predict early election in Israel and early election in Palestine that will bring in new leaders, not those sitting n the chairs," said Mehdi Abdel-Hadi, a Palestinian political analyst.
Iran on Friday accused the United States and Israel of fueling the deadly sectarian fighting in Lebanon between its Shiite militant Hezbollah ally and the Western-backed ruling majority.
"Adventurous efforts and interventions by the United States and the Zionist regime are the main cause of the continuous chaotic situation in Lebanon," foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said.
"Unfortunately, part of the political plot which was predicted ... has been executed," said Hosseini, who was quoted by ISNA and Fars news agencies.
"We hope that those who have been responsible for creating this situation exert the effort needed to restore stability and calm to Lebanon," he added, without elaborating.
Hezbollah hardboyz gunmen seized control of west Beirut on Friday after a third day of battles with Sunni militants loyal to the Western-backed government that has killed at least 11 people, Lebanese security official have said.
Hosseini said Iran will pursue "tireless efforts ... to help different political groups reach an understanding."
The United States and Israel have repeatedly accused Iran of arming and financing Hezbollah in a bid to destabilise Lebanon -- a charge the Islamic republic has constantly denied.
The United States has condemned the violence in Lebanon and demanded that Hezbollah, which is also backed by Syria, stops its "destructive activities."
Israeli President Shimon Peres on Friday claimed the violence in Lebanon was fomented by Iran to further what he said was Tehran's goal to control all of the Middle East.
Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora has said his country would not fall to Hezbollah after four days of street battles in the capital left 24 dead.
In his first response to Hezbollah's de facto takeover of West Beirut, Mr Siniora said his government would never declare war against the Shia group. "Your state will not fall under the control of the coup implementers," Mr Siniora said during a televised address. He called on the army to restore law and order across Lebanon and remove gunmen from the streets.
Mr Siniora said his government's core problem with Hezbollah was its unilateral imposition of its culture and ideology on the Lebanese people.
Leaders of Lebanon's rival political factions are due to meet later on Saturday and the Arab League will hold talks about the crisis on Sunday.
Saturday's violence came after Hezbollah militants withdrew from the streets after having crushed resistance by Sunni gunmen loyal to Mr Siniora's government. In the areas of Beirut worst affected by battles between Hezbollah and pro-government loyalists, barricades that had been set up were abandoned early on Saturday, says the BBC's Jim Muir in the Lebanese capital.
But the TV station run by the Sunni leader Saad Hariri is still off the air after gunmen forced its closure on Friday, our correspondent adds.
Lebanon's cabinet said on Friday the seizure of most of western Beirut by the Shia group was "a bloody coup". The governing coalition said the move was aimed at increasing Iran's influence and restoring that of Syria.
The fighting was sparked by a government move on Monday to shut down Hezbollah's telecoms network.
The Lebanese army had not intervened to stop Hezbollah fighters from seizing large areas of western Beirut. But troops were deployed to protect Saad Hariri and other leading figures who support the cabinet of Mr Siniora.
Lebanon was plunged into civil war from 1975-90, drawing in Syria and Israel, the two regional powers. Analysts say the key to avoiding such a conflict this time may be the neutrality of the army, and its ability to withstand the sectarian tensions.
The latest violence amounts to a humiliating blow to the government, which appears to have badly overplayed its hand in moving to close Hezbollah's telecoms network on Tuesday, our correspondent says.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah called the move a "declaration of war".
Mr Hariri said it was a "misunderstanding" and urged gunmen from both sides to withdraw "to save Lebanon from hell".
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice accused Iran and Syria of inciting Hezbollah to take up arms against the authorities. "We will stand by the Lebanese government and peaceful citizens of Lebanon through this crisis and provide the support they need to weather this storm," she said.
Syrian President Bashar Assad, whose country long dominated Lebanon, said Lebanon's political crisis was an "internal matter". Having withdrawn its army from the country in 2005, Syria denies meddling in Lebanon's internal politics. But Damascus has been accused of involvement in the assassination over the past three years of several anti-Syrians, including former prime minister Rafik Hariri, the father of Saad Hariri.
The institutions of the future are being totally destroyed.
Is an administrative decision on an airport security officer worth burning the country?
There is an attempt to invade areas of the Progressive Socialist Party, but we have arms just like Hezbollah. We have given instructions to the army to take charge of Progressive Socialist Party offices in sensitive areas for the protection of residents.
Everyone knows that executing the decision regarding Hezbollah's communication network needs the army, so why don't we leave it to the army?
Hariri was patient while all his institutions were burnt.
The army is trusted by all and can decide whether to execute the government's decisions and when and where.
Neither we nor the Future Movement have organized militias.
There is a big difference between the government's decision, which aims at reinforcing state control on all Lebanese territories and... Hezbollah's decision to go to war.
No one is thinking of disarming Hezbollah by force.
Legitimacy will not fall, and I do not advise Hezbollah to try to control the government and overthrow the Taif.
I advise the continuation of negotiations with Speaker Nabih Berri, who remains the head of the legitimate parliament.
How can Nasrallah rule the country when he is betraying three-quarters of its people?
Hezbollah did not exit the government. It participates when it wants, and leaves when it wants.
I will not respond to a person who wears the turban of Imam Ali.
I requested that Mount Lebanon remain calm.
Two of Talal Arslan's supporters were assassinated by members who do not belong to the PSP, and I am very sorry to hear that.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/10/2008 00:00 ||
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(Xinhua) -- Egypt and Saudi Arabia on Friday called on the Arab League (AL) to hold an emergency foreign ministers' meeting on Lebanon, where fierce clashes between the opposition and the ruling coalition leaving at least eight people dead and 40 others injured.
Always an occasion for fine dining, if not particularly effectual otherwise...
The two Arab countries have requested AL Secretary General Amr Moussa to hold the meeting as soon as possible, Egyptian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hossam Zaki was quoted by the official MENA news agency as saying. "The meeting is expected to be held within a couple of days," Zaki said.
On Tuesday, the Lebanese government declared the Shiite militant Hezbollah's telecommunications network illegal, calling it a threat to state security. It also decided to remove security chief of the country's only international airport in Beirut, Wafik Shqaier, over his alleged links to Hezbollah. Those cabinet decisions fueled the high tension between opposition Hezbollah and government supporters, which turned violent since Wednesday, with main roads in and around Beirut blocked by protestors.
Sectarian fighting between Hezbollah and pro-government supporters in Beirut entered a third day on Friday, with crackle of gunfire and sporadic bursts of rocket-propelled grenade echoing in the capital.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/10/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Hows about 15,000 feet say noonish. Should only take a couple of minutes before adjourning for a bite on the street.
Al-Qaeda has reportedly called on its operatives to go to Lebanon and defend what it called the Sunni community of the country. The report came while some Arab media outlets described the current clashes in Lebanon as a fight between Sunni and Shia communities.
In an interviews with Sunni clerics with links to Saad Hariri's pro-government bloc, Al-Arabiya TV network described the ongoing clashes as a sectarian strife. Sheikh Ali al-Jozo, Mufti of the Jebel region, who is well known for his harsh stance against Hezbollah told the TV network that the clashes are a battle between Lebanon's Shia and Sunni communities and called on Arab leaders to prevent "Iran's influence in the country."
The TV network reported that al-Qaeda on all of its websites urged its operatives to defend the Sunni community of Lebanon. The reports came while in interviews with NBN and al-Manar TV stations on Thursday, a number of Sunni clerics said that the clashes are not a sectarian strife and many Sunni Muslims in Lebanon support Hezbollah.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/10/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
BREAKING > PRESSTV - ZAWAHIRI in new message has called on Muslims to attack US, Israeli, and Allied interests throughout the ME + World???
#7
We used to make it over an open fire in a wire basket. Tasted exactly like microwahabi popcorn. It's when you fry it in coconut butter that it gets that great, partially hydrogenated taste.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
05/10/2008 10:11 Comments ||
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#9
I'll believe *that* when we start getting press reports of the al Queda leadership under Iranian "house arrest" blowing themselves up.
All of al Queda's assets are tied up rotting in shallow graves in a hundred different benighted wrecked countries, or bullying Pakistani tribal levees, or running from Philippine Marines, or hiding from American UAVs in Nineveh. Or half-lost playing with dune buggies somewhere in the trackless depths of the Sahara.
This is a propaganda ploy to try and re-build some street cred by rhetorically beating on the big Hezb badasses who're scaring the shit out of the financial jihadis. Maybe the Saudis are getting squirrelly about the Shia Crescent again?
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
05/10/2008 14:20 Comments ||
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Opposition figure Michel Aoun says he hopes the government would resign and the opposition would end its sit-in in central Beirut on Friday. In a press conference on Friday, Aoun said the recent developments in Lebanon is a way towards restoring the rule of Constitution and balance of power in the country which had been undermined recently, the Press TV office in Beirut reported.
While he had previously warned that the country was in the path of confrontation, the UN Security Council and world powers ignored his warnings, General Aoun added. The leader of the Free Patriotic Movement of Lebanon said he was sure that the Lebanese would resume ordinary life and the sit-in in central Beirut would end. Aoun said he guaranteed that nobody would be hurt and only the officials who had exceeded the boundaries of their responsibilities would be punished. An informed source had earlier told Press TV that Prime Minister Fuad Siniora might resign at 8:00 PM local time.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/10/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Only those government officials who challenged Hezbollah will be punished.
Lebanon's March 14 bloc has accused the Hezbollah movement of orchestrating an 'armed coup' after the opposition took control of Beirut. "The armed and bloody coup which is being implemented aims to return Syria to Lebanon and extend Iran's reach to the Mediterranean," the coalition said in a statement read by Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Friday.
Iran has rejected allegations that it is fueling violence in Lebanon. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Mohammad-Ali Hosseini, on Friday stressed Tehran's 'tireless efforts' in aiding Lebanese political parties to reach a compromise.
The Western-backed government on Tuesday decided to launch a probe into a communications network set up by the Hezbollah Movements. It also sacked Beirut Airport's Security Chief over alleged links to Hezbollah. Since then, fierce clashes erupted between the opposition and pro-government groups. On Friday, western-backed media outlets described the clashes as a sectarian strife. That is while both Shia and Sunni figures say the nature of clashes is solely political.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/10/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
How about "Hezbollah executes Iran-backed coup", instead?
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
05/10/2008 14:22 Comments ||
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Former Lebanese president Amine Gemayel says al-Qaeda forces have entered the country, making Lebanon vulnerable to 'any possibility'. Gemayel told ANB on Friday that new intelligence has indicated that members of al-Qaeda have entered Lebanon, taking refuge at Ein al-Halveh rfugee camp. "Al-Qaeda has always threatened Lebanon. I hope the Hezbollah leaders are aware of the consequences for the current unrest in the country," the former president added.
He added that the initiative by the Hezbollah Movement to confront the government is in lines with 'the coup' that the opposition has started. "The victory that they think they have achieved is only a trap," Gemayel said.
The Lebanese politician added that the clashes in Beirut and the presence of military forces will not influence the political parties. Gemayel also voiced his support for March 14 leader Saad Hariri's decision to revamp government organization in a bid to defuse the crisis in the country. He warned that if Hezbollah sought to undermine Lebanese army's authority, the country would be vulnerable to 'any possibility'.
Fierce clashes have erupted between supporters of rival political camps after Siniora's government outlawed a communications network used by Hezbollah and sacked Beirut Airport's security chief on Tuesday.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/10/2008 00:00 ||
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Druze leader Walid Jumblatt has dismissed earlier reports that Prime Minister Fuad Siniora was to step down from his post. The leader of the Progressive Socialist Party said Friday that the resignation of Siniora's government is not on the table but the government is mulling over reserving its previous decisions.
Jumblatt rejected the remarks by Hezbollah Secretary General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah that there had been plots to involve the army in war with the resistance movement. He reiterated that no compromise could be reached without endorsement of March 14 leader Saad Hariri. "We continue talks with (Parliament Speaker) Nabih Berri to work out a solution. I don't think that Berri and wise Shia figures agree with what is going on in the country."
Clashes erupted between supporters of rival political camps after Siniora's government outlawed a communications network used by Hezbollah and sacked Beirut Airport's security chief. At least 11 people have been killed in fierce battles in the Lebanese capital, Beirut - which is now under control of the opposition. "Hezbollah has proved itself as a totalitarian party through its recent moves. ..Nobody in Lebanon has even thought of disarming the resistance even for a moment because such an option is impossible," Jumblatt said, adding that, "We only negotiate with Nabih Berri."
Posted by: Fred ||
05/10/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
I am so tired of sending Hankies® over there to the Senorita!
BEIRUT - Hundreds of people flooded Lebanon's border crossings with Syria on Friday to escape the deadly sectarian violence that has shaken the country over the last three days. Crowds of men, women and children gathered at the Arida border crossing in the north and the Masnaa crossing in the east seeking to make their way out of Lebanon, AFP correspondents witnessed.
Those fleeing the fighting -- which has threatened to plunge Lebanon into a fresh civil war -- included British, American, German and Cypriots as well as numerous Syrian labourers. Several Arab states have already begun evacuating their nationals from Lebanon, whose only international airport and the Beirut port have been shut down because of the crisis.
Lebanon's international airport has been virtually shut down since Wednesday as anti-government protests escalated with militants blocking the main road with burning tyres and other obstacles. An airport official said all flight had been cancelled on Friday and it was unclear when traffic would resume, adding: "As soon as they open the road, the flights will resume."
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/10/2008 00:00 ||
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Author David Horowitz responded today to his recent controversy at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. David Horowitz, a popular conservative writer, was derided in a Nazi-like anti-Semitic cartoon, put out by the Muslim Student Association. The cartoon, which was copied and spread around campus, portrays Horowitz, a Jewish man, as a hooked-nose Nazi hiding in a trash can. The cartoon is a direct reference to similar anti-Semitic cartoons circulated in Germany right around the time of the Holocaust. In the crude cartoon, Horowitz has an armband with the letter "H," a direct and tasteless reference to the yellow armbands Jews were forced to wear in the Holocaust, with a Star of David, denoting themselves as Jews. Horowitz has been outspoken on Islamic fascism and was set to speak about it. The cartoon also includes the phrase, "Horowitz Awareness Week." More than ten students were removed from the hall in which he gave his lecture, and metal detectors were set up in the entrance.
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee has yet to put out a statement condemning the obviously anti-Semitic cartoon. This may become a bigger issue, as the Muslim Student Association is a campus organization, funded by students of the university and the university itself. The Muslim Student Association, which made the cartoon, has yet to make any public statements or apologies. The Muslim Students' Association has its campus headquarters located inside the Student Union, with its own office. While walking in the Student Union, Horowitz discovered the crude cartoon. Horowitz said that 2,000 fliers, advertising his speaking engagement, were torn down by members of the MSA.
#2
Before I even arrived at the University of Wisconsin, members of the MSA had torn down 2,000 flyers posted to advertise my event, and surrounded students distributing our pamphlet at a table while screaming cancel the speech. Their efforts at intimidation had so alarmed campus security that university officials ordered metal detectors and a security force of a more than dozen burly officers and staffers for the event. I didnt count how many individuals had to be ejected during my remarks but there were many. Ironically, the standard complaint of the Muslim Students Association is that my ad endangered safety of Muslim students and should have been suppressed for that reason. In fact the conservative students who organized my event and were the chief opponents of the MSA, were mainly dressed in suits and ties and were exceptionally polite. They did not shout back or rant, as the MSA students and their progressive supporters did, nor had they torn down posters or ever obstructed speakers for MSA events.
The MSA is a terrorist organization who uses violence, and the threat of violence to get its political way. Just like Hamas and Hizbollah - they methods are pretty much the same.
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.
(SomaliNet) Eritrea has denied that it has any problems with Djibouti, which accuses it of amassing troops on their border. 
The United States said on Saturday documents handed over by North Korea detailed its weapons-grade plutonium program as far back as 1986 and were an "important first step" in getting a full declaration of the North's nuclear activities.
(Xinhua) -- The ruling party in northwestern Pakistan province on Friday held dialogue with local Taliban operating in Swat valley to settle issues on negotiating table and restore peace in the area. The Awami National Party (ANP) of North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and the local Taliban agreed on ceasefire as confidence building measure, ANP spokesman Zahid Khan told a private Geo TV channel. 
The Palestinians' top peace negotiator said on Saturday he feared a criminal investigation of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert could damage the chance of a deal this year on Palestinian statehood.
Iran on Friday accused the United States and Israel of fueling the deadly sectarian fighting in Lebanon between its Shiite militant Hezbollah ally and the Western-backed ruling majority.
Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora has said his country would not fall to Hezbollah after four days of street battles in the capital left 24 dead. 
Al-Qaeda has reportedly called on its operatives to go to Lebanon and defend what it called the Sunni community of the country. The report came while some Arab media outlets described the current clashes in Lebanon as a fight between Sunni and Shia communities. 
BEIRUT - Hundreds of people flooded Lebanon's border crossings with Syria on Friday to escape the deadly sectarian violence that has shaken the country over the last three days. Crowds of men, women and children gathered at the Arida border crossing in the north and the Masnaa crossing in the east seeking to make their way out of Lebanon, AFP correspondents witnessed.
