Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal confirmed for the first time Tuesday that the kingdom has been sponsoring talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban militia.
But Prince Saud said any further talks would require a readiness by the warring Afghan factions to lay down their arms and embrace the political process. "At the request of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, the kingdom has led an attempt with the Afghan parties to put an end to the fighting in Afghanistan and restore security and stability," he said. "If we detect a willingness on the part of the Afghan parties to resolve political problems, renounce violence, lay down their arms and enter the political mainstream, there will be further attempts," he added.
"But if that doesn't happen, it will be difficult to undertake any new initiative," Faisal told a joint news conference.
"We'd just have to let the kuffer Americans kill the Taliban," he added.
The elder brother of the US-backed Afghan president said on October 9 that a visit he made to Saudi Arabia last month was part of an Afghan push for the kingdom to convene peace talks with Taliban insurgents. Qayoum Karzai said no militia representatives were present at the meeting although the Afghan delegation had included former Taliban leaders.
The previous day, former Taliban leaders said they shared a meal with the president's brother and other Afghan government officials but stressed the meeting did not amount to peace talks.
Their comments followed a report by Ash-sharq Al-Awsat daily that the two sides had held three days of talks under Saudi auspices in the Muslim holy city of Mecca during the run-up to the end of the fasting month of Ramadan on September 29.
Several Western countries have expressed support for negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban but the prospect has drawn strong opposition from Shiite Iran. "The whole world knows about the failure of foreign forces in Afghanistan and we advise them not to try a new failure," Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Sunday. "The West should not think that they can confine extremism to Afghanistan, Pakistan and central Asia," Mottaki said, warning that extremism would one day also reach Europe and the West.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/22/2008 00:00 ||
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LONDON, Oct 21 (Reuters) - The commander of a NATO task force on its way to tackle piracy off the coast of Somalia has said he still does not know what the rules are for taking on the high-seas bandits.
U.S. Admiral Mark Fitzgerald said while he was aware of where the pirates were operating, there was little he could do militarily to stop them and that guidelines on how to take them on -- including whether to shoot -- were still in the works. "You know, I don't think we've gotten the rules of engagement yet from NATO," Fitzgerald told reporters on Monday during a briefing on U.S. naval operations in Europe and Africa."That's all still being debated in the North Atlantic Council. All we've been told is to prepare a plan to go down there. So (the rules) are going to have to be debated."
Six NATO members have contributed ships, including destroyers and frigates, to a special anti-piracy task force following a request from the United Nations. The NATO group passed through the Suez Canal last week on its way to the Horn of Africa, where piracy has surged this year, with more than 30 ships seized and ransoms estimated at $18-$30 million have been paid to free hostages.
There are already naval assets from Britain, the United States and Russia in the region, but the area is so vast -- more than 2.5 million square miles -- that it is almost impossible for the pirates to be stopped unless they are caught red-handed.
"From a military standpoint, we certainly are limited by what we can do," said Fitzgerald. "How do you prove a guy's a pirate before he actually attacks a ship? We have a problem from the military side at sea because we can't be omnipresent in the space, and the pirates operate at an advantage because ... they don't announce they're a pirate until they attack a ship."
Security specialists say there is a window of only about 15 minutes for a navy ship to respond to a distress call and get to another ship that's being hijacked. Once pirates are on board, there's little, legally, that can be done. "You've got a very short window, a short time span, from the point where they decide to board a ship and (actually) board it. If you're not right there, there's not much you can do, and once the ship is taken hostage, then...."
The Danish navy learnt to its cost last month what can happen if you do seize suspected pirates. They captured 10 people, but after holding them for six days aboard a Danish ship, the suspects were set free and put ashore in Somalia because the legal conditions surrounding their detention were unclear. Denmark's Defence Ministry said Danish law did not allow for prosecution of the men before a Danish court. The ministry said it had explored the possibility of handing them over to other countries but that was also not feasible.
A senior British naval commander admitted last week that it was essentially a legal minefield trying to take on the pirates, and urged commercial ships operating in the region to hire their own private security companies to deal with the threat.
Admiral Fitzgerald said the Danish experience showed how weak the impetus was going to be to capture pirates. Instead he said his task force would focus on escorting World Food Programme ships trying to deliver aid to Somalia.
Asked how long the mission could last, he said: "It's open-ended right now."
#1
he was aware of where the pirates were operating, there was little he could do militarily to stop them and that guidelines on how to take them on -- including whether to shoot -- were still in the works. "
Once again, its not a military problem. It's a political problem. It comes down to WILL. The pols have absolutely no will when thugs don't play by the rules. Just check your local neighborhoods, be it Chicago or Newark where the thugs rule. The city fathers of Chicago don't want you to have a gun, but they're absolutely useless in providing real protection or of going after the thugs that do. Why should Somali pirates be any different.
If they surrender, bring them in.
If they try to run, fire a warning shot. If they give up, bring them in.
If they still run after warning shot or try to fight, sink their ass. Pick up any survivors.
If you catch them in the act of piracy, instant sinking of offending vessels. Pick up any survivors.
#9
When did the Anglo American naval forces, not to mention the Viking Danes, turn into wusses? They need instructions from Nato to suppress pirates? Sheesh. These guys need a little less legal supervision.
A) Announce a state of martial law in the seas off Somalia.
B) Offer to register vessels & their crews at designated points, take an inventory of weapons on board, and issue them papers & get biometrics on the individuals authorized to captain the vessels.
C) After an announced period of time, start boarding every vessel encountered in the anti-piracy zone. Every one encountered, no exceptions.
D) Unregistered vessels are impounded if they've got more than one rifle on board. Make sure this is part of the initial announcement.
E) If a registered vessel is encountered with someone other than the biometric captain-of-record, impound the vessel and arrest the 'crew'. Pull them up before an admiralty court.
F) If a crew tries to run, open fire and arrest the survivors, bring them up before the admiralty court.
G) HANG THOSE CONVICTED BY THE COURT.
H) Promise to deposit any civilian smartasses who show up to push any idiot civilian-court-law interferences in the nearest Somali port, free to travel to the nearest civilian court to press their claims against the duly designated anti-piracy flotilla.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
10/22/2008 16:55 Comments ||
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#11
Oh, and announce that any Somali port town which refuses to act as a registry and licensing point for the flotilla will be shelled until it complies.
Then do it. In the end, the best way to bring a pirate coast under control is to burn out the towns that harbor pirate bands. It isn't necessary to bring such a coast under imperial control, but if you don't, then a policy of regular sackings of the lawless towns is the only long-term solution to piracy.
Alternatively, you can let it go & quarantine the area until the pirates start turning on the local "authorities". At some point, the pirates will whittle each other down until one or more of them will graduate from piracy to tyranny & assert a monopoly on violence which will effectively end the crime-wave, having nationalized the piracy industry.
But don't be surprised if Somalia turns into the 21st Century equivalent of the Barbary Coast.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
10/22/2008 17:02 Comments ||
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#12
There are LOTS and LOTS of Great White Sharks in the Indian Ocean (wink wink nudge nudge)
Posted by: James Carville ||
10/22/2008 21:07 Comments ||
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Saudi authorities have indicted 991 people on charges of participating in terrorist attacks carried out over the past five years, the interior minister said Tuesday.
The proceedings represent a significant step in the Saudi fight against terrorism, officials said. The authorities said they had been reluctant to hold trials on terrorism charges that could result in death sentences until they had shown the public that every effort had been made to give the suspects a chance to repent.
In the past few years, the kingdom has been the target of an organized terrorist campaign linked to networks of strife and sedition overseas, the interior minister, Prince Nayef, said in a statement carried by The Saudi Press Agency.
He said that terrorists had been responsible for more than 30 attacks in Saudi Arabia since May 2003. Those attacks killed 164 people, including 74 security officials, and wounded 657.
An additional 160 attacks were foiled, he said.
His statement did not specify whether all of those indicted had been arrested or when the indictments were returned.
#4
Someplace to park the former Crimean based fleet? There and Caracas and Havana. Normally, the latter two would provoke an interesting response, but the One would just talk and puff another couple cigarettes over it.
#6
they can't even keep their naval bases up in russia going can they?
They are building two new ones: in Novorossiysk as a backup for the Black Sea Fleet after 2017 (Sevastopol base lease expiration date with Ukraine) and a new submarine base in the Far East, Vladivostok or Sakhalin, for the new "Borei" class ballistic missile submarines.
#7
ok ,so they have bases but do they have ships that aren't rusting besides the black sea fleet?
Posted by: chris ||
10/22/2008 17:46 Comments ||
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#8
To populate the Yemeni base?
They have the ships form other fleets and building some new ones. I don't think they intend to have a carrier battle group, figuratively speaking, stationed there. I think a couple of destroyers would be enough. Also they may not be speaking about a full base, but perhaps a simpler resupply/maintenance facility.
(AKI) - Yemen, the impoverished Arab country on the edge of the Persian Gulf, has been inundated by a wave of illegal immigrants in 2008. More than 37,000 immigrants have arrived in Yemen so far this year from the Horn of Africa, compared with nearly 23,000 in 2007, the United Nations refugee agency said on Tuesday.
A total of 616 people died or were reported missing compared with 900 last year. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said a total of 3,737 people arrived in Yemen this month, while 95 were reported dead or missing.
UNHCR said it supports the government of Yemen's call to the international community and its organisations to help it handle the humanitarian crisis. The crisis has been caused by growing population movements out of the Horn of Africa and the resumption of people smuggling across the gulf of Aden from the Horn of Africa - primarily Somalis but also Ethiopians, Eritreans and other nationalities, UNHCR said.
However, the agency said it is seeking a 'clarification' concerning recent statements by the Yemeni Interior Ministry that Eritreans and Ethiopians will be denied access to the country.
UNHCR urged Yemen to maintain its commitments under the 1951 Refugee Convention and 1967 Protocol, to which it is a signatory. Yemen grants refugee status to Somalis and has until now allowed non-Somalis arriving there to seek asylum, UNHCR said.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/22/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
It staggers my mind to think of Yemen as a place refugees flee TO.
Errr.. isn't Sharia legal in the UK for matrimonial matters? Maybe someone should enlighten M'lords. A Lebanese mother and her child who fled to Britain to avoid being separated under their country's Islamic law can stay in the country, Britain's highest court ruled Wednesday.
The divorced woman, identified only as EM, sought asylum in Britain for herself and her 8-year-old son after fleeing Lebanon on false papers in December 2004. She told immigration officials her allegedly abusive ex-husband would gain custody of their child under Lebanon's Sharia law, which only allows divorced mothers custody of their children until their 7th birthday, at which point custody reverts to the father.
Her application was denied in 2005, but she appealed to the House of Lords, Britain's supreme court. In a submission to the court made in June, human rights group Liberty argued that the Lebanese law "amounts to a flagrant breach of the mother's (and child's) rights."
The court agreed, calling the woman a fugitive from Sharia law.
"It is ... the product of a religious and cultural tradition that is respected and observed throughout much of the world," James Hope, writing for the court, said in his judgment. "But by our standards the system is arbitrary because the law permits of no exceptions to its application. ... It is discriminatory too because it denies women custody of their children after they have reached the age of custodial transfer simply because they are women."
Liberty said the judgment meant the woman could now stay in Britain with her son.
Neither the woman nor her son, now 12, have been identified, out of concern for their safety
(Xinhua) -- Japan should be removed from the six-party talks aimed at denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula, a commentary in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) official daily Minju Joson said Tuesday. The commentary accused Japan of attempting to impede the denuclearization process and use it as a pretext to bolster its military power and expansionist aims.
Japan kept creating trouble in the six-party talks and had wrecked the process, the commentary alleged, saying "it is time to discuss depriving Japan of its right to take part in the talks." It said Japan had refused to grant energy and economic aid to the DPRK under the six-party agreement, and had hurt bilateral ties on the pretext of accusations of "abduction of Japanese citizens."
Japan extended its economic sanctions imposed on the DPRK for the fourth time on Oct, 10, saying it had failed to make good progress on the "abduction" issue. For decades, the DPRK had denied the accusation of having abducted some Japanese citizens in the 1970s and 1980s. But during the former Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visit to Pyongyang in 2002, DPRK admitted that his country's agents had kidnapped 12 Japanese.
The DPRK released five of them along with their children, but said the other eight had died over the years. apan said it believes some of them may still be alive and that there might still be other abductees in the DPRK.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/22/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
TOPIX > SOUTH KOREA > CITING BUDGETARY ISSUES [1/2 funding cut], US SEEKS BASE MOVE DELAY. Another 4-year delay/extension to the YEAR 2016-2019 TIME FRAME, as per US realignment = base(s) closure, relocation, etc vee SOKOR.
ALso from TOPIX > US RAND EXPERT WARNS OF MILITARY THREAT TO KOREAS FROM CHINA IN CASE OF NORTH COLLAPSE. China's PLA likely to drive and overrun Seoul + other SOKOR areas before US-SK milfors can effec react or stop, plus will have 2-3X the QUALITY ADVANTAGE OVER SOKOR FORCES. To remedy or offset this, SOKOR should intensify trade relations and tech transfers wid the USA.
Eric Breininger has been one of Germany's most-wanted men since he joined the Islamist Jihad Union terrorist organization. He's now resurfaced in a video from Afghanistan. His message: He has no plans for an attack against Germany.
German officials have been looking for the young man for months. It is a search that has spanned the globe, but which had largely been fruitless. Until Tuesday that is, when Eric Breininger, a young German man from the western state of Saarland, popped up in an Islamic Jihad Union (IJU) terror video claiming he is currently in Afghanistan. In the video, Breininger -- a 21-year-old convert to Islam who has adopted the nom de guerre Abdulgaffar el Almani -- sounds little like the terrorist German officials suspect he has become. Indeed, in the six-minute-long clip, which was posted on the IJU Web site on Tuesday, he sounds more like a young schoolboy reading his homework out loud in front of the class. The mini-movie is called "A Call from Hindu Kush," and its message is clear: "I am currently in Afghanistan and am not personally planning an attack on the country of Germany," Breininger says into the camera.
The statement seems to be a direct response to growing concerns that Breininger was preparing to do just that -- and that such an attack could be imminent. Much of that fear stems from knowledge of the group Breininger has joined. The IJU had close contacts with three terror suspects arrested in the western German region of Sauerland last year. The three, Fritz Gelowicz, Adem Yilmaz and Daniel Schneider, stand accused of trying to build a bomb for at attack in Germany. The IJU was also responsible for a suicide attack in Khost, Afghanistan carried out by Cüneyit C. from Bavaria. The March attack killed four people.
It is difficult to determine from the video whether Breininger is indeed in Afghanistan as he claims, though it matches up with conclusions drawn by German authorities as to his whereabouts. Just last month, Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office launched a manhunt for Breininger after indications that he had been spotted in the Balkans and was on his way to Germany. That search was discontinued shortly thereafter.
Breininger's video is not unlike others in the genre. He accuses the German government of double standards for promoting democracy in some parts of the world but not standing up for Muslims when they are treated poorly. He says that Germany is a potential target for Islamists because the country's military, the Bundeswehr, is stationed in Uzbekistan and Afghanistan and that pulling soldiers out of those countries would reduce the danger of an attack. He warns that he and his comrades will wage "war against the occupiers" until the countries occupied are "liberated." Any country that is a military ally of the United States, he says, should expect to be attacked.
The young German also claims that he has no connection whatsoever to the two men arrested at the end of September at the Cologne-Bonn airport. The pair, both Germans with Somali backgrounds, was taken off a plane by officials on suspicion that they were on their way to terror training camps in Pakistan operated by the IJU. Both, though, were released a short time later for lack of evidence.
It is this last statement that indicates the video was produced relatively recently. It includes video images of Breininger, but also a number of static photos of him and other images, apparently intending to illustrate the text he seems to be reading. One photo, for example, includes the entire German cabinet as well as Chancellor Angela Merkel. And in one segment Breininger shows his alleged surroundings and says, "We're here in Afghanistan." He's wearing a white robe and a headscarf and can also be seen firing a machine gun.
In his last video, Breininger seemed oddly agitated, and some investigators said at the time they believed he might be on drugs. But he seems lucid in the new video.
The authenticity of the video has not yet been officially confirmed. Still, German officials are assuming it is real. The site where it could be found in the past posted videos from suicide bomber Cüneyt C. as well as Breininger's first video messages and an interview with him. At the end of the new video, it states it was produced on "October 10, 2008."
The Islamic Jihad Union had its origins as an Uzbeki Islamist organization, but it is believed that in recent years its base of operations has been in the Afghan-Pakistan border region. Most experts are certain that the IJU works together with the Taliban, and it is suspected that it also has ties to al-Qaida. Experts estimate the group includes a few hundred fighters. And although there is a dearth of information about the IJU, most experts believe the group has an ideology largely similar to al-Qaida's. Its activities are also clearly focused on the Central Asia region.
The last time German officials had reliable information about Breininger's whereabouts was in March 2008, when he was in Peshawar, Pakistan. They lost track of him there. Most analysts believe he is in Waziristan, a region on the porous Afghan-Pakistan border where IJU and a number of other militant groups operate camps and where other foreign fighters are believed to be based.
In Afghanistan, Breininger is featured on NATO's wanted persons list, and his photo has been posted at all the bases that host NATO troops across the country. Breininger's last video surfaced in April. In it, among other things, he praised Cüneyt C. for his suicide attack and called on German Islamists to follow his example and join the battle. In the new video, though, Breininger doesn't do either.
One of two Tunisians held in Denmark for allegedly plotting to kill a cartoonist who satirised the Prophet Mohammed has been granted asylum in the Scandinavian country, judicial sources said on Tuesday.
The 36-year-old man, whose identity has not been disclosed, was arrested with a 26-year-old compatriot on February 12 on suspicion of planning to murder Kurt Westergaard, one of 12 cartoonists whose drawings of the Islamist prophet in a Danish newspaper in 2005 sparked worldwide controversy. The two had been held in custody pending a government-ordered expulsion, a measure recommended by the Danish intelligence agency PET which considered them a threat to national security, without their guilt being established in a trial.
The 26-year-old man left Denmark voluntarily in August since he saw no end in sight to his detention without trial.
But earlier this year the 36-year-old Tunisian sought political asylum in Denmark and his request was recently granted by the refugee board. "He has been granted a so-called 'tolerated residency'," the board said, adding that he "risks being tortured in Tunisia if he is expelled and there is no reason to keep him in detention," Kirsten Houmann, a secretary for his lawyer, Gunnar Houmann told AFP.
The board's decision "cannot be appealed" by the government, she added.
She said the special asylum status means the man will not be allowed to work, nor receive state allowances. He will also have to report to police regularly.
So how exactly does he survive?
The two Tunisians had protested without avail their extended detention without trial in the Danish court system. Their case went as high as the Supreme Court, which ordered the lower courts to reconsider their previous findings and reflect on whether it was likely they had actually been planning to kill Westergaard.
The lower courts maintained their rulings.
The lawyers appealed once again to the Supreme Court for "principled reasons". The trial is scheduled for November 10.
Four people were injured Tuesday in southeastern Turkey when Kurds protesting the alleged abuse of jailed rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan clashed with police for a fourth day, security officials said. Clashes broke out when some 1,000 protesters - members and supporters of the Kurdish Democratic Society Party.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/22/2008 00:00 ||
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Abstract: Pakistani Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud is considered in some intelligence circles as a threat as big as, or bigger than, even Osama bin Laden. His rise from a relatively little known entity in South Waziristan to the head of a full-fledged Taliban movement in Pakistan has not only grave repercussions for local security, but also for the Global War on Terror. The rise of this movement in Pakistan is not just a local disturbance, but the phenomenon of Taliban resurgence after their post-2001 setback in Afghanistan, and with Baitullah as a protege of Mullah Omar taking charge, has international implications as well. This paper will examine the little that is known about Baitullah's personal background, his rise to power, and his place in Pakistan.
#2
See also TOPIX > PAKISTAN COLLAPSE MAY UPSET ASIA'S ORDER. SOUTH ASIA = LARGE AREAS THEREFROM will overnite be UP-FOR-GRABSIES, espec REGIONAL COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGES???
CHENNAI, India, Oct. 21 -- More than a dozen trucks carrying apples, honey, rice and rock salt rumbled across a long-disputed frontier between India and Pakistan in the Himalayan region of Kashmir on Tuesday as an ancient trade route was reopened. It had been shut down after the two countries gained independence 61 years ago.
The opening of the 106-mile road -- running along a mountain valley from Srinagar in India to Muzaffarabad in Pakistan -- is seen as another tentative step by the two governments toward building peace in the disputed Kashmir region. India and Pakistan have fought two wars over Kashmir and came close to a third one in 2002.
For many Kashmiris, the road's opening is considered a potential boost to the economy. It comes after weeks of massive street protests calling on India to open the border to Pakistan for trade.
But critics were cautious about declaring the road's opening a victory. For one, they say, its opening is too restrictive: Only 21 items are approved for trade, and the road will remain closed five days a week. Also, non-traders are not allowed to freely cross the border. "Trade has to be conducted by people," Sajjad Lone, a moderate Kashmiri separatist leader, wrote in an op-ed in the Greater Kashmir newspaper. "And people have to be able to move freely to trade. If people can't travel freely, if trading choices are pre-selected, if telephonic communication is barred -- how can they trade freely?"
Still, the route gives merchants in Indian-controlled Kashmir a more direct route to foreign markets through the Pakistani port city of Karachi. The road also opens up new business opportunities for Pakistani merchants.
"It's a historic day which will surely help the economies of both parts of Kashmir," Narendra Nath Vohra, the governor of Indian-controlled Kashmir, told the crowds as he waved to a convoy of 13 Indian trucks carrying apples into Pakistan. Television images showed trucks garlanded with flowers and banners that said: "Long live cross-border trade."
The push to reopen the ancient trade route was given fresh momentum in August after Hindu protesters blocked the only usable road connecting predominantly Muslim Kashmir with the rest of India, torching and looting trucks carrying fruit, meat and medicines. In response, merchants in Indian-controlled Kashmir began a campaign to open the route to Pakistan.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/22/2008 00:00 ||
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(AKI) - India and Pakistan resumed trading across the Line of Control in the disputed territory of Kashmir for the first time in six decades on Tuesday. A convoy of 14 trucks loaded with food items and handicrafts left Muzaffarabad on Monday night for the city of Srinagar.
The trucks, carrying stipulated items, were to cross the ceasefire line for the first time since the two countries were divided 61 years ago. They have fought three wars on the Kashmir issue.
According to Pakistan's Geo News, a list of 21 items considered acceptable for trade was finalised by the two governments and the list will gradually be expanded.
The long-running territorial dispute over Kashmir involves India, Pakistan and China. Kashmir is the most northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent.
The trade route will link Muzaffarabad, capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, and Srinagar, capital of India-administered Kashmir. The other Rawalakot-Poonch route will be formally open later this month.
Reports said a total of 21 items had been approved for import and export by the Joint Working Group of the two countries.
Fruits, kidney beans, honey, spices, walnuts and almonds will be sent to Pakistan while rice, spices, rock salt, dry dates and raisins will be imported to India.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/22/2008 00:00 ||
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(APP): Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and Richard Boucher, US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, met here Monday at the PM House. The meeting was attended by Advisor to PM on Interior Rehman Malik, Advisor on National Security Mehmood Ali Durrani, US Ambassador Anne W
Posted by: Fred ||
10/22/2008 00:00 ||
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(APP): Chief Minister NWFP Ameer Haider Khan Hoti Monday declared in unequivocal terms that Pukhtoons were not terrorists rather they were victims of terrorism and reiterated his government stance of holding talks with those renouncing militancy and accepting writ of the government. "Negotiations is first priority of our government in tackling the issue of militancy", he said this while addressing concluding session of the workshop on Southern Fata arranged by Benazir Democracy Institute of Shaheed Bhutto Foundation here at a local hotel.
Terrorists are killing innocent people and their victims can never be termed as terrorists, he said. The Fata problem has become matter of life and death for the NWFP Government and a wrong impression is being created abroad that the problems have been created by tribal people.
Paying rich tributes to Bhutto family for the cause of democracy, ending of dictatorial regimes, supremacy of constitution, democracy and parliament, he said PPP is a major political party having potential to lead the country and the nation in the right direction.
He said had the problem of Waziristan been tackled in time, it would not have spread to the whole of FATA and the settled parts of the province and it was pointed out by his party Chief Asfandyar Wali Khan.
He said the matter had also been brought to the notice of the President and the Prime Minister that this problem would not remain restricted to Fata alone.
The Chief Minister said peace and harmony in the tribal areas had a direct bearing on the settled districts of the NWFP. He said that tribesmen should be taken on board while making any changes in the political and administrative set up in FATA including amendments in the FCR. He called for respecting rights of the tribal people.
He said the entire nation has to support the war on terror as it cannot be kept within Pukhtoon areas. He said the governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan should sit together to address the problem.
Hoti expressed the confidence that the proposed Pak-Afghan Jirga in Islamabad on October 27 would help settle the problem to some extent. He lamented that certain external forces have sabotaged our peace efforts which needs to be checked.
He said the NWFP government wanted that tribal people should have representation in the Provincial Assembly, as it is incomplete without their presence.
Addressing the workshop, Patron-in-Chief of BDI and spokesman of President Farhatullah Babar said militants were receiving money and arms to destabilise FATA.
Later, talking to newsmen the Chief Minister said he discussed poverty, setting up of ROZs and development with Mr. Boucher US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia in the recent meeting. He said operation in Swat would continue till achieving the desired goal of establishing peace.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/22/2008 00:00 ||
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NEW DELHI: The number of Pakistani nationals who did not return after coming to India using valid travel documents has increased by nearly 30% in 2008 the year when the level of infiltration in Jammu and Kashmir has dropped substantially.
Is this a mere coincidence or is there some design in it? The question is haunting the minds of security agencies which have found that as many as 9,636 Pakistani nationals did not return to their country after expiry of their visas this year as compared to 7,404 in 2007.
Though all those who went missing may not be terrorists or criminals, the substantial increase in the number this year has made the security agencies sit up.
While 7,404 Pakistanis did not return after expiry of their visas in 2007, the figure was 7,650 in 2006 and 7,043 in 2005. The figures disclosed in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday clearly show the marginal increase or decrease in the number of missing Pakistanis during 2005-07 as compared to what was recorded (9,636) till July this year.
Sources in the home ministry said that though some of them had been deported after verification as they recorded their presence with the concerned Foreigners Regional Registration Offices (FRROs), it had been quite difficult to trace each one of them who disappeared after arrival.
Without ruling out the possibility of Pakistani intelligence agency ISI taking the legal route (using proper visa) to sneak in terrorists into India, a senior home ministry official said: It is suspected particularly when the number of infiltration has come down substantially this year. The ISI can do it to beat its failure on the infiltration front.
He said: "The authorities in Pakistan can adopt any means to infiltrate militants when a number of infiltration bids have been foiled this year by the Army and BSF. The role of the Pakistani Army and Pakistan Rangers in helping infiltrators through cover fire is not a secret."
As against 419 infiltrators during April-September 2007, there have been only 243 infiltrators during the same period this year with the Army establishing a strong "multi-tier counter infiltration grid".
Posted by: john frum ||
10/22/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
[Paul has been pooplisted.]
Posted by: Paul ||
10/22/2008 7:21 Comments ||
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#2
Pakistan: India's Mexico.
Posted by: ed ||
10/22/2008 9:18 Comments ||
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#3
don't worry India they all came here too run 7?11's
Posted by: chris ||
10/22/2008 12:45 Comments ||
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#4
Pakistan: India's Mexico.
Nope.
That would be Bangladesh.
There are almost ten million illegal Bangladeshi immigrants in India. The Congress party and the Communist Party of India use them as a convenient (illegal) vote bank, issuing them identity documents and registering them to vote.
Posted by: john frum ||
10/22/2008 15:15 Comments ||
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#5
9600?
Since 9-11 I've wondered what the number was for the U.S..
Among so many underreported and unfollowed stories in the aftermath of 9-11 were the total deaths from irrational Americans lashing out mindlessly (I recall the one poor Sikh, from Arizona, IIRC), and the flight of Pakistanis, mostly men often leaving women and kids behind, leaving the country fleeing to Canada - was it hundreds or thousands? Meanwhile, how many where here legally, with visas which could be tracked, etc..
I'm sure President Obama and the new congress will launch investigations asap to correct prior oversights!
BAGHDAD, Oct. 21 -- The Iraqi cabinet called Tuesday for reopening negotiations over a draft agreement to keep U.S. forces in this country beyond 2008, but U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates immediately expressed "great reluctance" about more talks.
The apparent stalemate comes just 10 weeks before the expiration of the United Nations mandate that authorizes the presence of the 150,000 U.S. troops in Iraq. Without a new legal agreement, "we basically stop doing anything" in the country, Gates told news service reporters in Washington.
U.S. officials assert that Iraq is moving toward stability, after five years of violence that has taken the lives of tens of thousands of Iraqis and more than 4,180 Americans. But while attacks have dropped significantly in the past year, insurgent groups are still active and political tensions are raw.
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Posted by: Steve White ||
10/22/2008 00:00 ||
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American military chief Michael Mullen bluntly warned Iraq Tuesday that it risked security losses of "significant consequence" unless it approves an agreement on a legal basis for U.S. forces there.
Admiral Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also charged that Iran was working hard to scuttle passage of the so-called Status of Forces Agreement, or SOFA. "We are clearly running out of time," said Mullen.
Mullen said that when the current U.N. mandate runs out December 31, Iraqi security forces "will not be ready to provide for their security. And in that regard there is great potential for losses of significant consequence."
The admiral, who was on a visit to Europe, made the comments as the Iraqi cabinet took up a draft status of forces agreement negotiated over a period of months with the United States.
Mullen said that Iraqis did not appear to recognize the seriousness of the situation. "It is also clear that the Iranians are working very hard to make sure this does not pass," he said.
Raising tension
In an incident that could raise tension at a time when the Baghdad government is taking over the program from the American military, Iraqi security forces raided the home of a provincial leader of U.S.-backed patrols on Tuesday.
Mullah Shihab al-Safi, leader of the Sahwa (Awakening) movement for the volatile Diyala province north of Baghdad, told Reuters troops had raided his house before dawn, arresting his brother and father, in Buhriz, south of the provincial capital Baquba.
Safi said by telephone he was not at home at the time and was now moving from place to place to avoid capture.
The Awakening groups are made up mostly of Sunni Arabs and include many former insurgents who battled U.S. forces and the Shiite-led government in Baghdad but since have been recruited and paid by the U.S. military to run neighborhood patrols.
The Iraqi government has been taking over the program from the U.S. military, beginning this month in Baghdad and spreading to other provinces in coming months.
Officials say they will incorporate 20 percent of the patrol members into the army and police while finding civilian jobs or training for the rest.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/22/2008 00:00 ||
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A senior Shia cleric has issued a religious decree prohibiting Iraqis from signing a controversial security agreement with the US. Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Kazem al-Husseini al-Haeri issued a fatwa (decree) against the US-proposed Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA). The cleric said that the agreement was in violation of the Islamic law, calling it a humiliating pact that would undermine Iraq's sovereignty.
This would be a real good time for the government and people to demonstrate that they understand the concept of separation of mosque and state ...
The US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Michael Mullen warned that Iraq risked security losses of 'significant consequence' unless it approved the deal, AFP reported.
The deal which would determine a legal framework for the presence of US forces in the country after their UN mandate expires in December 2008 would provide Washington with permanent military bases in Iraq. The deal has so far met fierce opposition by a majority of lawmakers, whose approval is necessary for a final agreement.
The Iraqi cabinet and the Presidency Council must also approve the deal.
In a Tuesday cabinet meeting, Iraqi ministers refused to support the deal's latest draft and called for amendments to the proposal. The agreement is also opposed by the Iraqi people who have been staging rallies across the country to protest US military presence in the country.
It's real simple: without a deal we go home, and quicker than even Obama wants us home. You can then fend for yourselves. Personally I think that would be a real shame, since we Americans have spilled so much of our own blood to give you a chance at fixing your country.
But we're not going to make more concessions, and we're not going to allow you to use us as a whipping boy. Five years of blood, sweat and tears gives us some say in this arrangement, and if that isn't good enough for you, than hasta-la-bye-bye.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/22/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Al-Haeri, I hope you understand what you ask for.
Nowhere but down.
#2
Notice this Iranian "news" site didn't say Iraqi Shia leader. Grand Ayatollah Kazem al-Husseini al-Haeri is a prominent Shia leader. Al-Haeri was born in Iran, but moved to Iraq to lead the Shia community there. He was a top leader of the Al-Da'wa Party in Iraq. His involvement in the party led to his exile in the 1970s, when he moved to Iran, where he remains to this day in the holy city of Qom.
Posted by: ed ||
10/22/2008 9:15 Comments ||
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#3
This important issue will not be resolved under a Bush Administration. Will an Obama administration comply with Islamic Law? Will a McCain administration....flip them the bird? Stuff the SOFA, we don't need it anyway.
Lebanon's top Shia puppet cleric has warned the Iraqi government against signing a deal to 'legitimize' the presence of US troops in the country. "No authority, establishment, or official or nonofficial organization has the legitimacy to endorse the occupation of Iraq, legitimize or extend it," Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah said on Tuesday.
His mouth moves but the voice comes from elsewhere ...
The Shia cleric said that any security pact with the United States "should call for an imminent and unconditional withdrawal of US forces from Iraq."
His remarks were made amid US efforts to sign the so-called Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) with Iraq. The agreement would determine a legal framework for the presence of US forces in the country after their UN mandate expires in December 2008. The deal would also provide the US with permanent military basses in the country.
The Ayatollah said that any agreement must put a "fixed and imminent timetable for a complete US withdrawal from Iraq," adding that "No US bases or centers should be allowed to stay."
A draft agreement which is rejected by the Iraqi cabinet is to be revised by the ministers and then sent to Parliament for a final approval. The latest draft still envisages immunity from legal prosecution for US troops and citizens in the country.
"The withdrawal of foreign forces from Iraq should not be linked to the improvement of the security situation in the country because the Americans can stir insecurity in Iraq in order to extend their stay," Fadlallah reiterated. He concluded that any American presence in Iraq should be limited to ordinary diplomatic missions.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/22/2008 00:00 ||
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As the day crossed into dusk, Jassim Muhammed al-Sweidawi sat on brown floor cushions, chain-smoking, calmly watching the tribesmen argue over blood money.
A man from the Dulaimi tribe had killed a man from the Jenabi tribe. The elders of both tribes could have sought justice in a provincial court. They could have conferred with traditional sheiks versed in centuries-old ways of resolving disputes. But they didn't. They came to Sweidawi, a sunburned, American-backed chieftain who in less than two years had become the most powerful man in this patch of eastern Ramadi.
He asked the men if they trusted his authority. They nodded. Within minutes, he worked out a settlement. The men were not happy, but they also feared Sweidawi and needed his protection. "Your appreciation for me will not be forgotten," the chieftain, 52, said after both men had kissed his cheeks.
"Sheik Jassim," as his tribesmen call Sweidawi, is among a new generation of tribal leaders asserting influence across Sunni areas. They have won their respect by fighting Sunni insurgents of the al-Qaeda in Iraq group. With American money and support, they have brought a fragile order to Anbar province, once Iraq's most violent theater, accomplishing in months what the U.S. military could not do in years.
But the rise of these sheiks, collectively called the Awakening, is already touching off new conflicts that could deepen without U.S. military backing for the movement. They have stripped traditional tribal leaders of influence. They have carved up Sunni areas into fiefdoms, imposing their views on law and society and weakening the authority of the Shiite-led central government. Divisions are emerging among the new breed of tribal leaders, even as they are challenging established Sunni religious parties for political dominance.
Their ascent reflects how the struggle for local and regional centers of power is increasingly shaping Iraq's future. And their growing clout ensures that large segments of Iraq will remain influenced by tribal codes, rather than modern laws, posing an obstacle to the democratic foundations that many would like to see built here.
"No one can remove us," Sweidawi said. Today, he claims to control much of his Albusoda tribe, numbering about 30,000.
Since its launch in Anbar in late 2006, the Awakening has spread to mostly Sunni-majority enclaves in Baghdad and other provinces as a means of Sunni self-defense. The U.S. military gave $300 monthly salaries to fighters, many of them former insurgents, to patrol areas and stop attacking American troops.
U.S. military officials have handed Awakening tribal leaders reconstruction contracts for their areas, building up their influence. They have assisted tribal operations against al-Qaeda in Iraq with airstrikes and other military and logistical support. On one day, Sweidawi recalled how U.S. officers promised to pave the road that led to his house.
American commanders credit the movement as key to the decline in violence; some believe it played a more significant role than the U.S. "surge" offensive of 30,000 troops last year.
This month, the U.S. military handed over to the government control over about half the Awakening groups, now totaling roughly 100,000 mostly Sunni fighters. But the government, increasingly confident that it can provide security on its own, has refused to enroll most Awakening members into the police or army. In recent weeks, Iraqi security forces have arrested some Awakening leaders who were former insurgents, out of fear they will take up arms against the government.
"There are good Awakening members. But there are others who have simply changed their T-shirt, who don't want progress, who do not believe in a new Iraq," said Haider al-Abadi, a Shiite lawmaker in Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's Dawa party. "We don't want these elements to infiltrate our security forces."
Posted by: Fred ||
10/22/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
so they have started the Iraqi Sopranos, and they brought peace too Anbar in months what the US couldn't do in years because they were the ones that where causing all the trouble
Posted by: chris ||
10/22/2008 11:00 Comments ||
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No, it's not Pennsylvania. But you already knew that...
Ramallah -- Ma'an -- The Palestinian Authority (PA) said on Wednesday it received an additional US $150 million grant from the US State Department in March, according to Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. Good the State Department has this kinda money laying around. Maybe they held a bake sale...
But the grant was not officially announced until a meeting held Wednesday in the central West Bank city of Ramallah, where US Consul General Jake Wallis and Howard Somka, the director of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) in Palestine, spoke to reporters. Walis and Somka said that the US "is happy to support the PA and enhance its efforts to secure economic and, eventually, political stability for the Palestinian people." They're the "good terrorists", right, Howard?
They sure are, Jake. "Excuse me sirs, would you please stand away from that window?"
The latest grant brings US financial aid to the PA up to US $700 million, surpassing what the American Foreign Service had pledged during a meeting of donor countries in Paris last December. Anybody the government isn't bankrolling or bailing out? Besides me...
Prime Minister Salam Fayyad thanked the US government for its "consistent support to the PA and to the Palestinian people. We appreciate the motive for this support, which is to help the PA improve its financial status," he said. Oh, I'll bet. Spanish villas for everybody...
Fayyad also thanked US President George W. Bush and the American congress for approving the additional aid and supporting Palestinian independence. "We thank them for their efforts to support the creation of an independent Palestinian state on all Palestinian territory occupied in 1967, and with Jerusalem as its capital," he said. Wait'll Barry gets in. They'll spit on 150 million as chump change...
Fayyad claimed that the massive upswing in international aid to the PA is a testament to its "transparent financial system." See. The money is here and now...it is somewhere else. Watch again...
Palestinian Authority Preisdent Mahmoud Abbas said Monday he was not intending to step down from office when his term ends in January 2009, hinting also that he would run again for PA president in 2010.
Barack Obama's campaign has decided that the best way to respond to the Republican Jewish Coalition's controversial advertisements is to shun the organization.
Representatives and surrogates for the Democratic nominee are refusing to participate in debates and forums with representatives of the RJC, but will continue to take part in such activities with representatives of the McCain campaign.
The decision comes as Jewish Democrats have become increasingly upset by advertisements attacking Obama that the RJC has run in Jewish newspapers across the country. The ads have called Obama's views on Israel "dangerous" and "reckless," and his advisers "pro-Palestinian," "anti-Israel" and "hostile to Jews." Baraq Karl Fredrich Hussein tired of lying?
#4
Probably doesn't want to be forced to account for some of his changing 'positions'. How long do you have to maintain an opinion for it to be a position, anyway?
And as a personal favor, could we not mention Biden and loins together again? That just creeps me right out.
#6
Both Obama and Biden are cocooning and trying hard not to make any major flubs until Nov. 4th. If they can coast until then and keep a lead, they may win. Any more fuck ups from either man, and they could sink their campaign.
#7
So what? Democrat joooooos will vote for the One like good lil automatons, why should he pander to 20% of an already very marginal electorate, when the 80% remaining will vote for him whatever he sez or does? And those 80% include the meaty part, the opinion-makers in the information and entertainment industries, what's not to like?
#9
Confinement to the undisclosed location won't shush the media blurbs tho. Jesse Jackson reassuring the Palestinians that Obama will take care of their problem with Israel in France, Bill Ayers proudly proclaiming he is an anarchist and equating fundamentalist Christians and Jews with jihadis on radio, Maxine Waters and the ACORN crew encouraging fraud to take the White House for Obama. Jewish Democrats NEED to be informed before they vote and the Republicans should take advantage of this. Shunning tends to piss people off and maybe they will bail off the Obamawagon.
#10
The American Jewish Committee has polled Jewish voters before each election for simply ages. This time they ran the poll in September. Interestingly, at that time only 57% of those polled planned to vote for Obama, 30% for McCain, and the remaining were undecided. This compares to 70% for Kerry in 2004, and 75% for Gore in 2000.
Since then, there's been the Joe the Plumber incident, and of course Biden's crisis statement. A great many American Jews are professionals or small business owners (a doctor's office generally counts as a small business) and will be hit by Obama's $250,000 limit for spreading the wealth.
I'm very much looking forward to the follow-up polls this year.
anonymous5089 dear, if you plan to continue protesting egregious stereotypes about your countrymen, please do not display same about my co-religionists. Thank you.
#13
Bummer, or else maybe they could ask Zero about:
In 2000, Rashid Khalidi, a former PLO operative who justified Palestinian terrorism as contributing to "political enlightenment," threw a fundraiser for his friend Barack Obama.
Khalidi glorifies anti-Israel violence as contributing to "political enlightenment"[vii] and unsurprisingly admires those who carry it out. His loyalty to Palestinian terrorist groups run so deep that he actually dedicated his 1986 valentine to the PLO, Under Siege, to "those who gave their lives . . . in defense of the cause of Palestine and independence of Lebanon."[viii] The book whitewashes PLO violence against Israelis and Lebanese, as well as the Syrian occupation.
The LA Times wrote an article about Obama's association with Rashid Khalidi in April:
It was a celebration of Palestinian culture -- a night of music, dancing and a dash of politics. Local Arab Americans were bidding farewell to Rashid Khalidi, an internationally known scholar, critic of Israel and advocate for Palestinian rights, who was leaving town for a job in New York.
A special tribute came from Khalidi's friend and frequent dinner companion, the young state Sen. Barack Obama. Speaking to the crowd, Obama reminisced about meals prepared by Khalidi's wife, Mona, and conversations that had challenged his thinking.
In 2000, the Khalidis held a fundraiser for Obama's unsuccessful congressional bid. The next year, a social service group whose board was headed by Mona Khalidi received a $40,000 grant from a local charity, the Woods Fund of Chicago, when Obama served on the fund's board of directors...
At Khalidi's going-away party in 2003, the scholar lavished praise on Obama, telling the mostly Palestinian American crowd that the state senator deserved their help in winning a U.S. Senate seat. "You will not have a better senator under any circumstances," Khalidi said.
#16
Why is this surprising? Most Jews, only Yahweh knows why, vote for democrats. I hope that they wake up and realize they are voting for the social extremists illuminati party that desires to make government the answer to all questions. If it was up to Obama, there would be no private industry. (almost 1984-ish)
A man finds joy in giving an apt reply and how good is a timely word!- Proverbs 15:23
#17
In order to keep voting dem, American Jews have to make a choice; Israel or the dems.
Apparently Israel is too Zionist for some Jews who want an excuse to keep voting dem.
Posted by: Richard Aubrey ||
10/22/2008 22:04 Comments ||
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Hamas tentatively agreed on Tuesday to an Egyptian proposal for reconciliation between the Islamist movement and the rival Fatah faction of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas.
"We will agree to the draft of the agreement and will not reject it, but there needs to be guarantees that what is agreed upon will be implemented," Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhum told reporters. "Hamas will work towards the success of the Egyptian effort to reach a national reconciliation that protects our principles, preserves our blood and unites our people," he said.
But he said Hamas would request some changes. "The draft contains positive elements, but also has some points that need to be modified and some points that need clarification from the Egyptian leadership."
The two main Palestinian movements have been bitterly divided since Hamas drove Abbas's security forces from the Gaza Strip in a week of fierce street clashes in June 2007, cleaving the territories into hostile rival camps. Representatives from both sides have been invited to meet in Cairo on November 9 to discuss the Egyptian plan, which is aimed at restoring unity and resolving a looming constitutional crisis that threatens to deepen the internal rift.
Hamas said that Abbas -- who was elected in January 2005 -- will cease to be president when his constitutionally mandated four-year term ends in January and that a new presidential election will have to be held. Abbas loyalists, citing a separate clause in the constitution, say that presidential and parliamentary elections must be held at the same time, which would extend his term to 2010.
Under the Egyptian plan -- to which Abbas has yet to formally agree -- a "national consensus government" would be formed in a bid to lift the international blockade of Gaza and prepare for presidential and parliamentary elections.
The plan also calls for the rehabilitation of independent Palestinian security forces with assistance from Arab states and the incorporation of Hamas and the hard line Islamic Jihad into the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) headed by Abbas, which is responsible for negotiations with Israel.
Israel and the West have embraced Abbas as a partner in U.S.-backed peace negotiations re-launched in November 2007 but continue to blacklist Hamas as a terrorist group despite its victory in 2006 Palestinian parliamentary elections. In the past the European Union and the United States have joined Israel in boycotting Palestinian governments that include Hamas, raising fears that full Palestinian reconciliation could lead to renewed international sanctions.
Hamas and Fatah signed a Yemen-brokered agreement in March that was aimed at returning Gaza to Abbas's control but the initiative dissolved within days as the two groups differed over its meaning. Hamas had viewed the plan as providing a framework for national unity talks, while Fatah had viewed its implementation as a precondition for negotiations.
Fatah says to accept Egypt plan for reconciliation
(Xinhua) -- Nabil Shaath, chief of Fatah movement team to the inter-dialogue in Cairo, said on Tuesday his movement has positively accepted the Egyptian plan for inter-Palestinian dialogue and reconciliation. "The draft of the plan, presented to the factions, is very positive and will be a real outbreak for what Egypt has vowed to kickoff the dialogue and achieve a national unity," Shaath told the official Palestinian news agency Wafa.
Shaath, who is also a member of Fatah central committee, said that Egypt considers the draft of the plan as a work paper for the comprehensive dialogue that is scheduled to be held in Cairo in the first half of next month.
The goal of the comprehensive dialogue is to end the current status of political and economical split between Gaza, which is ruled by Hamas, and the West Bank, which is ruled by President Mahmoud Abbas. Shaath told Wafa that Fatah is not seeking a Hamas apology for taking the Gaza Strip by force, "but we want Hamas leaders to positively accept the Egyptian plan."
The plan calls for forming a unity government that prepares forearly presidential and legislative elections, runs the daily life of the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza and reform the Palestinian security apparatuses.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/22/2008 00:00 ||
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Senior Iranian Official Recommends that Iran Mark London as a Target In Order to Deter Bush from Attacking Iran in Last Months of Presidency
In an October 18, 2008 article on the Iranian website Aftab, Wahid Karimi, director of the Europe and U.S. department in Iran's Foreign Ministry, recommends that Iran mark London as a target, since it is the capital of the country that is the U.S.'s closest ally in Europe. This, says Karimi, would be with the aim of ensuring that the Bush administration does not attack Iran in its final weeks, after the U.S. presidential election next month and before Bush officially leaves office on January 20, 2009. Following are the main points of Karimi's article:
Posted by: ed ||
10/22/2008 09:44 ||
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#1
Because, as we all know, terrorism and subversive warfare is a legitimate tool of international relationships, just as "all countries" (wink, wink) have a Legal Right to belong to the UNSC. Bizarro wolrd.
A prominent Iraqi Shiite cleric known for his opposition of the Iranian regime made a landmark visit to Egypt as part of efforts to counter Iranian influence in Iraq and enhance the Arab role their.
Jordan-based Ayatollah Hossein al-Moayed received an official invitation from Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit to visit Egypt, where he met with Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa as well as officials from the Foreign Ministry and senior presidential staff.
The meetings focused on political, rather than religious, issues particularly the influence of Iran and the Arab role in Iraq, Moayed told AlArabiya.net from Amman. "We talked about the Iranian nationalistic plan. I was the first to warn that Iran's plans are nationalistic, and not religious or sectarian," he said."Religion is just a tool to gain influence, especially in the absence of an effective Arab counter-strategy.
Moayed added that he hoped his visit would help familiarize Egypt with the political map of Iraq, particularly parties that oppose the current situation. "We need political and media support from Egypt," said the ayatollah
Moayed rejected as the lable of Shiite leader and stressed that his efforts transcend a narrow sectarian framework.
The religious leader hails from a prominent Shiite family and studied theology in Baghdad before going to the Iranian city of Qom in 1982. He obtained a degree in Ijtihad, or interpretation, the highest level in the Hawza, the seminary of Shiite Islamic studies.
This three-day visit came amid strained relations between Egypt and Iran. Diplomatic relations between the two countries were severed in 1979 in the aftermath of the Islamic Revolution and the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty.
Tensions became further strained when a major street in Tehran was named after Khaled al-Islambouli, leader of the squad that assassinated late Egyptian president Anwar Sadatand a documentary relased that glorified the assassin.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/22/2008 00:00 ||
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The New York Times has published testimonies by detained Iraqi Shiite militiamen about training in Iran and Lebanon by Revolutionary Guards and Hezbollah operatives on the use of weapons and explosives. The training, according to the report by Mark Mazzetti, included the use of automatic rifles, anti-aircraft guns, machine guns, mortars and the handling of explosives, especially roadside bombs.
The lengthy report described the day-to-day life of Iraqi Shiite trainees, how they were recruited and the routes used to take them to Iran and Lebanon, via Syria.
Chief U.N. investigator Daniel Bellemare has reportedly prepared an official request for the transfer to Holland of the four Lebanese generals accused of involvement in the assassination of former Premier Rafik Hariri.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/22/2008 00:00 ||
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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.
A Lebanese mother and her child who fled to Britain to avoid being separated under their country's Islamic law can stay in the country, Britain's highest court ruled Wednesday.
(Xinhua) -- Japan should be removed from the six-party talks aimed at denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula, a commentary in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) official daily Minju Joson said Tuesday. The commentary accused Japan of attempting to impede the denuclearization process and use it as a pretext to bolster its military power and expansionist aims. 
Four people were injured Tuesday in southeastern Turkey when Kurds protesting the alleged abuse of jailed rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan clashed with police for a fourth day, security officials said. Clashes broke out when some 1,000 protesters - members and supporters of the Kurdish Democratic Society Party.
(APP): Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and Richard Boucher, US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, met here Monday at the PM House. The meeting was attended by Advisor to PM on Interior Rehman Malik, Advisor on National Security Mehmood Ali Durrani, US Ambassador Anne W
Lebanon's top Shia 
As the day crossed into dusk, Jassim Muhammed al-Sweidawi sat on brown floor cushions, chain-smoking, calmly watching the tribesmen argue over blood money. 
