Germany's Defense Minister says war-torn Afghanistan can never taste democracy according to Western ideals, casting doubts on the mantra for the international presence there.
In an interview with the mass-circulation Bild am Sonntag newspaper, Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg not only urged inclusion of moderate Taliban members in the Afghan government, but also conditioned any lasting peace in the country on that concession.
Guttenberg said he had arrived at this strategy from studying Afghanistan's history and character. "Because we are in a country with such regional diversity...We can't just leave out an entire ethnic group like the Pashtuns if we want sustainable solutions for the future," he was quoted by the paper as saying.
Certain conditions would need to be fulfilled, however, and it would be unacceptable for the Afghan government to ignore universal human rights.
"We must ask ourselves who from the insurgents poses a serious threat to the international community and who is more concerned with the conditions in Afghanistan itself," he said. "This issue of human rights must also be taken into account, without ignoring the existing cultures and traditions in Afghanistan."
His remarks in the past week seem to hint at a new German policy toward Afghanistan. He told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper that he would support bids to engage in peace talks with non-terrorist Taliban members.
Guttenberg has also vowed to fight pressure demanding his resignation over allegations that he was complicit in covering up the large civilian toll of September's German-ordered strike in northern Afghanistan ahead of election later that month. The September 4 attack in Afghanistan's Kunduz Province, killed or wounded more than 14 people, including at least 30 civilians.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/28/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Taliban
#1
ION PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUM > PAKISTAN TALIBAN SAY [thousands = 000's] OF FIGHTERS GOING TO AFGHANISTAN, to help Afghan Taliban. US claims no significant movement of Fighters seen or detected at borders.
* SAME > [Regional Trade]PLAN TO PAKISTAN TRANSIT CORRIDOR FOR CENTRAL ASIAN REPUBLICS.
#2
It was a bad mistake at the onset to try and salvage anything about Afghanistan. It is like a soft rubber ox-cart with triangular wheels. No part works or is right for the job, nor can be repaired. The whole thing must be replaced.
#4
I don't see a problem with the return of individual Talibs to their communities in a civilian capacity -- the Prodigal Son scenario. But let them run for election like everyone else, not be given power and influence just for the sake of their pretty faces.
#5
It was a bad mistake at the onset to try and salvage anything about Afghanistan.
Afghanistan had a government when we threw the Talibs out. Remember that they were recognized in only three counties: Pak, Soddy Arabia, and the UAE. Their UN representation and such embassies as Afghanistan maintained were accredited to the Rabbani government.
The mistake was in trying to set up a government that "included" the Pashtuns, who're incapable of governing themselves, much less their more civilized Dari, Uzbek, and Tadjik speaking betters.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/28/2009 10:28 Comments ||
Top||
#6
Maybe the mistake was trying to set up a government rather than impose one.
#7
TOPIX > US STRATEGY TO END AL QAEDA WAR USHERS IN 2010 FRAUGHT WITH PERILS.
* SAME > TALIBAN INSURGENCY EXPANDING IN AGHANISTAN, CREATES GOVERNMENT-IN-WAITING; + NATO OFFICIAL: TALIBAN EXPANDING INFLUENCE ALL ACROSS AFGHANISTAN, + TIME RUNNING OUT FOR US SURGE STRATEGY TO PROVE MERITS.
VIETNAM WAR = AFPAK > ultimately, the premier enemy method is NOT to militarily defeat the US on the battlefield, BUT TO FRUSTRATE + OUTLAST THEM [US political will = PCorrect Chickenhawks/
ChickenCritters in the Fed-Govt].
[Iran Press TV Latest] Somali pirates onboard a Chinese cargo ship say they are preparing to release the vessel and its crew of 25 after receiving a USD 3.5 million in ransom.
A pirate source said Sunday that a helicopter dropped the ransom on the deck of the coal ship De Xin Hai, which was seized by Somali pirates in mid-October en route to India.
The ship, carrying a 76,000-ton cargo from South Africa, came under attack in the Indian Ocean northeast of the Seychelles, but was later transferred to the bandit's hideout on the Somali coast, where a number of other pirate-held ships remain anchored.
The October 18 hijacking again highlighted how a multinational European Union-led naval armada dispatched to the region to battle piracy in the Horn of Africa has failed to tackle the growing crisis in one of the world's busiest shipping routes.
Furthermore, the anti-piracy presence seems to have pushed the outlaws to expand their operations. De Xin Hai was taken more than 1,000 kilometers (550 nautical miles) from the Somali coast.
The limits faced by the naval mission also renders is impossible to hold any suspected pirates caught at sea without proof. The pirates in turn take advantage of the situation, dumping any weapons or proof as soon as a warship is sighted.
The 324 hijacking attempts worldwide up to October 20 this year, point to a dramatic rise from the same period in 2008, with 194 attacks. Of the total annual attacks in 2009 and 2008 respectively, 37 and 36 were successful according to the latest figures from the ICC International Maritime Bureau's Piracy Reporting Centre (IMB).
Posted by: Fred ||
12/28/2009 00:00 ||
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An Al-Qaeda operative in Yemen threatened the United States and said "we are carrying a bomb" in a video posted online four days before the botched Christmas Day attempt to blow up a Northwest Airlines flight.
There were videos posted online before Whatsisname Zazi and his Afghan friends were arrested in September, too, as I recall. Al Qaeda has been looking ambitious but ineffective lately, at least as regards attacks in the U.S.: grandiose plans but poor follow through. Were I jihadi-bound, I'd choose another organization...unless I wanted to spend a large piece of my life in an American prison.
The video does not contain any clear evidence that the speaker was anticipating Friday's attempt, but it has attracted scrutiny because of reports that the bombing plot may have originated in Yemen.
The 23-year-old Nigerian man accused in the attack claimed he received training and instructions from al-Qaida operatives there, U.S. law enforcement officials said, and a key American lawmaker has said there are "strong suggestions" of a Yemen connection.
In a Dec. 21 video, the al-Qaeda operative delivered a eulogy for militants killed in a Yemeni airstrike on a militant training camp four days earlier. The speaker said he had no agenda against Yemeni soldiers, but warned them against cooperating with Americans.
"We are carrying a bomb to hit the enemies of God," the speaker says.
"O soldiers, you should learn that we do not want to fight you, nor do we have an issue with you. We only have an issue with America and its agents, and beware of standing in the ranks of America," he says. "You should not defend these regimes. The soldiers and even Obama cannot put out the light of Islam."
The video was posted on extremist Web sites affiliated with al-Qaeda. The Web sites identified the speaker as Mohammed al-Kalwi, an al-Qaeda activist reportedly killed in another airstrike on Thursday.
See? There is an afterlife!
The video showed the bearded militant, wearing a a headdress and green military-style jacket over a long Arab robe, addressing a group of armed followers as he stood atop a car. The followers repeatedly interrupted the fiery address with calls of "God is great."
IntelCenter, a Virginia-based group that monitors extremist activity, said in a report that it was not certain the speaker knew about the airliner plot ahead of time. It said planning for the botched attack likely took place long ago, but it would be plausible for a member with knowledge of the plot to foreshadow an operation.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/28/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: al-Qaeda
#1
See also PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUM > ASIA TIMES ONLINE: AL QAEDA SETS SIGHTS ON PAKISTAN, AND BEYOND. Sources tell Asia Times that AQ has reestablished itself in SOMALIA + YEMEN, desires to disrupt major trade routes around the HORN OF AFRICA, + ultimately to control any and all MUSLIM RESISTANCE MOVEMENTS IN THE REGION.
And AL QAEDA IN LEBANON + TRANSJORDAN > goes to a certain old Saying about how its the "QUIET
ONE(S)" that have to be watched???
#2
Pragmatically, methinks that OSAMA = AL QAEDA, + Radic Islam in general are aware that the USA may try to cutoff or separate Africa's Islamists from those of the Middle East + Persian Gulf, via control of the Arabian Peninsula.
The Yemeni national security chief has declared that the country is receiving assistance from the US in the crackdown on what he called 'al-Qaeda operatives' in southern Yemen.
Mohamed al-Anisi has told the Saudi Arabian newspaper Okaz that Yemeni forces were cooperating with the US military on attacks against al-Qaeda camps, DPA reported on Saturday.
Yemen's confirmation comes as an ABC report revealed that US President Barack Obama had signed the order for a recent military strike on Yemen in which scores of civilians, including children, were killed.
Upon the orders of Obama, the military warplanes blanketed two camps in the north of the Yemeni capital, Sana'a, on December 17, claiming "an imminent attack against a US asset was being planned," ABC News quoted anonymous administration officials as saying on December 18.
The US has also been throwing its weight behind the central government in San'a by supporting their months-long offensive against the Houthis in northern Yemen which has resulted in a humanitarian crisis in the region.
Houthi fighters say US fighter jets have in multiple times bombed their region, killing civilians including women and children.
Houthi fighters on Saturday declared that a US fighter jet had carried out multiple airstrikes on the home of a senior official in Yemen's northern province of Sa'ada.
The developments come as international aid agencies and some UN bodies including United Nations Children's Fund and UN High Commissioner for Refugees have voiced concern over the dire condition of the Yemeni civilians who have become the main victims of the conflict in the country.
The conflict in northern Yemen began in 2004 between Sana'a and Houthi fighters. Relative peace had returned to the region until August 11, when the Yemeni army launched a major offensive, dubbed Operation Scorched Earth, against Sa'ada Province.
The government claims that the fighters, who are named after their leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi, seek to restore the Shia imamate system, which was overthrown in a 1962 military coup.
The Houthis, however, say they are defending their people's civil rights, which the government has undermined under pressure from Saudi-backed Wahhabi extremists. Shias, who form the clear majority in the north, make up approximately half of Yemen's overall population.
The United Nations, which according to its charter is set up "to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to peace, and for the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace," has failed to adopt any concrete measures to help end the bloody war.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/28/2009 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] In an ironic move, Jamaat-e-Islami accorded a reception and gave award to five Muktijoddhas (freedom fighters) yesterday, 38 years after the birth of Bangladesh. This party had termed freedom fighters traitors and miscreants during the Liberation War in 1971, and called for killing them.
Jatiya Muktijoddha Parishad, a Jamaat patronised organisation, organised the reception at a city hotel. The function was held against the backdrop of public demand for and the government's promise to hold trial of war criminals who had not only opposed the Liberation War but also collaborated with the Pakistani occupation forces in committing genocide during the nine-month war.
Recipients of the award from Jamaat are Dr Rowshan Ara Begum, Lt Commander (retd) Afazuddin Ahmed, Salahuddin Ahmed, poet Al Mahmud and (posthumous) Major MA Jalil.
Both Rawshan and Afazuddin demanded exemplary punishment of Jamaat leaders if found involved in the killings and oppression during the Liberation War.
Rawshan Ara told this correspondent she did not know that Jamaat was involved in the programme. Talking to journalists later, both Rawshan and Afazuddin demanded exemplary punishment of Jamaat leaders if found involved in the killings and oppression during the Liberation War.
Salahuddin said the award [Tk 50,000, books and a crest] will help an insolvent freedom fighter like him. No representative of Jalil was present to receive his award. Organisers said they would send it to his house as his wife is now abroad.
Jamaat Secretary General Ali Ahsan Muhammad Mojaheed, who was scheduled to be the chief guest at the function, did not turn up. He was represented by Maulana Rafiqul Islam Khan, ameer of city unit of the party. Several other Jamaat leaders including lawmaker Hamidur Rahman Azad were present at the programme.
Many of the present top leaders of Jamaat including its Ameer Maulana Motiur Rahman Nizami and Secretary General Mojaheed were accused of war crimes.
Leaders of Jamaat's student wing the then Islami Chhatra Sangha, now known as Islami Chhatra Shibir, and some other groups were involved in anti-liberation activities.
Mojaheed was president of East Pakistan Islami Chhatra Sangha in 1971. Mojaheed asked workers of the organisation to form Al-Badr Bahini to resist freedom fighters, according to a "Fortnightly Secret Report on the Situation in East Pakistan". In line with an official procedure, the report used to be regularly dispatched by the then East Pakistan home ministry to General Yahya Khan, head of the Pakistan government.
Many researches, academic studies, accounts of both victims and collaborators, and publications including newspapers revealed that Mojaheed, who headed the Al Badr team in Dhaka at that time, allegedly led those who had been involved in the killings of intellectuals -- only two days before the victory of liberation forces on December 16, 1971. Thousands of people still bear the scars of war crimes by Jamaat, Islami Chhatra Sangha and some other controversial outfits such as Nizam-e-Islami. Jamaat's opposition to the struggle for independence has been documented in different publications including those by the party itself.
This article starring:
ALI AHSAN MUHAMAD MOJAHID
Jamaat-e-Islami
HAMIDUR RAHMAN AZAD
Jamaat-e-Islami
MAULANA MOTIUR RAHMAN NIZAMI
Jamaat-e-Islami
MAULANA RAFIQUL ISLAM KHAN
Jamaat-e-Islami
Posted by: Fred ||
12/28/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Jamaat-e-Islami
North Korean leader Kim Jong Il moved early this month to wipe out much of the wealth earned in the past decade in his country's private markets. As part of a surprise currency revaluation, the government sharply restricted the amount of old bills that could be traded for new and made it illegal for citizens to have more than $40 worth of local currency.
It was an unexplained decision -- the kind of command that for more than six decades has been obeyed without question in North Korea. But this time, in a highly unusual challenge to Kim's near-absolute authority, the markets and the people who depend on them pushed back.
Grass-roots anger and a reported riot in an eastern coastal city pressured the government to amend its confiscatory policy. Exchange limits have been eased, allowing individuals to possess more cash.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/28/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Commies
#1
ION WMF > SOUTH KOREAN "KBS" MEDIA: NORTH KOREA DESIRES TO BECOME A DE FACTO NUCLEAR WEAPONS STATE, PLANS THREE FUTURE NUCLEAR TESTS.
* NUCWEAPS STATE > shade of ISLAMIST IRAN come Year 2012, as Iran is technically already is a nuclear state wid its centrifuges + low-yield uranium materials???
#5
ION CORYE INDIAN EXPRESS > [Dr. Qadeer Khan]NORTH KOREA BUILT PLANT TO MAKE GAS FOR URANIUM ENRICHMENT [incl. for plutonium bombs], wid help from PAK. ARTIC > indics NORTH KOREA does desire and has escalated indigenous efforts to become a NUCLEAR WEAPONS STATE.
Again, SHADE OF IRAN come Year 2012 [NucEnergy + NUcWeaps], later RADICAL ISLAM 2012/13-2020 or 2025???
Gut the OIL = Gut the $$$ = Gut the Perts = Gut the MIL/NUCTECHS.....
* ION WMF > RUSSIA WORRIED OVER CHINA'S DEPLOYMENT OF NEW DF-31A STRATEGIC MISSLES WHILE THEIR OWN ARSENAL FACES AN UNCERTAIN PERIOD OF RETIREMENT AND REPLACEMENT.
Nutshell > VARI MIL FORUMS threads > CHIN'S MILITARY IS GETTING STRONGER WHILE RUSSIA'S IS GETTING WEAKER???
Oh joy. This is going to be just dandy for families returning from holiday visits with kids. Think 'babies with no blankets or bottles during takeoff/landing, kids in seats for an hour with no toys or snacks, business people who suddenly cannot check email or get work done ..... Not to mention the fact that I need to fly next week.
1. BOARDING GATE
1. The aircraft operator or authorized air carrier representative must ensure all passengers are screened at the boarding gate during the boarding process using the following procedures. These procedures are in addition to the screening of all passengers at the screening checkpoint.
1. Perform thorough pat-down of all passengers at boarding gate prior to boarding, concentrating on upper legs and torso.
2. Physically inspect 100 percent of all passenger accessible property at the boarding gate prior to boarding, with focus on syringes being transported along with powders and/or liquids.
3. Ensure the liquids, aerosols, and gels restrictions are strictly adhered to in accordance with SD 1544--06-02E....
2. IN FLIGHT
1. During flight, the aircraft operator must ensure that the following procedures are followed:
1. Passengers must remain in seats beginning 1 hour prior to arrival at destination.
2. Passenger access to carry-on baggage is prohibited beginning 1 hour prior to arrival at destination.
3. Disable aircraft-integrated passenger communications systems and services (phone, internet access services, live television programming, global positioning systems) prior to boarding and during all phases of flight.
4. While over U.S. airspace, flight crew may not make any announcement to passengers concerning flight path or position over cities or landmarks.
5. Passengers may not have any blankets, pillows, or personal belongings on the lap beginning 1 hour prior to arrival at destination.
#1
A few years ago we had the shoe bomber so now we have to take off our shoes to clear security. Now we have the underwear bomber..... Lord I hope I don't get caught in line behind Helen Thomas or Rosie O'Donnell.
#3
The TSA directive states that these measures will expire at 0200Z on December 30, 2009. Stay off airplanes for the next two days, and you're in like Flynn. I suppose.
What comes after that-- we all fly nude?
Posted by: Dave D. ||
12/28/2009 10:01 Comments ||
Top||
#4
re: expiration - thanks. That solves my problem, although it won't be fun for returning families.
re: nude - I devoutly and sincerely pray not. Wholeheartedly too.
#6
I vote that Muslims must fly nude. The rest of us are left alone. If that doesn't work - than muslims can't fly - with lie detector tests to prove you are not muslim.
#8
Lucky that our j1hadi enem1es do not read Sun Tzu.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
12/28/2009 10:39 Comments ||
Top||
#9
If Janet NapOnTheJobo ran this guy's name against "the lists" one hour before take off all these "new rules" would never be required> So guess what. The terrorists who can still board will now schedule their evil deads one hour and ten minutes before landing...
#10
How about banning muslims from any form of transportation that didn't exist in the 7th century and stop forcing grandmothers to turn their head and cough during airport check in.
Posted by: ed ||
12/28/2009 11:57 Comments ||
Top||
#11
I got an flight at 6:30 this morning at DFW and saw none of these new measures.
Maybe this is just a feel-good measure for the rubes?
Posted by: Bobby ||
12/28/2009 12:11 Comments ||
Top||
#12
"I vote that Muslims must fly nude."
Just upholster the seats with pigskin. Problem solved.
#13
Security expert Bruce Schneier has an apt description for this: "security theatre". It accomplishes absolutely nothing but creates the appearance of action.
#15
I'm pretty sure the whole "no bottles for the babies / no snacks for the kids one hour before we land" thing will never be adopted. It's the easiest way to keep the littlest ones from screaming during landing (helps with pressure in their ears).
US President Barack Obama has ordered a review of air security after a Nigerian man was charged with trying to blow up a transatlantic jet on Christmas Day. Spokesman Robert Gibbs said Mr Obama wanted to know how a man carrying explosives had managed to board a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit.
Mr Gibbs told ABC News the system of watch-lists used by US government agencies would be examined, after it emerged that the Christmas Day suspect was listed and known to officials. A US record for 23-year-old Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was created last month.
The US government uses three watch-lists, which become shorter as risk increases. They include one with some 550,000 names on it, a "selectee" list with 18,000 people within the higher-risk category, and a "no-fly" list with 4,000 names of people who are not allowed to board planes. Mr Gibbs said the number of people on the watch-list was "a huge number".
"The president has asked that a review be undertaken to ensure that any information gets to where it needs to go, to the people making the decisions. The president wants to review some of these procedures and see if they need to be updated," he said.
Mr Gibbs said "air detection capabilities" would also be examined as part of the review.
"The president has asked the Department of Homeland Security to answer the - quite frankly - the very real question about how somebody with something as dangerous as PETN could have gotten onto a plane in Amsterdam."
Nigerian authorities, who on Sunday pledged to co-operate with the US investigation, said all passengers passing through the country's 22 airports would be screened. Wealthy or influential people and their families are often allowed to skip checks, media reports say.
Speaking to ABC New, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said there was no immediate indication that Mr Abdulmutallab was part of a broader terror plot, but that the investigation was continuing.
#1
I don't know about the rest of you but I would GLADLY submit to a body scan if it means I can get up and go to the bathroom if I need to.
Telling someone that they may not use the restroon for an HOUR prior to landing is just plain NUTS. What if you are delayed in those last few minutes and it turns into two hours? What if your pilots get in an heated discussion and don't realize where they are until you are half way to Albuquerque?
Walk me through the body scanner and allow me to pee if I need to, please. Only keep people in their seats if you are prepared to provide them with diapers before the flight.
#2
I was flying in and out of Reagan back in the day when they did this for that airport. It was a) not a lot of fun; and b) was ignored shortly after.
PENTAERYTHRITOL Tetranitrate, or PETN, is a highly explosive, colourless organic compound, related to nitroglycerine.
The deadly substance was used by Richard Reid, the so-called shoe bomber, who failed in an attempt to blow up a trans-Atlantic flight in 2001.
Officials said analysis of the remnants of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's device was being carried out by the FBI. It was possible that had the chemical mixture detonated, it might have brought down the aircraft.
Introduced as an explosive by the Germans before World War I, PETN is ''valued for its shattering force and efficiency''. It is the ''least stable of the common military explosives but retains its properties in storage for longer periods than nitroglycerine or cellulose nitrate [nitrocellulose] does'', the Encyclopedia Britannica says.
The white crystalline substance feels powdery to the touch. It is more sensitive to shock or friction than TNT or tetryl, and it is never used alone. It is primarily used in booster and bursting charges of small-calibre ammunition and in detonators.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/28/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: al-Qaeda
#1
sensitive to shock or friction
Doesn't sound like the kind of thing one would want to make underwear out of. Think of the problems with explosive flatulence or with chafing.
The Nigeria Civil Avia-tion Authority (NCAA) has confirmed that Abdulfarouk Umar Abdulmuttallab, the passenger who is a suspect in the attempt to bomb North-west-Delta Airlines flight 253 with 278 passengers and 11-member crew from Amsterdam to Detroit, Michigan, is a Nigerian who boarded KLM flight out of Lagos on December 24, 2009 en-route Detroit, Michigan, USA via Amsterdam.
According to the Director-General of NCAA, Dr Harold Demuren, the ticket information of Abdulmutallab showed that the e-ticket with which he traveled was purchased from KLM airport office in Accra, Ghana on December 16, 2009 and with USD 2,831 the ticket was paid for in cash.
Demuren said the original routing of the trip was Lagos-Amsterdam-Detroit-Amsterdam-Accra. "However, the routing was later changed to Lagos-Amsterdam-Detroit-Amsterdam-Lagos," the Director-General said.
He said the return journey of Abdulmutallab was booked for January 8, 2010 out of Detroit, to arrive Lagos January 9, 2010.
"No contact address or telephone contact was given by the purchaser of the ticket at the time of purchase. KLM office in Lagos confirmed that the original ticket bought in Accra was cancelled and re-issued on the same 16th December, 2009," he said.
Demuren also said passenger information document confirmed that the passenger personally checked-in at 2035 (8.35 pm) local time and this was also corroborated by the close-circuit television (CCTV) footage.
"The passenger did not check in any luggage but was spotted with a shoulder bag. The passenger went through a normal checking process. His passport was scanned, his US Visa was scanned and the APIS (Advanced Passenger Information System) returned with no objection. Passenger was allotted seat number 20B on the Lagos-Amsterdam leg and seat 19A on the Amsterdam-Detroit leg," the Director-General explained.
The Murtala Muhammed Airport security also has details of Abdulmutallab's passport and visa information.
Demuren said the bombing suspect possessed a Nigerian Machine Readable Passport (MRP) issued on September 15, 2005 to expire on September 14, 2010 and the passport number is A3921640. According to the information from the passport, Abdul-mutallab has multiple entry US Visa issued in London, UK on June 16, 2008 to expire June 12, 2010.
The NCAA Director-General said the suspect presented himself for immigration clearance with his Nigerian passport and the passport was scanned into Passenger Registration System, "confirming that passenger went through normal standard security screening procedure."
"Thereafter, he passed through aviation security system comprising of walk through metal detector and the baggage X-ray screening machine. Passenger proceeded to the boarding gate where he went through secondary screening as confirmed by KLM airline security officials. At the close of the departure, the passenger was confirmed on board, his name was on the post departure manifest under serial number 2," Demuren also said.
He said the Nigerian authorities are willing and prepared to assist in any investigation that would unravel the circumstances surrounding this incident.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/28/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: al-Qaeda
Two men thought to have been acting suspicious aboard a flight bound for Phoenix were detained and questioned by federal anti-terrorism authorities before they were released, the FBI said Sunday.
Transportation Security Administration officials said passengers aboard U.S. Airways Flight 192 from Orlando, Fla., on Saturday night reported that two men, described as Middle Eastern, were acting strangely and talking loudly to each other in a foreign language.
A nearby passenger also observed one of men watching what appeared to be footage of a suicide bombing, but was actually a scene from the 2007 movie "The Kingdom." The man also got up from his seat while the seat belt warning sign was still lit, FBI spokesman Manuel Johnson said.
"The totality of those three occurrences led this passenger to believe this was suspicious," he said.
The flight crew called for law enforcement and TSA officers to meet them when the plane landed at Phoenix's Sky Harbor International Airport at about 8 p.m. Authorities said the two men were met by Phoenix police and TSA officials at the flight's airport gate and later interviewed by FBI agents.
Nothing dangerous was found during a search of the plane and passengers' luggage, police said. The men were released after questioning and allowed to continue on to California, Phoenix Johnson said.
#1
"The Kingdom," (2007) From Wikipedia: The film is fictional, but inspired by bombings at the Riyadh compound on May 12, 2003 and the Khobar housing complex on June 26, 1996 in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The story follows a team of FBI agents who investigate the bombing of a foreign-workers facility in Saudi Arabia.
...During a softball game at an American oil company housing compound in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, al-Qaeda terrorists set off a bomb, killing many Americans and Saudis in the process. The terrorists impersonate members of the Saudi State Police. While one team hijacks a car and shoots up residents of the area, another runs out onto the softball diamond, pretending to aid the Americans, but then reveals that he is a suicide bomber and blows himself up, killing everyone near him.
[Al Arabiya Latest] From London to Sydney people prepared to stand in solidarity with the Gaza Strip as Sunday marked a year since Israel launched its deadly air, land and sea assault on the impoverished territory.
As politicians failed to bring those responsible for the mass destruction and death of more than 1, 500 Palestinians to justice, advocacy groups urged people to demonstrate to show the residents of Gaza they were not forgotten.
" It is barbaric that the Israeli government can lay siege to 1.5 million people in Gaza without international governments taking action to force Israel to abide by international law "
Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Fresh off the Christmas holidays, London-based Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) said it was staging a demonstration outside the British capital's Israeli embassy and said candlelight vigils would be held across the United Kingdom.
"The protest is simply to remind the British public what happened a year ago and to remind people that Israel still operates a deadly siege over Gaza," Betty Hunter, the general secretary of PSC, told Al Arabiya.
Hunter said PSC expected a few hundred people to attend the protest and said the group was calling on the British government to take practical steps to end the suffering of the people of Gaza.
"It is barbaric that the Israeli government can lay siege to 1.5 million people in Gaza without international governments taking action to force Israel to abide by international law," Hunter said.
"The British government must force Israel to end its siege, implement the Goldstone Report, and bring Israeli war criminals to justice."
Posted by: Fred ||
12/28/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Hamas
#1
Like anyone cares about the vermin in Gaza.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
12/28/2009 6:46 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Hey , call a Cop.
Merci, Monsieur, Inspector Clouseau, at your service.
The only thing the "International Law" people are gonna force you to do is pull down your fly. And the French Army should be able to handle that. They know all about it.
Gaza, where stupid people live in holes and fart at loud noises.
#4
It is barbaric that the Israeli government can lay siege to 1.5 million people in Gaza without international governments taking action to force Israel to abide by international law," Hunter said.
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing". So how come there's nobody to tell you to zip up, or feel the back of his hand, Betty?
[Al Arabiya Latest] Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Sunday called on Egypt to stop its construction of a steel wall along its border with the Gaza Strip as it could obstruct tunnels which provide a lifeline for the enclave, blockaded by Cairo and Israel.
Nasrallah told a crowd of tens of thousands of Lebanese Shiite Muslim marking the Ashura religious ceremony that Egypt should be condemned if it does not halt the wall building.
Last year Nasrallah accused Egypt of complicity with Israel in its siege of the Gaza strip.
"In addition to the siege there has been news about (building) a steel wall..to terminate the thin veins which are giving some life and some hope to Gaza," he said.
"We call on the government in Egypt and the leadership to stop the wall and flooding the tunnels and to end the siege otherwise it should be condemned by all Arabs and the Muslims," he said.
Egyptian officials have said steel tubes were being placed at several points along the 14-km (8-mile)-long border, but they did not specify their purpose.
Palestinians fear a steel barrier, deep underground, would limit or end their lifeline through hundreds of tunnels operating in an attempt to break a three-year-old Israeli-led blockade.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/28/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
"Palestinians fear a steel barrier, deep underground, would limit or end their lifeline through hundreds of tunnels operating in an attempt to break a three-year-old Israeli-led blockade."
Yeah, that means they might have to act like rational human beings and actually come to an agreement rather than using the Egyptian border as an enabling mechanism of their idiotic "government".
And who does Nasrallah think he is to tell Egypt what to do?
#3
Like Nasrallah can threaten Egypt with "Dire Revenge"? yeah?
OR he can make it profitable for the Egyptians to the tune of how much, did you say?
No?
Well, where does that leave Nasrallah? 'Cause they aint gonna do it out of love and respect, I can tell'ya.
Nasrallah better figure out a way to blow the Sphinx or he is just sh9t outa luck.
You havent BEEN ignored until you dont tip an Egyptian toilet attendant.And what can you threaten an Egyptian toilet attendant WITH? There just isnt anything lower he can be pushed back to doing, now is there?
Nasrallah is just going to have to get a big bottle of Lysol and a wire brush and do it himself.
#5
I thought Israel captured Gaza and the Sinai from Egypt back during one of their wars, and subsequently returned both by treaty, so I can actually see Nasrallah's point (not that I care) - Gaza is part of Egypt so why should it be walled off.
#6
Gaza is part of Egypt so why should it be walled off
Um, Glenmore, Israel TRIED to give it back by the 'gypies said no thanks. Think of those Middle Age sieges where one sid was slinging diseased animals over the wall. When the defenders won, do you think that the attackers took those diseased carcases back??????
That would be a big NO! Now just equate Gaza with a diseased carcase.......................
[Iran Press TV Latest] Hamas Prime Minister has called on Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to move towards putting an end to the Israeli occupation of the Gaza Strip.
They're beginning to squeal pretty loudly. I think the Egyptians are hurting them badly.
On the first anniversary of Israel's three-week war on the Gaza Strip, Ismail Haniyeh said Palestinians expect their "Arab brothers" to reduce the suffering of Gazans, who "live in the largest prison in the history of modern time."
The premier called on Cairo to open the Rafah border crossing and stop the construction of an underground steel wall along the border with the Gaza Strip. Haniyeh went on to say that the "strategic relations" between Egypt and the movement, makes Cairo responsible to put an end to the Israeli occupation of the territory.
"The [Israeli] occupation is the main reason behind the suffering of our people," he added.
The Gaza Strip has been under Israeli siege sine Hamas took power in the sliver in June 2007. Egyptian authorities kept Rafah border crossing -- Gaza's only crossing that bypasses Israel -- closed during the Gaza War.
Cairo is now building an underground wall, which has destroyed many tunnels along the border that have served as a crucial lifeline since Israel sealed off the strip from almost all vital supplies three years ago. The wall will be 9 to 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) long, and will go as deep as 20 to 30 meters into the ground.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/28/2009 00:00 ||
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The killing of the three Fatah operatives in Nablus by the IDF over the weekend could trigger a third intifada, Fatah officials warned on Sunday. But the new intifada, they said, would be different from the first two - this time it would be directed against the Palestinian Authority.
As it is written: as ye sow, so shall ye reap.
During the funerals of the three men, all veteran members and leaders of Fatah's armed wing, the Aksa Martyrs Brigades, thousands of Palestinians chanted slogans accusing the PA of collusion with Israel and calling for an end to security coordination with Israel and the dismantling of the PA.
Y'all may want to adjust your primary and secondary school curricula to tone down the anti-Israel martyr stuff. Your best students seem to have learnt their lessons a bit too well.
For several hours during the funerals, which took place in Nablus, it seemed as if the PA and not the IDF had killed the three men. It was, in the words of a local journalist, "one of the biggest anti-Palestinian Authority demonstrations" in many years.
The relationship between the PA and local Fatah activists has always been tense. Nablus and its surrounding refugee camps, especially Balata refugee camp, has long been a stronghold for disgruntled Fatah militiamen who occasionally vent their frustration against the PA leadership and security forces.
For years during the second intifada, Nablus, the largest Palestinian city in the West Bank, was controlled by dozens of Fatah gunmen and thugs who imposed a reign of terror on wealthy clans.
Many local families did not hide their satisfaction when IDF troops raided the city during Operation Defensive Shield in 2002 and killed or arrested scores of Fatah gunmen, including the infamous Ahmed Tabouk, one of the leaders of the Aksa Martyrs Brigades.
*snicker* And now we know why the IDF has such good information.
In the context of its efforts to restore law and order to the city, the PA offered four years ago to recruit many of the gunmen to various branches of its security forces if they agreed to lay down their weapons.
The PA also managed to persuade Israel to stop pursuing those gunmen who agreed to hand over their weapons and abandon violence.
In return, the PA took on itself the mission of holding the "pardoned" gunmen in one of its security installations for a limited time and as a first step toward granting them total freedom of movement.
Most of the Fatah gunmen who complied were added to the PA's payroll, but not all were happy with the arrangement. Some complained that the PA had broken its promise to appoint them to senior positions in its security forces, while others said that their salaries were too low. Others complained that despite their agreement to surrender their weapons and open a new page in their lives, Israeli security forces were continuing to target them.
Friends and relatives of the Fatah operatives who were killed in the recent IDF operation accused the PA of failing to fulfill its "commitments" to give them more money and good jobs. Some did not rule out the possibility that the Fatah cell that murdered Rabbi Meir Chai last week had received money from an "outside" party, such as Hizbullah or even Hamas.
n the past, there were a number of cases where Fatah militiamen in the West Bank openly admitted to receiving funds from Hizbullah. The gunmen justified their action by arguing that the PA had failed to "compensate" them for the "sacrifices" they made in the fight against Israel.
Britain yesterday marked the first anniversary of Israel's military onslaught on Gaza by announcing a £50m aid package for Palestinians, including backing for what it called "a drive against extremism" among the territory's young people.
They're sponsoring new textbooks?
The move came 24 hours after Israeli forces killed six Palestinians -- three of them Gaza civilians -- in one of the conflict's deadliest days since the three-week offensive that began with massive aerial bombing of Hamas targets a year ago yesterday.
Yesterday Hamas marked the anniversary of the conflict with protests in the Gaza city of Jebaliya, close to where senior militant leader Nizar Rayyan was killed by an Israeli bomb. But with only 3,000 loyalists in attendance, according to AP, most residents ignored calls to show solidarity with their leadership, many expressing their dissatisfaction with Gaza's economic collapse by staying at home.
The British aid is in part intended to alleviate that crisis. The bulk of the money will go to budget support for the moderate-led Palestinian Authority (PA) in Ramallah. But £7m has been earmarked to help war-stricken Gazans in the winter. Another £5m will pay for 562 teachers in UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) schools in the area.
John Ging, UNRWA's Gaza operation director, has indicated one of the biggest challenges faced by UNRWA schools for 260,000 refugee children in Gaza is tackling extremism fuelled by the winter offensive and Israel's continued siege. Mr Ging, who welcomed the British package, has said an end to the blockade would be a major help in countering radicalism among Gaza's young.
Douglas Alexander, the International Development Secretary, said yesterday: "Better education in Gaza, free from extremist influences, is key to building the region's future." Mr Alexander, one of only a handful of EU ministers to have visited Gaza in the last two years, called on Israel to lift the embargo imposed after the breakdown of the Hamas-Fatah coalition and Hamas's seizure by force of full control of the Strip in June 2007. He said conditions were "dire" with "large numbers" of children lacking shelter, access to water and a balanced diet.
The Israeli military said that three Palestinians-associated with Fatah's military wing-whom it killed in Nablus early on Saturday were responsible for the fatal shooting earlier in the week of a rabbi who lives in the northern West Bank Jewish settlement of Shavei Shomron. The Western-backed PA has protested at the military's incursion which has put strains on its security accords with Israel.
[Haaretz Defense] Israel is prepared to hand the northern section of a divided village on the Lebanon border over to United Nations forces, in order to complete its withdrawal from the country as outlined in Resolution 1701.
Foreign Ministry Director-General Yossi Gal has been holding consultations with representatives of the United Nations Force in Lebanon, to ensure that the peacekeeping force is prepared to take on security of Ghajar.
Residents of the divided village are wary of the withdrawal. Earlier this month, the village staged an all-day demonstration to protest the division in the wake of ongoing international efforts to secure the Israel Defense Forces pullout.
About 500 residents of Ghajar gathered in the town's square then marched toward the street where United Nations peacekepping troops are stationed, handing them a letter calling on UN chief Ban Ki-moon to end Ghajar's division.
The secretary for the town's council, Hussein Khatib, also read a statement in which he stressed that Ghajar was Syrian.
"Ghajar is Syrian, it's people are Syrian and its land is Syrian," Khatib said.
The statement said Ghajar residents reject an Israeli decision to withdraw from the northern part of the town, adding that the town's division was "just like separating the son from his father or the daughter from her mother."
Like the 18,000 Druze in the Golan Heights, Ghajar residents were Syrians when Israel occupied the region.
But unlike the Druze, the villagers - who are members of the Alawite Islamic minority - accepted Israeli nationality when the Golan was annexed in 1981.
Over the years, the village expanded northward. In 2000, when the UN demarcated the border, Ghajar's northern half came under Lebanese control and the other half remained Israeli territory.
Israel retook the Lebanese part in its 2006 war against Hezbollah militants, and has since built a security fence to prevent militants from entering the enclave.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/28/2009 00:00 ||
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Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Sunday called on Egypt to stop building a steel wall along the Gaza border that could obstruct smuggling tunnels which provide a lifeline for the blockaded enclave. maybe Egypt is really building it, no Arab country has condemned Egypt yet, neither has Iran
Nasrallah told a crowd of tens of thousands of Lebanese Shi'ite Muslim marking the Ashura religious ceremony he spoke via a jumbotron set up for such events
that Egypt should be condemned if it does not stop building the wall.
Tensions between Egypt, a predominantly Sunni country, and Hezbollah, a Shi'ite group backed by Iran, have been running high since last year when Nasrallah accused Cairo of complicity with Israel in its siege of the Gaza strip.
Posted by: lord garth ||
12/28/2009 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.
