Suspected Al Qaeda leader Abu Qatada is celebrating his release from prison with the release of a book in which he urges Muslims to commit terrorist attacks in the West. In the 71-page tract, published in English translation on the internet, he repeatedly claims that fighting jihad, holy war, is obligatory for all Muslims and urges them to 'terrorise' non-believers. Security sources say his clear incitement to violence makes a mockery of the decision to set him free.
The preacher of hate, who has been described as Osama Bin Laden's right-hand man in Europe, was released on bail from Long Lartin prison in Worcestershire on Tuesday after the blocking of his deportation to Jordan, where he is wanted on terror charges. A judge ruled there were no grounds to keep him in jail, but the Special Immigration Appeals Commission imposed unprecedented conditions on his release, including a stipulation that he observe a 22-hour curfew and wear an electronic tag. He will be under round-the-clock surveillance in a MI5 safehouse and is specifically banned from contacting Bin Laden.
Counter-terrorism officials believe that Qatada, 47, remains a grave threat to national security and will be furious to learn he has yet again flouted the law by publishing his sickening views as he is set free. The revelations are likely to prompt demands for a new investigation into whether Qatada should be charged with inciting murder and racial hatred. A senior security source said: 'The contents of the book are an affront to all decent people. By publishing it now, Qatada and his supporters are giving the two-fingered salute to the criminal justice system.'
Referring to supporters of democracy, Qatada proclaims in his book that 'rising up against them with weapons and with force is an individual obligation upon every Muslim'. He says Muslims should ' prepare to terrorise the enemies of Allah and incite believers to fight'.
#7
And he gets to do it all on the infidel's dime...
Since Qatada claimed asylum in 1993, he and his family have already cost the taxpayer well over £1million and the bill will now rise dramatically.
Legal aid for his initial battle to remain came to about £20,000.
Between 1993 and 2002, he and his expanding family are said to have received £1,000 a month in state handouts. Total £108,000.
Since he was locked up six years ago, the Muslim cleric's wife and five children have continued to receive an estimated £800 a month. Total £60,000.
The cost of keeping him behind bars for the last six years is estimated at £300,000, while his marathon legal quest to avoid extradition to Jordan is thought to have cost another £500,000 since.
Out of prison, he will have to observe a 22-hour curfew, wear a tag, and live in a MI5 safehouse. At great expense to the taxpayer, he will also be under round-the-clock surveillance by police and the security services. Total cost of all this is estimated at between £300,000 and £500,000 per year.
#9
A .38 caliber bullet costs less than a pound. The savings to Britain would have been tremendous if he'd been capped in 1993 or so. As for his "extended family", they should be forced to take up permanent residence on Ascension Island, with no British support whatsoever. They should be allowed to use whatever washes up on the beaches, but nothing else (not many beaches on Ascension).
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
06/19/2008 14:22 Comments ||
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(Xinhua) -- The United States said on Wednesday that it will impose sanctions against a Venezuelan official and others accused of providing financial support to the Hezbollah, an Islamic militant group in Lebanon.
The US Treasury Department's action covers Ghazi Nasr al Din, an official at the Venezuelan Embassy in Lebanon who had until recently served at his country's embassy in Syria. Other targeted are Fawzi Kan'an and two Venezuelan-based travel agencies -- Biblos and Hilal -- that he allegedly owns or controls.
Under U.S. law, any financial assets found in the United States belonging to those designated Wednesday must be frozen. Americans are forbidden from doing business with them. "It is extremely troubling to see the government of Venezuela employing and providing safe harbor to Hezbollah facilitators and fund-raisers," said Adam Szubin, director of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/19/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
"Ghazi Nasr al Din" who is from a fine old Venezuelan family.....
Lawyers for Jack Thomas will appeal to the High Court to prevent him being re-tried on terrorism charges. The Victorian Court of Appeal this week dismissed an appeal by his lawyers and ruled the former Melbourne taxi driver, who once styled himself Jihad Jack, should be re-tried.
Thomas, 35, was cleared of terror charges in 2006, but the court directed he be re-tried on the same two counts following statements he made in an interview aired earlier that year on the ABC's Four Corners program. The Court of Appeal agreed statements Mr Thomas made in the interview could support a conviction on both counts. However, Mr Thomas' lawyers challenged the re-trial order arguing the Crown would have known about the interview during the first trial and it did not therefore offer any fresh evidence.
Today, Mr Thomas' lawyers indicated during a mention hearing in the Victorian Supreme Court they were pursuing their legal rights. As part of the first step in the process, they must make an application to the High Court seeking leave to appeal the re-trial order. The Court of Appeal ordered Mr Thomas be re-tried on one count of accepting money from terrorist organisation al-Qaeda and one count of possessing a false Australian passport.
Mr Thomas was sentenced in March 2006 to a maximum five years for receiving funds from terror group al-Qaeda and holding a false passport. But his convictions were quashed by the Court of Appeal in August, 2006, after it ruled Mr Thomas's interview with the Australian Federal Police (AFP) in Pakistan in 2003 the key prosecution evidence was inadmissible.
With most of the eight Marines charged in the Haditha, Iraq, incident now exonerated, the highest-ranking officer among the accused is considering a lawsuit against Democratic Rep. John Murtha, who fueled the case by declaring the men cold-blooded killers. 'bout time.
In an interview with nationally syndicated radio talk host Michael Savage, the lead attorney for Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani said he and his client will look into suing Murtha and the Time magazine reporter, Tim McGuirk, who first published the accusations by Iraqi insurgents. Go Get 'em Ray!
But the attorney, Brian Rooney, said nothing will happen immediately because he wants Chessani, described as a devout Christian and the father of six homeschooled children, completely 'out of the woods' legally before any action is taken. The government, through Lt. Col. S.M. Sullivan, today filed a notice that it would appeal the case to the next judicial level.
As WND reported, a military judge at Camp Pendleton in California yesterday dismissed charges that Chessani failed to properly investigate the Nov. 19, 2005 incident in which 24 Iraqi men, women and children were killed.
Rooney, an attorney for the Thomas More Law Center who served a tour of duty in Iraq himself, is urging citizens to tell their representatives in Congress and military officials that they want the case to come to an end. Already on it. Kill the witch hunt.
'At some point you have to have somebody in the chain of command, whether it's civilian or military, saying enough is enough,' said Rooney, who served with Chessani in the second battle of Fallujah.
Rooney told Savage the Haditha case is the largest investigation in the history of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, with 65 agents assigned by the government. Biggest waste of federal legal dollars evah!
The filing of charges against Chessani was approved by Gen. James Mattis, then commander of the Marine Corps Forces Central Command and commander of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton. Mattis has been promoted to commander of NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Transformation and commander of U.S. Joint Forces.
'This is the most important case since Vietnam, if not before,' Rooney said. 'There's no doubt about it.'
He noted the New York Times featured the case on the front page when it was being compared by war critics to the infamous My Lai massacre in Vietnam. But now, with evidence the Haditha accusations were a smear, the story has been relegated to the back pages.
The military judge, Col. Steve Folsom, dismissed Chessani's charges without prejudice, giving permission for the prosecutors to continue trying to build a case that began in December 2006. Good Luck. There is nothing there.
Four Marines were charged with murder and another four with not properly investigating the incident. Defense lawyers contend insurgents deliberately attacked the Marines from hiding places where they surrounded themselves with civilians to use as shields. The defense insisted Chessani promptly reported the events to his superiors and that nobody in the chain of command believed there was any wrongdoing on the part of the Marines.
Rooney acknowledged to Savage it's difficult to sue a sitting congressman, but he believes it can be done. 'If he leaves his realm of speaking from the congressman's point of view then he can be sued for libel and defamation,' Rooney said. And congressmen should be responsible for what they say. No 'Protected' speech crap.
Um, no ...
The Time magazine story, according to Rooney, was planted by an insurgent propaganda agent. Publishing of the story was soon followed by a May 17, 2006, news conference by Murtha. The congressman announced he had been told by the highest levels of the Marine Corps there was no firefight and Marines 'killed innocent civilians in cold blood.'
'All the information I get, it comes from the commanders, it comes from people who know what they're talking about,' Murtha told reporters at the time.
Murtha's assertions, however, conflicted with results from the military's own investigations. An initial probe by Army Col. G.A. Watt found no indications coalition forces 'intentionally targeted, engaged and killed noncombatants.' Later, Army Maj. Gen. Aldon Bargewell found no cover-up. Nevertheless, the Marine Corps eventually brought charges against Chessani and seven other Marines.
But now the cases against Lance Cpls. Stephen Tatum and Justin Sharratt, Capts. Randy Stone and Lucas McConnell and Sgt. Sanick P. Dela Cruz have been dropped. First Lt. Andrew Grayson has been acquitted, leaving only the case of Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich untested in court and Chessani prosecutors facing the hurdles of the appeal process.
WND previously reported a military jury of seven officers acquitted Grayson of all charges.
The ruling by Col. Folsom yesterday followed a previous decision in which he confirmed evidence of unlawful command influence. The evidence indicated two generals who controlled Chessani's case were influenced by Marine lawyer Col. John Ewers, who was allowed to attend at least 25 closed-session meetings in which the case was discussed. Bring Military charges against them too. Bunch of political wannabe hacks.
Rooney acknowledged the Haditha case taken a toll on the Marine Corps. 'There's no doubt it's affected recruiting,' he told Savage. 'How could you have your sons or daughters join the Marine Corps when you're not sure the government will protect them?'
Rooney was asked by Savage why he thought Murtha, a former Marine himself, accused the officers and enlisted men. 'In my opinion, it's clear it was done during the election cycle, it was done to bolster himself in the party,' the attorney said. 'He was vying for a leadership position, and if he had to throw some Marines under the bus to do so, that was the cost of power for him.' Future Republican candidate?
He hopes soon politicians will weigh in on the case in support of Chessani and the others. 'I would think all politicians, especially politicians that have military records, should say something about this case,' he said. 'In a horrible and very complex environment, when you have an enemy that's using women and children as shields, you should always give the benefit of the doubt to the Marine or soldier,' said Rooney. 'You should never bring him back and put him in front of a court martial.' Amen.
#4
If Murtha isn't ruined by this accusation citizens should chase him down and tar and feather him.
The fact that he won his last election even after his slander was issued speaks volumes about his electorate - none of it good. They're every bit as bad as the willfully blind, partisan sheepvoters in my state of Mass.
If he leaves his realm of speaking from the congressmans point of view then he can be sued for libel and defamation, Rooney said.
What he means is that Murthas eventually going to invoke the Speech and Debate Clause to try to get himself off the hook. Read the actual language of the clause and youll see its designed to shield congressmen for any Speech or Debate in either House Minor problem for Murtha: He wasnt inside the House chamber when he accused the Marines of having killed in cold blood. He was giving a news conference, which arguably is encompassed by the clause if it occurs within the Capitol building.
Hes ultimately going to have to convince some judge that the touchstone for the S&D Clause shouldnt be where a congressman is when hes speaking but rather where he is when he becomes privy to the information he spoke about. That is to say, so long as hes talking about stuff he learned on the job, hes free to be as irresponsible with it as he likes, wherever he likes. If he wants to hold a pay-per-view event in which he divulges details of some secret congressional report then its all good. The thing to bear in mind, though, is how gratuitous Murthas comments here were. A paradigm case for the Speech and Debate Clause would be if a congressman had some hard proof of government wrongdoing and feared being prosecuted if he revealed it; having the constitutional privilege to protect him would let him speak freely. Murtha had no proof of wrongdoing. He had a bunch of accusations and an agenda, and unlike the other 534 members of Congress, he simply couldnt wait to let the legal process play out to push that agenda. And now hes going to try to use S&D as a get-out-of-slander-free card. Perfect.
At least they can hit him big in the wallet and force him to spend big bucks on legal fees. Murtha would probably prefer letting them all line up and kick him in the balls.
#6
No, Murtha can just introduce legislation that extends the speech and debate clause to anything a Congresscritter says. William Jefferson will introduce an amendment to the bill to exempt Congresscritters from anything they do as well. Most of Congress will jump in and approve it, over Bush's veto, since it gives them immunity from anything.
Posted by: Rambler in California ||
06/19/2008 11:58 Comments ||
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#7
At least they can hit him big in the wallet and force him to spend big bucks on legal fees. Murtha would probably prefer letting them all line up and kick him in the balls.
No he'll just give a few millions of earmarks to corporations who donate to his legal fees. In short us peasants will be stuck with the highly-inflated bill.
#9
The fact that he won his last election even after his slander was issued speaks volumes about his electorate - none of it good. They're every bit as bad as the willfully blind, partisan sheepvoters in my state of Mass.
I'm not just talking about PA. I'm suggesting any US citizen should do it.
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama says if Osama bin Laden is captured alive, the United States should bring him to justice but in a way that avoids turning the al Qaeda leader into a martyr. After meeting with a team of top foreign policy advisers including some seasoned diplomats he has newly recruited, Obama hit back at efforts by his Republican rival John McCain to paint him as weak on fighting terrorism.
And giving Binny a 'fair trial' makes him look strong?
McCain allies, including former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, have accused Obama of having a 'pre-9/11 mindset' that focuses on law enforcement in fighting the war on terror.
But Obama linked McCain's national security approach to that of President George W. Bush, calling it 'disastrous' and citing the failure to capture bin Laden as evidence of the failure. 'The record shows that George Bush and John McCain have been weak on terrorism,' Obama told reporters. 'Their approach has failed. Because of their policies, we are less safe, less respected, and less able to lead the world.'
Weak on terrorism: you mean Bush didn't kill enough of them?
Asked by a reporter how he would proceed if bin Laden were caught during his presidency, Obama said 'we may not be able to capture him alive.'
'It does not make sense for me to speculate in terms of what the best approach would be in trying him and bringing him to justice,' Obama said. 'I think what would be important would be for us to deal with him in a way that allows the entire world to understand the murderous acts that he's engaged in and not to make him into a martyr,' he added.
Paging Mr. Horton, Mr. Willie Horton to the red courtesy phone ...
'And to assure that the United States government is abiding by basic conventions that would strengthen our hand in the broader battle against terrorism.'
Paging Mr. Clark, Mr. Ramsey Clark to the white courtesy phone ...
Posted by: Fred ||
06/19/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
ION FREEREPUBLIC > seems NORTH KOREA + SYRIA discussed putting CHEM WARHEADS atop missles???
#7
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama says if Osama bin Laden is captured alive, the United States should bring him to justice but in a way that avoids turning the al Qaeda leader into a martyr
What, you mean garotting him in an oubliette without any press mention? Because that seems the safest way to liquidate his Osamaness without anybody making a successful martyr of him.
Asked by a reporter how he would proceed if bin Laden were caught during his presidency, Obama said 'we may not be able to capture him alive.'
Uh, actually, this sounds surprisingly like Obama just proposed murdering bin Laden in secrecy. Jeez, that's the most sensible thing I've ever heard the Obamanation propose. I must be mis-interpreting his Changeness.
Wouldn't it be a trip if the first thing they told President Obama upon swearing in that Bush had had bin Laden secretly liquidated in late 2002?
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
06/19/2008 8:22 Comments ||
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#8
Just shoot him and leave his body for the vultures.
And doc, what has the Sarlacc ever do to you to deserve being fed OBL?
#9
"Just shoot him and leave his body for the vultures."
NO NO NO. He MUST be presumed INNOCENT in a COURT OF LAW, until proven guilty! We MUST follor the Geneva conventions and give all mass murderers of Americans the benefit of the doubt.
#11
Rush is off target with his focus on the presumption of innocence. The real question is how you can impanel an impartial jury with the President of the United States having condemned him for committing the crime. No jury, no trial.
The only trial Osama would get is a show trial. And I doubt that it would convince anyone of anything. Osama should not be taken alive. Didn't work for Napoleon, won't work for Osama.
The latest Obama: we need to bring him to us civilian courts where he is PRESUMED INNOCENT and entitled to a jury of his peers.
Umm, Senator Dumbass, we tried the law enforcement first approach, back in the 93 bombing of the WTC. Didn't work. This is a completely naive, stupid and 9/10 attitude that will get more Americans killed.
And what about Obama's own words that he would invade Pakistan to get to him, and kill him?
So Obamessiah, you hypocritical son of a bitch, which is it? Presumed innocent? Or Kill using the military?
Frikcen press, keeps shoveling coverups for this idiot. Maybe its time to take down the mainsteram leftist press since they are abandoning any pretense of impartiality and are destroying democracy by mal-informing the public. Soon it will be time to strike back at the dishonest destructive press, and it will not be with words.
#13
I'd worry less about making a martyr out of him than just getting bin Laden. If you have to bury him under a freeway in New Jersey--fine. Just get him. I can see merit out of making it public that we have caught and killed him. Saddam did not become a martyr after we caught him. Zarqawi did not become a martyr. All those other Taliban and AQ $hitheads that we got did not become martyrs. bin Laden did not give any consideration to the 3000+ Americans he killed on 911 or the numerous other innocents he killed as the result of bombings and other terrorist acts he perpetrated. The world will not miss him a bit. He is evil as Hitler was evil. Bush will have done what he said he was going to do and a message will be sent to other wannabees that there is a price to pay for terror acts.
#16
Obama said. '... to deal with him in a way that allows the entire world to understand the murderous acts .
I'm reminded of the OJ trial, yeah the whole world watched and laughed at this ridiculous outcome.
hmmmm, a jury of his peers, put some of the congress critters in the jury box.
Asked by a reporter how he would proceed if bin Laden were caught during his presidency, Obama said 'we may not be able to capture him alive.'
you got that right
Remember Pulp Fiction; Vincent asks Marvin for his opinion about the "miracle," accidentally shooting him in the face while carelessly waving his gun.(I wanted to add that picture from the movie here)
Man that was a great movie.
Posted by: Jan ||
06/19/2008 13:35 Comments ||
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#17
The Democrats seem to see this war as some kind of game and both sides should play by Marqiuse of Queensbury rules.
If it comes down to relying on the court system, a bullet in the brain, or Hellfire vaporization to put him away, I'd lean to option B or C. Closes all possible loopholes. A martyr's a martyr. But he's still dead.
#18
The Power Line guys take him to task on this, and rip him to pieces. Obama has the insight into foreign policy of a third-grader in the worst school district in Washington, DC. Electing him to the Senate was a disaster: making him President of the United States would constitute a lapse of judgment similar to electing George III the first American president.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
06/19/2008 14:48 Comments ||
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Posted by: Jan ||
06/19/2008 16:06 Comments ||
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#20
Soldier's Option. You think the brass has enough balls to prosecute any troopie who wacks OBL?* What do you want him for, intelligence? He's one of the two at the top, you don't need further info from him.
*Yeah, make my day. You think slick fingers Murtha keeps getting reelected, once young trigger puller is out, he'd be able to do a Hillary and end up Senator from a state and have his former superiors in front of him for hearings.
An ex-commando, working undercover for the FBI, took photographs as aspiring terrorists plotted to carry out attacks against U.S. soldiers in Iraq. They trained with weapons and learned how to make suicide vests. Only this didn't happen in Iraq, Afghanistan, or Pakistan. This training played out in Toledo, Ohio, and involved three Americans drawn to the call of Jihad, CBS News justice and homeland security correspondent Bob Orr reports.
While these radicals have now been convicted, CBS News has learned e-mails and phone calls connect the Toledo cell to terror suspects in at least three other North American cities - and to a notorious al Qaeda operative. "Its important that we just don't look at cells in isolation, we look at their connectivity to each other," said CBS News homeland security consultant Paul Kurtz.
Here's how this radical web was spun. The Toledo trio was in frequent contact with two Chicago men who are now charged with plotting attacks of their own. Those Chicago suspects in turn communicated with two college-age students in Atlanta, sending e-mails asking them to "come and see our preparation..." for violent Jihad. That preparation, the government charges, was conspiring with a Canadian terror cell to bomb Toronto landmarks. And it all connected through the Internet, and to a shadowy al Qaeda webmaster known as Irhabi 007.
When police raided 007's London flat in 2005 they found among the evidence a video showing security at the U.S. Capitol, fuel tanks and other targets in Washington. The video was shot by the Atlanta suspects. None of these plots came close to working - all were infiltrated and busted. But, the connections suggest there is an active network of support for homegrown radicals looking to do us harm.
#2
Oh, no...they used the internet!!! Everybody panic!
Just imagine if they said terror cells were using...the TELEPHONE SYSTEM to plan their attacks! They're even using these hard-to-find MOBILE telephones now! Obviously, if we didn't have telephones, then there would be no terrorism.
#3
Wasn't there some schmuck last week selling the line that real terrorists didn't go around taking pictures or videotaping targets? Might have been Instapundit.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
06/19/2008 8:16 Comments ||
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#4
To attack these networks and roll them up, you can't do it with a pre 911 mentality.
A U.S. human rights group says medical examinations show that former terrorism suspects once held by the United States had been tortured.
'What do you make of this, Dr. Bung?'
'Hmmm... Definitely panty scars. Classic case.'
The Massachusetts-based Physicians for Human Rights conducted an evaluation of 11 detainees who were freed without charge after being held at U.S. prisons in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; Iraq and Afghanistan. The group says the former detainees detailed beatings, sleep deprivation, electric shock, shacklings, forced nakedness, severe stress positions, humiliation, sexual assault, and being spit and urinated on. The U.S. government has defended its interrogation techniques and has consistently said it does not torture prisoners.
Well, who ya gonna believe? The U.S. government? Or al-Qaeda?
I'm a doc. It's not clear to me how a medical examination would reveal humiliation, stress positions, forced nakedness, sleep deprivation or being spat/urinated upon. I may have missed that part in my medical training.
One might detect scars from shackles or electric shocks. Ditto from sexual assault, though you need to be trained properly to do the exam right.
The report by Physicians for Human Rights said the findings cannot be generalized since so few people were examined. But it said the patterns of abuse are consistent with numerous governmental and independent investigations of ill-treatment of detainees.
'... and then they shoved a rifle butt up my arse!'
'Where?'
'Right here! See? It left a hole!'
One examiner said the team found clear physical and psychological evidence of torture and abuse, often causing lasting suffering.
Let's see their evidence. All of it. Put into proper medical format, redact the identifying information, and release it to the public. Include photogaphs and radiographs.
In response to a Senate hearing Tuesday about agressive interrogation techniques on terror suspects, Tony Fratto, a White House spokesman, said it has always been the policy of the government to treat detainees humanely. He said abuse has never been the policy of the government.
This article starring:
Physicians for Human Rights
Posted by: Fred ||
06/19/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
I'd wish inmates from the regular US jail system would get as much attention from those tiring guantanomo rejects... but looking at actual violence and predation laid upon non-muslims (by other inmates mostly, and sometime by guards) is just too MUNDANE, even morec so if they happen to be white. The muslims, especially those who fight against the USA, are now the new victim group by default.
#2
Didn't Eliot Spitzer pay good money for this kind of treatment?
Posted by: bruce ||
06/19/2008 11:19 Comments ||
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#3
We need to draft the members of this "Physicians for Human Rights" and send them to Afghanistan and Iraq. They need to spend a year or so trying to clean up the mess these "tortured" souls blow up, burn, behead, rape, beat, and torture with things like electric drills, hammers, electric shock, and other lovely devices and practices. THEN, and only then, let them complain about what they "find" at Guantanimo.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
06/19/2008 21:59 Comments ||
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NEW DELHI: Pakistans Islamist press has thrown its weight behind a group of mid-level and senior officers in the armed forces, who have been pressuring Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant-General Pervez Ashfaq Kiyani to terminate counter-terrorism operations in the North West Frontier Province and resume support for the jihad in Jammu and Kashmir.
Last weeks air-strike on a Pakistan border post in the Mohmand Agency, in which several soldiers were killed, led jihadist leaders and commentators to call an end to Islamabads cooperation with the United States and to demand that it wind down the détente process with India, which they claim is working to exterminate Pakistan.
Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, chief of the Lashkar-e-Taibas parent religious body, the Jamaat-ud-Dawa, called on June 12 for Pakistan to give a tit-for-tat reply to the United States. It could do this, he suggested, by dissociating itself from the war on terror and joining the mujahideen to fight in Afghanistan and Kashmir.
Saeeds deputy and key Lashkar military tactician, Abdul Rehman Makki, speaking to a congregation at Islamabads Jamia Masjid Quba the same evening, went one step further, asking that the Pakistan government should snap ties with the U.S. and Europe and wage an open jihad against them.
In similar vein, the Daily Jasarats Friday Special released on the same day as Mr. Makkis speech called for Pakistan to abandon the war on terror and concentrate on the liberation of Kashmir through jihad. The money that the U.S. provides us for fighting the war on terror, the newspaper editorially argued, is nothing compared to the losses we have suffered. By fighting the war on terror, we only compounded our miseries.
Pakistani jihadists have been telling their audiences the jihad in Jammu and Kashmir is essential to the nations survival. Nawa-i-Waqt, for example, complained that India was seeking to choke Pakistans water sources, India has eaten the mother of our rivers Kashmir, it said. We should stop talking peace with India, it proceeded, We should strengthen the mujahideen. We should wage jihad against India, otherwise it will turn Pakistan into a barren land.
Positions like these are not new. Just last month, for example, Saeed claimed that the enemies of Islam are giving India unlimited resources so that it can construct dams on Pakistani rivers. He asserted that the Crusaders, the Jews, and the Hindus all have united against the Muslims, and launched the war on terror which is in fact a pretext to impose a horrible war to further the nefarious goals of the enemies of Islam.
Saeed demanded that Pakistani rulers should restore the trust of the Kashmiris by adhering to the policy of jihad. Kashmir is not an integral part of India. It is an integral part of Pakistan! The nation will not allow the sacrifices of more than a hundred thousand Kashmiris to be disregarded and overlooked.
Nida-i-Millat, another influential Islamist newspaper, called in its May 22, 2008, issue for an end to the growing popular culture exchanges which have characterised the détente process. So long as India does not end its illegal occupation of Kashmir, the newspaper said, there should be no trade, economic and cultural ties with it, a criticism of Peoples Party of Pakistan chairman Asif Ali Zardari, who has made clear he wishes to enlarge bilateral trade and people-to-people contact independently of dialogue on the conflict.
India has been subjugating Kashmir for the last 60 years, the Nida-i-Millat argued, and is committing atrocities against our Kashmiri brothers. Around 52 dams are being constructed on the waters of occupied Kashmir. This will turn our land into a barren desert. India is conspiring to destroy us, but we are importing their cheap culture.
Islamist polemic of this type is targeted at mid-level officers in the Pakistan army, who have been worn down by their gruelling counter-terrorism campaigns in the North West Frontier Province. Products of the new-model army constructed during the regime of General Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq, with the aid of neoconservative religious organisations, many of the officers see themselves as guardians not just of the state of Pakistan, but Islam itself.
President Pervez Musharrafs decision to side with the U.S. after the events of September 11, 2001, was seen as a betrayal of the anti-India, pro-jihad postures which bound the army to him during his coup against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Islamists within the Pakistan army also have the tactical support of influential old-school nationalists, including several retired Directors-General who believe President Musharrafs policies have opened up existence-threatening fault-lines which can only be healed by an accommodation with the religious right.
Posted by: john frum ||
06/19/2008 23:23 ||
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#1
No surprise here - IMO to protect their pan-Islamist NUCLEARIZATION efforts, they need to either defeat NATO + Pakis Govt, or more likely keep the local situation in wilful sectarian flux/chaos, i.e. "CONTAIN/ISOLATE" NATO-PAKI GOVT FORCES ALA ISRAEL + HIZBULLAH, HAMAS, ETC.
*NEWS > CANADIAN, US INTEL are warning that HIZB HEZB OPERATIVES have left Lebanon-ME for cells in CANADA proper, AFRICA, + ASIA in order to initiate new TerrorOps in retaliation for the MUGNIYEH killing. MOVEMENT IN POSSIB COORDIN WID IRAN'S IRGC > MAY NOT ATTACK US TARGETS DUE TO THE CURRENT SITUATION IN THE ME VV IRAN.
A Swat-based Taliban representative on Wednesday criticised the NWFP governments inability to implement the May 21 agreement.
Ali Bakht, a member of a Taliban committee holding talks with the NWFP government, told Daily Times that a positive response was expected of the government within the time frame set by the Taliban. Taliban have issued a deadline expiring on June 23 for the release of their prisoners and withdrawal of troops from Swat valley. According to the Taliban sources, under the agreement Taliban prisoners should have been freed 15 days after the deal. Eighteen Taliban prisoners were set free by the government following the peace deal while another 55 are still in prison. Bakht said the Taliban have been patient since the signing of the peace deal. Taliban also announced on Tuesday to sever ties with the government protesting its slow progress in resolving theoutstanding issues.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/19/2008 00:00 ||
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Jamiat-e- Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Wednesday met Tehreek-e- Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Muhammadi (TSNM) chief Maulana Sufi Muhammad at his residence in village Maidan of Dir Lower District. They held discussions on the prevailing security situation in the Malakand division, particularly in Swat district.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/19/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: TNSM
This is the first time the United States has deliberately targeted co-operating Pakistani forces, Jehangir Karamat, a former Pakistan army chief and ambassador to Washington, has been quoted as telling the New York Times, referring to a US air raid on a border post in the Mohmand Agency. Karamat said, There has been no statement by the US that this was friendly fire and that the intention was not to target Pakistani forces.
The newspaper quoted two Pakistani officials from Islamabad as saying the Pakistani military was so angry over the American airstrikes last week that it was threatening to postpone or cancel an American programme to train a Pakistani paramilitary force in counterinsurgency tactics to be used for combating militants.
No problem, we can find other uses for our personnel ...
The report said some Pakistani officials were convinced that the Americans had deliberately fired on their military, killing 11 men from the very paramilitary force the Americans want to train, an accusation the Americans deny. There has been no word of regret or apology from the Pentagon.
The US military has said the airstrikes were carried out in self-defence against militants who had attacked American forces in Afghanistan and then fled into Pakistan. But the Pakistanis continue to dispute important parts of the American account.
Ending or delaying the programme, which is already under way, would deny the US what little leverage it has in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas to combat a rising number of cross-border attacks from Pakistan into Afghanistan, the paper said.
It would also free up the area for the Afghan National Army ...
Posted by: Fred ||
06/19/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#1
TOPIX > RUSSIAN ANALYST: PAKISTAN NUKES ARE A GREATER REGIONAL THREAT THAN IRAN OR ISRAEL. Demands the US-World do something to secure Paki Nucprogs [Terrorists]before something bad happens.; + COUNTERTERRORISM BLOG > THE STRATEGIC THREAT FROM NUCLEAR TERRORISM.
Shia clerics have condemned bomb blasts and the killings of Shias in Dera Ismail Khan, Hangu and Parachinar and called for local Taliban to be driven out of the NWFP.
Allama Hussain Masoodi said his community was silent but not weak, and that the Taliban in the NWFP should be evacuated at once.
Syed Muhammad Aun Naqvi said that the new government in the NWFP had failed to maintain law and order. The silence of the government and Fazlur Rehman after the killings is disappointing, he said. The NWFP government has proved it cannot control the situation after giving Parachinar to the [local] Taliban.
Shia clerics and orators held a protest in front of Karachi Press Club on Wednesday, in which they also condemned the abduction of a Khairpur Shia cleric Irshad Naqvi.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/19/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
So the Talib is beating up on the Apostates as well as the Infidels, and generally being driven to violence by their irrational hatred thats at the core do their ideology?
Muslim countries have won a battle to prevent Islam from being criticised during debates by the UN Human Rights Council. Religions deserve special protection because any debate about faith is bound to be very complex, very sensitive and very intense, council President Doru-Romulus Costea said Wednesday. Only religious scholars should be allowed to discuss matters of faith, he told journalists in Geneva.
Only religious scholars should be allowed to discuss matters of faith. It was prompted by Muslim countries complaining about references to Islam.
While Costeas ban applies to all religions, it was prompted by Muslim countries complaining about references to Islam. Costea issued his presidential ruling on Monday during the eighth meeting of the councils 47 members, which do not include the United States. The ruling will not affect findings by the councils experts, just its chamber debates.
On Monday Egypt, Pakistan and Iran angrily protested attempts by a humanist group to link Islam to human rights abuses such as female genital mutilation and so-called honour killing of women. The interventions sparked a heated debate which threatened to sour the mood of the meeting. The councils resolutions carry no legal weight but are intended to throw a spotlight on governments that abuse their citizens. This council is not prepared to discuss religious matters in depth, consequently we should not do it, Costea ruled after an emergency break to calm the situation.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/19/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Global Jihad
#1
I can see it now:
"Next on the agenda, people beheading others while shouting 'Allahu akbar'".
"Religious debate. Next item"
"People flying planes into buildings while shouting 'Allahu akbar'"
"Religious debate. Move on."
"People praying the rosary in Riyadh"
"Oohh - that one we can talk about. Obviously a violation of the human rights of peaceful Muslims"
Posted by: Rambler in California ||
06/19/2008 0:19 Comments ||
Top||
BEIRUT - A prisoner swap between Israel and Hezbollah is imminent, a Lebanese official said on Wednesday, with the Shiite group set to hand over two captured Israeli soldiers in exchange for several militants. 'Barring any last-minute obstacles we expect very soon Israel to return seven to 10 prisoners and the bodies of 10 Hezbollah fighters,' the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
He said the swap could take place in Germany, which has been acting as mediator between Israel and Hezbollah.
Israel and Hezbollah, which is backed by Damascus and Tehran, have also held indirect talks aimed at securing the release of two Israeli soldiers captured in July 2006 in a deadly cross-border raid that sparked the 34-day war. Hezbollah has refused to disclose whether the two soldiers, Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, are alive or dead. Both were believed to be seriously wounded in the July 12 raid by Hezbollah guerrillas.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's special envoy for negotiations on the soldiers, Ofer Dekel, on Wednesday met their families 'to brief them on the latest developments in the talks,' a senior official said. Another senior Israeli official involved in the talks said however that the prisoner swap 'will not take place in the coming days.'
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/19/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
And after this one we can finally put and end to the whole abduction for swap thingey.
#2
I don't have words bad enough to describe Samir Kuntar. If the Israelis are ever so craven as to trade that foul embodiment of pure evil back to his masters, my support for them is done. The question then will be to wonder why in Hell they ever bothered to kidnap Eichmann and try him!
Kuntar should have been publicly executed years ago, preferably by hanging followed by dismemberment and burial in pig grease. That bastard deserves Hell both here and in the world to come.
Posted by: Thaimble Scourge of the Pixies4707 ||
06/19/2008 18:43 Comments ||
Top||
(Xinhua) -- Deposed Prime Minister of Hamas Ismail Haneya said Wednesday that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is welcomed to visit the Gaza Strip anytime he wants. "We welcome the visit of anyone to Gaza, especially President Mahmoud Abbas," Haneya told reporters in Gaza, adding "If the president wants to visit in Gaza he will be very welcomed."
Abbas sacked the Haneya-led Hamas unity government after Hamas routed his secular Fatah movement in a week of bloody infighting and took control of the Gaza Strip in mid June last year.
Two weeks ago, Abbas offered an initiative to launch a comprehensive dialogue among all Palestinian factions to end the status of split and disputes between rival Fatah and Hamas movements.
Asked about the truce that will take effect on Thursday morning, Haneya said "the truce will end the Israeli aggression on our people, the closed crossings will be opened and the blockade will be lifted."
"This truce would achieve security and end the suffering of the Palestinian people. It will also make the Israelis feel comfortable if they show commitment to it," said Haneya at the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) in Gaza.
Since the violent takeover of Gaza by radical Hamas, Palestinian militants have launched rockets from the territory against southern Israeli communities almost daily, while Israel has imposed a tightened blockade on Gaza and termed it as a hostile entity.
On Tuesday, Egypt, which has been trying to broker the truce in Gaza for months, announced that Israel and Hamas-led Palestinian militant groups in Gaza have agreed to a truce starting from Thursday.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/19/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Hamas
WASHINGTON - U.S. lawmakers considering new funding for the World Bank on Wednesday sought assurances that the development agency will not provide loans to Iran, which Washington accuses of seeking to develop nuclear bombs. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat, and Brad Sherman, a California Democrat, raised the issue in a hearing on the Bush administration's request for $3.7 billion to replenish the World Bank's main fund for poor countries, the International Development Association (IDA).
Frank and Sherman pressed U.S. Treasury Assistant Secretary for International Affairs Clay Lowery over whether new World Bank loans for Iran were in the pipeline. Lowery said the World Bank had not authorized development lending to Tehran in three years although payments under already approved loans, which the U.S. opposed, were still being made. Those disbursements were difficult to stop because the loans were already approved, he said.
The United States is the second-largest donor to IDA, but not does not contribute to a separate fund which lends to wealthier middle-income countries such as Iran and China. That money is raised on international capital markets.
Lowery cautioned that if the United States cut its funding to IDA as a way to influence World Bank policy, it would punish poor countries and not Iran. "If you cut assistance to IDA, what you are cutting is assistance to Haiti, Liberia, Afghanistan and Ghana, you are not cutting assistance to Iran," Lowery said.
According to the World Bank, loan disbursements totaling $745 million for Iran were delayed in late 2007 because it had difficulties finding banks in Iran to make the payments because of international sanctions. The bank approved nine projects to Iran between 2000 and 2003 through the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the World Bank's fund for middle-income countries. The World Bank also has said it is in full compliance with U.N. sanctions against Iran, as U.N. Security Council resolutions on Iran exempt humanitarian and development activities conducted by global financial institutions.
Frank questioned whether it was possible to work with European allies to stop World Bank loans to Iran, and said he hoped bank president Robert Zoellick would support those efforts. "If we can get those assurances it would be very helpful," Frank said.
I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. Barney Frank getting tough over Iran?
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/19/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
"If you cut assistance to IDA, what you are cutting is assistance to Haiti, Liberia, Afghanistan and Ghana,..."
Wrong answer.
those funds if desired could go directly to those countries in question. i like the carrot and stick approach.
where is it written that we have to pour our money down the same rathole year after year?
(Xinhua) -- Iran said on Tuesday it opposes any unilateral move by Saudi Arabia to raise its crude oil output without a consensus from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Iran's Press TV satellite channel reported. "Any output increase should be approved in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' ministerial meeting," Mohammad-Ali Khatibi, Iran's representative to the oil cartel, was quoted as saying. "If Saudi Arabia decides to increase its crude output unilaterally, it will be a wrong move," Khatibi said.
The Iranian OPEC representative also said there was no shortage in the oil market and "oil producers are all agreed that oil market is saturated.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Sunday that Saudi Arabia had told him it would increase its oil output by a further 200,000 barrels a day in July. Saudi Arabia will host a meeting on June 22 in which oil producing and consuming countries will discuss ways to control soaring energy prices.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/19/2008 00:00 ||
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[4 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
(Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini said Tehran has "options" to answer possible new sanctions by the European Union over its refusal to halt nuclear work, local newspaper Kayhan reported on Wednesday.
"People and officials in our country are watchful of the other side's decisions. If they take a decision against Iran, we have options against it," Hosseini was quoted as saying, without elaborating on the possible reaction of the Islamic Republic.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Monday that Europe was to agree new sanctions against Iran including freezing the assets of a major Iranian bank.
"The British prime minister has made this claim, but other European officials have rejected it, announcing that no new decision has been made to further increase the sanctions against Iran," Hosseini said at the 18th International Persian Gulf Conference in Tehran on Tuesday, according to the official IRNA news agency.
Iran is to respond to the proposal presented by EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana on Saturday offering it talks on a package of technological and economic incentives, so long as Tehran suspends uranium enrichment.
An Iranian banking official said on Tuesday that his country is not planning to withdraw assets from European banks, refuting reports that Iran had withdrawn about 75 billion U.S. dollars from European banks amid fears the funds could be frozen under planned new sanctions over the Iranian nuclear program.
Iran's government spokesman Gholam Hossein Elham said on Saturday that the country will reject any nuclear deal offered by major world powers that demands a suspension of its uranium enrichment.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/19/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
Iran is too proud and wily for America, Israel, and the European Union to subdue through coercion and bullying. Attacking her will almost certainly prove disasterous for all parties concerned and everyone else...If America, Israel, and the European Union keep sowing the winds of their psychotic obsessions regarding Iran, they will sooner or later reap whirlwinds infinitely worse than a nuclear Iran. Russia, China, and a host of other nations are watching and listening. They grow wearier and wearier of America, Israel, and the European Union swaggering about as bullies. They are particularly irked by America's arrogance and will conspire against her. World War III is coming. The Ides of April 2014 will bring nothing good for America. By the way, nasty surprises await America around September 8 2008. A month or so before then, her economy will lurch past the point of no return. Her economic skies will darken and become ominous by Election Day. The news shall be even worse on Inauguration Day or soon thereafter. Her stalwarts and lovers better start preparing for a depression that shall prove far worse the so-called Great Depression. Cataclysmic changes are coming to western civilization. Social and political strife, turmoil, and upheaval will tear America to pieces before Russia and China administer the coup de grace. Of course, America will wound them grievously in the process. But they shall recover to one or another significant degree. America will not recover from her wounds.
*The Cold War was not World War III. The so-called War on Jihadism is not World War IV. World War III will pit America and her friends against Russia, China, and their friends. The casualties of that conflagration will exceed four billion. Its hostilities will all but wreck civilization on this world.
For those of you that believe Russia and China are hopelessly outgunned by the armed forces of America and her friends, you are sadly mistaken. Both Russia and China are building up their armed forces rather rapidly. They grow stronger every day, while America slowly weakens. The coming depression will hurt America and her friends more than it will hurt Russia and Chine, particularly in regards to their armed forces. They reap much greater bangs for their bucks than does America and her friends. Consequently, they will destroy America. She will be fatally wounded before July 4, 2014 and be dead before the end of 2017.
Posted by: James Trusty ||
06/19/2008 0:59 Comments ||
Top||
#2
If in 2014 the US is in the middle of the second term of President Obama Mr. Trusty could be correct.
#3
It will not matter who is president next year or in 2014. America's days are numbered. Ironically, Iran will survive her in one or another form. By the way, America is not the only nation that will perish within the next ten years. More than a few will. Israel, however, shall hang on beyond that for a while. She will then die with all of the other surviving nations, including Iran. But not to worry. It will all be for the best. In the aftermath of the coming tribulations and destruction, the Earth will be blessed with an age of wisdom and righteaouness within which true utopias will blossom.
Make fun of me if you wish. But I guarantee you that, by this time next year, you will be freaking out even if McCain somehow manages to get elected. Very bad times are coming and things will never be good again for America or any other western nation, except some of those in Europe--and they will only manage to destroy themselves in due time, anyway.
By the way, McCain is going to suffer through a very troublesome autumn. Still, he might prevail over whoever the Democrats end up running against him--but I seriously doubt it. If Obama survives long enough to win, his presidency will almost certainly end prematurely in either his physical or political death, if not both. He is a nice fellow who is also two-dimensional and hollow. McCain is not a whole lot more substantive and he certainly is not nearly as intelligent or as nice as is Obama. Still, tragedy stalks him.
Posted by: James Trusty ||
06/19/2008 4:39 Comments ||
Top||
#4
That is, tragedy stalks Obama. Like a Greek hero, he is too full of himself and that always leads to big trouble.
Posted by: James Trusty ||
06/19/2008 4:41 Comments ||
Top||
#5
And your trusty source is?
Posted by: Paul ||
06/19/2008 7:01 Comments ||
Top||
#6
"Russia, China, and a host of other nations are watching and listening. They grow wearier and wearier of America, Israel, and the European Union swaggering about as bullies. They are particularly irked by America's arrogance and will conspire against her."
Here we have yet another leftist screed praying for America's demise at the hands of Communist and Islamofascist scum. James Trusty is an Adam Gadahn wannabe.
Gimme a nother shot there pardner. Yeah.
Hubris!
Word War Eye Vee!
Tragedy a stalkin!
Things gettin worse, gonna be some peek oil too.
Get on your roof and howl.
Hard times a coming.
Send me your money now.
Posted by: Oracle Jones ||
06/19/2008 8:53 Comments ||
Top||
#8
Oh nooooes! The Ides of 2014 are nearly upon us!
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/19/2008 9:01 Comments ||
Top||
#9
LOL
An ad Vision on the Right
Visit Iranian Personals Tonight
Posted by: Oracle Jones ||
06/19/2008 9:03 Comments ||
Top||
#10
JT is correct that we are headed to tough times for at least the next year, but wrong that we won't recover. So enjoy our discomfort in the coming year, JT, but remember we've been through much worse and we'll get through this too with the help of the Almighty.
#13
"Russia, China, and a host of other nations are watching and listening. They grow wearier and wearier of America, Israel, and the European Union swaggering about as bullies."
At least hes got the sides right, unlike some folks ;)
OTOH he seems to have overlooked, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, even India. If China gets too aggressive, they immediately cause theyre own encirclement (except on the north, and if I wuz them, I wouldnt count on Russia)
#15
Perhaps Mr. Trusty is a DarkWalker; you know, the opposite of Mr. Obama ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/19/2008 11:33 Comments ||
Top||
#16
You are a f**king moron chipmunk JT. A fool. If we take on Iran, it won't be as expected. It will be lights out for millenia. And no, neither Putie nor China will intercede. Putie likes bleeding your cash, and Chicoms like sucking your oil, but they are one hell of a lot smarter than you.
#17
I am comforted. It is clear Mr. Trusty read our feedback the last time he posted, for he includes commentary that responds to it. Truly that is a rare thing for those who drop by Rantburg to shower us with their wisdom, and therefore much to be cherished. Also, the man remains reasonably polite, with nary an exclamation point nor phrases in ALL CAPS, nor even egregious personal insults. I would like an explanation beyond bare claim for why the Cold War is not really the third world war, and why the current war of the jihadis against non-believers led by the West is not the fourth world war, but I know I can be quite demanding of those who would persuade me.
As for Iran, they've been threatening to unleash their jihadis against their enemies for years now, without effectively doing so. Either they can't or they won't. What other options do they have, after all? It's not as though their invasion and subversion of Iraq has been going all that well.
(Xinhua) -- An Iranian banking official said on Tuesday that his country is not planning to withdraw assets from European banks, Iran's Mehr news agency reported.
'No assets from Iranian banks have been withdrawn or will be withdrawn from European banks to Iran or other countries.'
'No assets from Iranian banks have been withdrawn or will be withdrawn from European banks to Iran or other countries,' said Ali Divandari, managing director of Bank Mellat, a leading Iranian state-owned commercial bank.
'Such an issue has not ever been put forward,' Divandari said. 'There is no reason for such a transfer of the money.'
Iran's Shahrvand-e Emrouz weekly magazine on Monday reported that the Iranian government had withdrawn about 75 billion U.S. dollars from European banks amid fears the funds could be frozen under planned new sanctions over the Iranian nuclear program.
The report quoted Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Mohsen Talaieas saying that part of Iran's assets in banks in Europe has been converted to gold and securities, and the other part has been transferred to Asian banks.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/19/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
June 18 (Bloomberg) Boeing Co. deserves another chance to bid on the $35 billion U.S. Air Force aerial-tanker contract won by rival Northrop Grumman Corp., a government agency said. ``The Air Force had made a number of significant errors that could have affected the outcome of what was a close competition,'' the Government Accountability Office said today in Washington. ``We therefore sustained Boeing's protest.''
Boeing appealed to the GAO after Northrop and partner European Aeronautic, Defence & Space Co. won the contract Feb. 29, snaring a program that had been Boeing's for more than half a century. Chicago-based Boeing claimed changes the Air Force made during the competition favored Northrop.
While the GAO ruling isn't binding, ``the outcome here now is obvious,'' Loren Thompson, an analyst at Lexington Institute, an Arlington, Virginia-based public policy research group, said in an interview. ``The Air Force will have to revisit the competition and start over.''
Mark McGraw, Boeing's tanker program chief, said in a statement that ``we welcome and support today's ruling by the GAO fully supporting the grounds of our protest.'' Pentagon spokesman Chris Isleib said officials ``are aware of the report but have not fully reviewed it.''
While the Air Force isn't required to follow the GAO's recommendation, the service has to explain to Congress if it chooses to ignore the advice. The Air Force must now respond within 60 days with a course of action based on the GAO findings.
The GAO's full 69-page ruling remains under protective order because it contains proprietary information. In a three-page release explaining the decision, the agency said the Air Force failed to assess relative merits of the bids in accordance with evaluation criteria; improperly credited Northrop for exceeding aerial-refueling parameters; and didn't adequately explain its finding that Northrop's tanker could refuel all current fixed-wing aircraft as required.
In addition, the GAO said the Air Force conducted ``misleading and unequal discussions'' with Boeing; made an improper exception for Northrop when it failed to agree to a timeline for depot-level aircraft maintenance; miscalculated operation costs for the aircraft; and improperly increased Boeing's estimated engineering costs to account for risk.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/19/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under:
#1
Bottom line on the appeal is that the USAF screwed this up.
If the bids stay substantially the same, NG/EADS (NG is the lead contractor) will still win it because they have the newer designed airframe, better cargo capacity and longer range. In short, the better aircraft for the mission.
Boeing is out of their mind if they think that shorter range, less cargo capacity and forward basing are part of the USAF strategic plans. Plus Boeing was unable to deliver as many aircraft as quickly as NG/EADS (Boeing would have taken years longer to do the full replacement and would have been very slow in the initial ramp up and volume of early deliveries compared to NG/EADS).
The bad thing is that this will further delay production, add to costs, and worse, force the USAF to continue to use worn out old tankers for years more while Boeing tries to wrangle a new bid.
No wonder those generals got fired - this is a mess, and it hurts the US strategically.
If the laws would allow it, I'd say screw the GAO review (its not about the better aircraft its about USAF management)and build the more capable aircraft from NG/EADS, and get cracking on it NOW.
#2
Boeing claims that the Air Force misled it into bidding with a smaller airframe (the 767), because according to the Air Force's own requirements, a larger size airframe than what they asked for would not get more points in the competition. The Boeing IDS president has previously stated that if the Air Force communicated to Boeing that it wanted a larger airplane, Boeing would have gladly offered a 777 tanker (which would trump an Airbus 330 based tanker).
If this goes back to a rebid, I bet the airplanes offered will not be the same as before. NG/EADS would have to compensate f Boeing does offer a 777.
It would be an odd twist if the Air Force does end up getting an even better airplane as a result of this. But yes, like OldSpook said, any further delays will be painful for the warfighter.
#3
I will be impressed when I see a design with an option for multiple booms able to handle groups of UAVS all at once.
Should have seen the Wichita news this morning - the montage storyline was that it was the common workers who rose up and sent petitions to Senators clinton and obama, forcing the issue and saving the day. Power to the People! Power to the Workers!
Also, Senator roberts gave his speech but didn't get mentioned as a (new wave) republican.
#4
Either design had multiple booms; the problem with UAVS is qualifying them to perform the operations. Airflow around the tanker can make handling tricky, and qualification tests for various UAVS are underway.
Will not argue OS's position, but the key to the protest was that the AF screwed the pooch on this and got caught.
McCain needs to learn to shut up as today he is reported to still be railing against this. he is going to lose more votes than he gains with this anti-boeing tirade.
#5
I have no objection to Boing winning a rebid, especially if they do it with a 777 airframe - probably far more durable, more capacity, and more of it here in the US. I'd rather see NG run the project but use Boeing engineers, etc. (Personally was on a project that was set up exactly that way, and it was one of the best Ive been on)
The USAF really screwed their own people with this.
I almost see the need for a nozzle and drogue system like the Navy uses, instead of the flying boom, at least in the case of UAVs.
A cursory look makes me think it gives the option of a longer gas hose, putting the UAV in an area further away from the tanker, resulting in better collision safety for the tanker and less turbulence for the UAV if its far enough.
Refueling UAVs (both remote piloted and self guided) qualifies as a tough technological problem - sounds like they should have let that part of the contract independently. NG makes a lot of Predators, and has considerable expertise in the field - they and they GlobalHawk team could probably come up with a refueling system that would work given basic parameters for how its attached to the tanker airframe.
I betcha you could load up an A-10 with buddy attachments on the wingtips and rig a system out pretty fast. The Hawg can fly low and slow, has a decent lift capacity, and I bet it presents a far more favorable profile in terms of turbulence. And it can refuel itself off the big tanker to "relay" fuel to large/long-range UAVs. A-10 in theater, tankers fly in, it gasses up its tanks, then gasses up the UAVs, then goes into an OAV-10 mission profile to spot for the UAV, and deliver GAU-8 fire as needed.
Just a thought - if anyone in the USAF manages to think outside the doggone box they might see this to be a pretty efficient solution.
#6
Hoses over booms, makes sense. Wonder if that test they just did with the scale F-18 would be able to be used to help with turbulence. Now I'm wondering about spirit airflow.
#7
Only problem we (USN) ever saw with hoses was the 'sine wave whip' when excess closure rate on the part of the receiver hit the drogue (basket) too hard. if we were lucky we only had the basket separate and the receiver would carry it home. Made for interesting flight deck ops when it came off the probe. A flying boom might be easier for UAVs since the Boomer would be able to drive the plug into the receptacle.
Scale tests with the Hornet and other aircraft show good flying qualities when up close and personal with the tanker.
#8
"Just a thought - if anyone in the USAF manages to think outside the doggone box they might see this to be a pretty efficient solution."
Oldspook, your idea about the KOA-10 is indeed excellent. I'm sure it's not needed, however. I'm sure that the Air Force is already considering ways to task the F-22 to this mission.
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.
Suspected Al Qaeda leader Abu Qatada is celebrating his release from prison with the release of a book in which he urges Muslims to commit terrorist attacks in the West. In the 71-page tract, published in English translation on the internet, he repeatedly claims that fighting jihad, holy war, is obligatory for all Muslims and urges them to 'terrorise' non-believers. Security sources say his clear incitement to violence makes a mockery of the decision to set him free. 
Lawyers for Jack Thomas will appeal to the High Court to prevent him being re-tried on terrorism charges. The Victorian Court of Appeal this week dismissed an appeal by his lawyers and ruled the former Melbourne taxi driver, who once styled himself Jihad Jack, should be re-tried.
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama says if Osama bin Laden is captured alive, the United States should bring him to justice but in a way that avoids turning the al Qaeda leader into a martyr. After meeting with a team of top foreign policy advisers including some seasoned diplomats he has newly recruited, Obama hit back at efforts by his Republican rival John McCain to paint him as weak on fighting terrorism.
A U.S. human rights group says medical examinations show that former terrorism suspects once held by the United States had been tortured.
Jamiat-e- Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Wednesday met Tehreek-e- Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Muhammadi (TSNM) chief Maulana Sufi Muhammad at his residence in village Maidan of Dir Lower District. They held discussions on the prevailing security situation in the Malakand division, particularly in Swat district.
Muslim countries have won a battle to prevent Islam from being criticised during debates by the UN Human Rights Council. Religions deserve special protection because any debate about faith is bound to be very complex, very sensitive and very intense, council President Doru-Romulus Costea said Wednesday. Only religious scholars should be allowed to discuss matters of faith, he told journalists in Geneva.
WASHINGTON - U.S. lawmakers considering new funding for the World Bank on Wednesday sought assurances that the development agency will not provide loans to Iran, which Washington accuses of seeking to develop nuclear bombs. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat, and Brad Sherman, a California Democrat, raised the issue in a hearing on the Bush administration's request for $3.7 billion to replenish the World Bank's main fund for poor countries, the International Development Association (IDA).
