[An Nahar] Allegations of summary executions, aerial bombardments of civilians and enforced disappearances in Sudan's South Kordofan could constitute crimes against humanity or war crimes, the U.N. said Monday.
"If substantiated (the allegations) could amount to crimes against humanity, or war crimes for which individual criminal responsibility may be sought," according to the preliminary results of a U.N. investigation into a series of incidents in South Kordofan between June 5 and 30.
A report prepared jointly by the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights and the world body's mission in Sudan details "extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and illegal detention, enforced disappearances, attacks against civilians" allegedly committed in the troubled state.
South Kordofan remained under Khartoum's northern administration when South Sudan became independent last month but since June violent festivities have been pitting Nuba rebels once allied to southern rebels against the Sudanese army.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/16/2011 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb wants to put its footprint on the Arab Spring now that violence is fueling the uprisings, and in a two-part video is trying to lure new followers for revolt by jihad.
The push comes as the group has sought to expand its operations beyond its Algerian base and desert outposts to countries around Africa, from Nigeria to Libya, after the death of Osama bin Laden and after being sidelined when the Arab revolts erupted earlier this year.
During the mostly peaceful uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, the al-Qaida offshoot kept up sporadic attacks on Algerian security forces in its bid to overthrow the government and install an Islamist state. But the world was looking elsewhere.
Now, with Arab uprisings meeting increasingly violent resistance from autocratic regimes in countries such as Libya and Syria, AQIM wants to be seen as an alternative force.
Seeking a peaceful change of leaders is "like giving aspirin to a cancer patient," a member of AQIM's military board, Commander Abu Saeed al-Auresi, says in the lengthy video, according to the SITE Intelligence Group. SITE has made the video available and said it was posted Aug. 3 on jihadist forums.
AQIM has entered a new phase and is no longer on the defensive, says Mathieu Guidere, an expert in strategic monitoring and al-Qaida specialist.
Despite repeated threats, the group has provided no evidence it is capable of striking across the Mediterranean into Europe. But with bin Laden's death, Guidere said, AQIM promised to lead a military and media offensive in the north, south, east and west of the African continent.
And, he argues, that is happening, with stepped up attacks on soldiers in Algeria -- the north -- in Mauritania -- the west -- as well as in Libya -- the east -- where the movement allegedly sent a "minimal" number of fighters.
To the south, AQIM offered training, men and weapons in January 2010 to a feared Islamist sect in Nigeria called Boko Haram, the local Hausa language for "Western education is sacrilege," according to an AQIM statement provided by SITE. It was signed by AQIM's leader, Abelmalek Droukdel, using his nom de guerre Abu Musab Abdul Wadud, who evoked "the duty to support Muslims everywhere."
Boko Haram has significantly raised its profile since the offer with numerous deadly attacks.
There is no sign of a formal AQIM partnership with Boko Haram. British authorities said this month they were investigating a video claiming an unspecified al-Qaida group was holding a Briton and Italian man kidnapped in Nigeria in May.
AQIM stepped up deadly attacks in Algeria in spring and registered more attacks in July than any time this year, according to Guidere. He counts attacks throughout AQIM territory, including in the desert Sahel region south of Algeria -- which crosses Mauritania, Niger and Mali, where hostage-taking is a main source of revenue. Four French hostages, captured in September 2010 in Niger, are still being held, possibly in Mali.
For Guidere, AQIM has found a new legitimacy that it had lost at the start of the then-peaceful Arab Spring. Its message is that people can demonstrate in vain against dictators or choose jihad.
"For me, this video is a turning point in the (AQIM) propaganda," Guidere said, because it is looking for a new way to reach the people.
"AQIM is an elitist organization that believes it is chosen by God," he said, adding that it always presented its heroes as "exceptional." Now, "they want to mix the images of popular revolution and AQIM to show that they are the same."
Part I of the nearly two-hour propaganda film shows protest rallies throughout the Arab world. It includes contrasting footage of various Arab leaders in clubby poses, from Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika kissing Egypt's now-deposed leader Hosni Mubarak to former French President Jacques Chirac shaking hands with the ousted Tunisian president, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
Part II addresses efforts by the United States, France and Algeria to counter AQIM in the lawless Sahel region, but contrasts that with a deadly July 4, 2009 raid by AQIM's southern arm in Mali that killed 29 soldiers.
For senior SITE analyst Adam Raisman, it is less the message than the medium -- a video -- that is a departure from previous AQIM propaganda. Audio messages supported the Tunisians as January protests forced their strong-armed leader to flee into exile.
In what could be another part of AQIM's bid to appeal to new recruits, the video shows AQIM leader Droukdel taking part in what is claimed to be an April 15 attack on an Algerian army outpost -- carried out as the Algerian president gave a speech announcing constitutional and electoral reforms to calm daily demonstrations around the country. The attack near the town of Azazga, some 80 kilometers (50 miles) east of Algiers in the mountainous Kabyle region -- an AQIM stronghold -- left 13 soldiers dead.
It is rare to see an al-Qaida branch leader fighting alongside his men, Raisman said.
Members of jihadist forums "were exhilarated to see him participating in battle, leading the charge," Raisman said. "He's firing his gun, he's hiding behind a rock, he's talking on a walkie-talkie, issuing orders. He's defiant."
Often graying, aging fighters shown in the Arabic-language videos are filmed on their sorties through the craggy forested hills of Algeria's Kabyle region or in the Mali desert, accompanied in the videos by taped songs. As in other AQIM propaganda videos, the viewer is not spared the bloody bodies of attack victims and booty taken from the corpses, displayed and recorded almost tenderly by the camera.
The video by AQIM's media arm is titled "Assault Them Through the Gate, For When You Are In, Victory Will be Yours." Using a Quranic reference, AQIM pleads for frontal action, not peaceful uprisings, to bring change. A photo of bin Laden, and scenes of him walking in rugged terrain, punctuate the videos.
The North African al-Qaida affiliate was born in late 2006 out of the last remaining Algerian insurgency movement still organized enough to do harm, the Salafist Group for Call and Combat. Pledging its allegiance to bin Laden's operation provided new dynamism for an increasingly battered insurgency movement.
Today, AQIM, like other al-Qaida arms, claims it set the spark for the uprisings around the Arab world.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/16/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
So they don't want Western Liberty and Democracy? I'm shocked. I'm shocked at BHO's support for Islamonazi rebels.
Posted by: Caesar Shatle4190 ||
08/16/2011 1:56 Comments ||
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[Al Jazeera] The trial of Hosni Mubarak ...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011... , Egypt's former president, has been adjourned until next month, with Ahmed Riffat, the trial judge, ordering all cameras out of the court.
Rifaat said the court would reconvene on September 5 to hear evidence, ruling that the trial, which was being broadcast live by many channels and on big screens outside the court, should not be televised until sentencing.
"It [the broadcast ban] is in protection of the general interest,'' Rifaat said.
He also ordered that Mubarak's trial should be merged with proceedings against his former interior minister, Habib el-Adly, whose trial had already been adjourned until September 5.
Mubarak, 83, who has mostly been confined to hospital since he was toppled by mass protests in February, was wheeled into the Cairo court on a stretcher as the trial resumed on Monday morning.
Scores of lawyers representing some of those killed during the protests that toppled Mubarak are attending the trial and Refaat struggled to maintain order amid chaotic scenes as the court convened.
Military call
Dressed in a navy blue sports sweater, Mubarak appeared inside the courtroom in a caged defendants' box, along with his sons, Gamal and Alaa, who face corruption charges.
Mubarak, who is charged with conspiring in killing of protesters and abusing his power to amass wealth, answered, "present", when the judge called his name.
Hundreds of riot police stood guard outside the court, but scuffles broke out between supporters of the former president and those demanding that Mubarak be held responsible for those killed in the final weeks of his rule.
Defence lawyers have called for hundreds of witnesses to testify in the case, including the head of Egypt's ruling military council, Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, who was Mubarak's defence minister for two decades.
Tantawi's possible testimony on the former president's role in trying to suppress the 18-day uprising, in which about 850 people were killed, is considered critical by many to the outcome of the case.
"Tantawi's testimony would help the court determine whether Mubarak gave orders to interior minister Habib al-Adly to fire at protesters or whether Adly was acting independently," said one member of the defence team, who asked not to be named.
Lawyers for the families of those killed have also demanded Tantawi testify in the trial.
"The defence team sees Tantawi as a compurgator, or a witness whose testimony would exonerate Mubarak," another lawyer handling the case said.
"The plaintiffs' lawyers, however, expect him to testify that he received orders to fire, which is necessary to convict Mubarak."
Reactions
Inside the courthouse, the audience, which included lawyers of the victims' families, erupted in applause and cheers at Rifaat's announcement of merging the two cases of Adly and Mubarak.
Al Jizz's Rawya Rageh, reporting from Cairo, said that the merger was "clearly a very satisfying decision" for pro- and anti-Mubarak protesters congregated outside the courthouse, as they shouted in unison "Allahu Akbar" ("God is great").
But Rifaat's decision to stop broadcasts of future proceedings brought much anger from the crowd, with many jumping onto the pews to shout at the judge.
Outside the courthouse the reaction was more muted, Rageh said, as no chants or boos were heard.
"Legal experts have made abundantly clear ahead of the proceedings that it was expected for the court to stop live broadcasts of the proceedings when the court was going to start listening to witnesses' testimonies," Rageh said.
"It would simply be illegal for them to be broadcasting the sessions live as they do not want the witnesses to hear what each other are saying.
"Probably after the phase of listening to the witnesses and when it's time to utter the verdict, we will be seeing the trial broadcast live once again."
Scuffles and chaos
About 5,000 riot coppers were deployed along with armoured cars outside the courthouse to keep apart the scores of pro- and anti-Mubarak protesters watching the proceedings of the trial on a giant screen.
Egypt's interior ministry has reported that at least 34 people have been injured outside the police academy where anti and pro-mubarak protesters clashed.
The police had separated the two crowds with cordons, but brief festivities broke out when one pro-Mubarak protester crossed over into the other group and engaged in a conversation with a counterpart which escalated into a fight, Rageh reported from the scene.
"Security officials have managed to push everyone as far away as possible ... but the situation remains tense," she said.
"People are carrying stones, rocks, batons and others are seen trying to come up with things to throw."
Several men were bleeding from the head from wounds obtained when hit by thrown stones and rocks.
Police withheld crowds of women fighting.
'Circus'
Inside the courthouse, lawyers for the relatives of the slain protesters shouted and bickered before the judge arrived in the room, apparently over seats.
Meanwhile, ...back at the scene of the crime, Lieutenant Queeg had an idea: there was a simple way to tell whether Manetti had been the triggerman -- just look at his shoes!... Mubarak laid on the stretcher looking composed and stern, with hands clasped over his chest.
An intravenous needle was implanted in his left hand.
Amr Shalakany, a professor at Cairo University's law school, said the trial scenes were a "circus" full of drama often seen on "Ramadan TV soap operas".
"One, he does not look that sick and the whole stretcher business is once again, like what you see on Ramadan TV soap operas," Shalakany told Al Jizz.
"[Mubarak's] hair is being dyed black, which doesn't indicate any kind of deep depression that he has said he suffers from.
"His facial expressions are those of not just defiance but fundamentally looking down at the entire process."
Mubarak made his first court appearance on August 3 in a case that has gripped the Arab world.
The first Arab head of state to stand trial in person since popular uprisings swept the Middle East, the former air force commander faces charges that could carry the death penalty.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/16/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
By Alluah we'll have Dead Televison Coverage then! Fetch the defendent!
Posted by: S ||
08/16/2011 17:59 Comments ||
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A raging house fire has killed one of Zimbabwe's main political brokers, Who set the fire?
raising questions Tuesday about the battle within longtime President Robert Mugabe's party over who will succeed the ailing 87-year-old leader.
Gen. Solomon Mujuru, the 62-year-old former military chief and guerrilla leader, died in an overnight fire at one of his homes, the nation's army commander said Tuesday. There's the first problem: a general in Zim-bob-we has more than one home, while hundreds of thousands starve.
Mujuru headed Zimbabwe's military for more than a decade after independence in 1980, and his widow is vice president. Joice Mujuru and her supporters are vying for supremacy within their party should Mugabe die or retire.
Mugabe's ZANU-PF party has been plagued by disputes over who will succeed him. Mujuru's wife leads a powerful faction in Mugabe's party, but she counted on the support of her husband, who still commanded loyalty in the military for his role in helping sweep Mugabe into power at independence in 1980.
His power base was seen as the foundation of her political fortunes. Knives are being sharpened... Sorry honey. But Geneva looks pretty nice this time of year...
South Korea kicked off its annual joint military exercise with the United States on Tuesday, dubbed the "Ulchi Freedom Guardian."
Some 56,000 South Korean soldiers and around 30,000 American personnel are participating in the exercise through Aug. 26. Seoul says it is aimed at improving and enhancing capabilities to counter North Korea's provocations, as well as part of the preparations for the transfer of wartime operational control of South Korean forces, which is scheduled for 2015.
The UN Command in Korea notified North Korea last month of the timing and objectives of the exercise.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/16/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
...IIRC this used to be called 'Team Spirit'...nothing, and I mean NOTHING could wind the Norks tighter.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
08/16/2011 8:33 Comments ||
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The MILEX repor will also include US-ROK training to destroy DPRK Nukes-WMDS caches.
North Korean military units talked about the possibility of shooting down a helicopter carrying Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin during his visit to a frontline unit in July, officials here said Monday. Intelligence agencies have started investigating whether the North Koreans actually tried to shoot down Kim's helicopter and how they got hold of his frontline tour schedule.
"We intercepted communication between North Korean military units, which exchanged messages about their plan to shoot down the helicopter carrying Kim on July 1, when he visited the 15th Army Division on the eastern frontline," a government official said. "The North Korean military didn't actually attack the helicopter, but this shows that the North is capable of trying to harm him anytime."
Kim took the helicopter as scheduled because the Defense Ministry concluded it was flying outside the range of North Korean anti-aircraft artillery, he said. "Since the intercepted communication was unencoded, we also suspected at the time that the North Korean threat was for show and they didn't actually intended to shoot down the helicopter," the official added.
Kim visited Hill 735 under the 15th Army Division's supervision, where he spoke to soldiers excavating human remains from the Korean War. He then inspected the guards at an observation post a mere 2 km away from the nearest North Korean guard post in the demilitarized zone.
In June, the North sent a message to Cheong Wa Dae, calling for Kim Kwan-jin, whom it called a "warmonger," to be replaced.
An intelligence officer said the threats to Kim since June are believed to have something to do with the use of pictures for target practice of Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il, and Kim Jong-un by some reserve units here.
Well, they wanted small targets so as to improve the troops' aim...
But how did the North get wind of Kim Kwan-jin's schedule? A military officer said, "In the DMZ, the North obtains information by intercepting our communications, just as we do. It's possible likelihood that the North intercepted communications between some of our frontline units that were preparing for Kim's visit."
Kim later said, "Whenever our helicopters fly in the DMZ area, frontline North Korean units get busy" exchanging communications between themselves about shooting the aircraft down.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/16/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
I'm sure frontline NKor forces are always plotting to wreak mischief on Skors, just like the Pentagon is always planning war with everyone else in the world. Just the nature of the beast, not particularly newsworthy.
Tarek Fatah is a Canadian Muslim Marxist born in Punjab. Dying of cancer, he is giving a wake up call to to Canadians and, by extension, the entire West. Though the entire video is compelling, starting at 11:30, he names 3 members of the Muslim Brotherhood who have infiltrated the White House. None of them are named Huma Abedin.
[An Nahar] Turkey has denied the capture of a senior leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), after media reports quoting Iranian officials sparked confusion.
"There has been no confirmed news or development at the moment. We'll make it public if any development takes place," Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was quoted as saying in the Turkish media late Sunday.
The confusion began when the head of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, Alaaddin Burucerdi said the number two of the PKK was captured by Iranian intelligence, according to Turkey's Anatolia news agency citing Fars news agency as a source.
PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan has been serving a life-term in a Turkish prison since 1999 and Murat Karayilan is considered as the organization's second in command.
On Sunday Davutoglu called his Iranian counterpart, Ali Akbar Salehi, to check the veracity of the reports but was told that Tehran had no information regarding the capture of Karayilan, Turkish media reported.
Both the pro-Kurdish Firat news agency and Roj TV, considered as the mouthpiece of the PKK, denied the news.
Begin boilerplate...
The PKK, listed as a terrorist group by Ankara and much of the international community, took up arms in the Kurdish-majority southeast in 1984, sparking a conflict that has claimed about 45,000 lives.
Iran has been fighting against rebels from the Party for Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK), an offshoot of the PKK. PJAK rebels often clash with Iranian forces, and their bases in the mountainous border regions of Iraqi Kurdistan from which they launch their attacks are bombed in retaliation.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/16/2011 00:00 ||
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The ATF has promoted three key supervisors of a controversial sting operation that allowed firearms to be illegally trafficked across the U.S. border into Mexico. What better way to keep folks quiet about what they know? Promote them! Bigger pensions, more perks, stay quiet
All three have been heavily criticized for pushing the program forward even as it became apparent that it was out of control. At least 2,000 guns were lost and many turned up at crime scenes in Mexico and two at the killing of a U.S. Border Patrol agent in Arizona.
The three supervisors have been given new management positions at the agency's headquarters in Washington. They are William G. McMahon, who was the ATF's deputy director of operations in the West, where the illegal trafficking program was focused, and William D. Newell and David Voth, both field supervisors who oversaw the program out of the agency's Phoenix office.
McMahon and Newell have acknowledged making serious mistakes in the program, which was dubbed Operation Fast and Furious. These two,during the hearings, were more than bad in their testimony. Never answered a question.... total cover-up mode
"I share responsibility for mistakes that were made," McMahon testified to a House committee three weeks ago. "The advantage of hindsight, the benefit of a thorough review of the case, clearly points me to things that I would have done differently."
McMahon was promoted Sunday to deputy assistant director of the ATF's Office of Professional Responsibility and Security Operations the division that investigates misconduct by employees and other problems. Bet which agents he goes after first? Alto Issa has warned them to leave the guys alone
Kenneth E. Melson, the ATF's acting director, said in an agency-wide confidential email announcing the promotion that McMahon was among ATF employees being rewarded because of "the skills and abilities they have demonstrated throughout their careers."
Newell was the special agent in charge of the field office for Arizona and New Mexico, where Fast and Furious was conducted. On Aug. 1, the ATF announced he would become special assistant to the assistant director of the agency's Office of Management in Washington.
A South Florida Muslim group sent Congressman Allen West a letter asking him to disassociate himself from activists the group considers anti-Islamic.
Congressman West did respond and the letter he sent back is raising some eyebrows.
If it looks like the shortest letter you've ever seen from a member of congress, it probably is. How short? Try one word, in capital letters: "NUTS!"
"I was shocked at first. I didn't expect this from a congressman," said Nezar Hamze, the executive director of CAIR Florida -- the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
"We stand up for the civil rights of the Muslim community. That's what we do," said Hamze.
Hamze says he wrote to the congressman earlier this month with his concerns about the congressman's relationships with groups and people Hamze considers to be anti-Islamic.
"When I first saw that, I wasn't sure if he was calling me nuts, or he was calling my concerns nuts," said Hamze.
Constituents in West's district 22 are just now reading the letter.
"It doesn't look too professional to me. It doesn't look thought out," said one constituent named Chuck.
Simone Oliver, another district 22 constituent thinks it's fine, but says it needs a little more.
"Maybe another sentence, explaining," she said.
West has not fully explained his position, but in other letters to CAIR Florida, he has said he is neither anti-Islamic nor anti-Muslim.
Then CBS4 News discovered that during World War II, General Anthony McAuliffe famously wrote a one-word letter to the Germans in response to a surrender ultimatum. The word used: "Nuts!"
Clearly this fulfilled one of Congressman West's life-long dreams.
Hamze doesn't think he'll ever find out what Congressman West meant with the word because, he says, West has turned down all meetings with CAIR Florida.
"So sorry. The Congressman has a policy of not meeting with unindicted co-conspirators in terrorism cases."
"[If I could say something to him now,] I'd tell him to grow up! To act like a congressman and engage in dialogue, and to stop the school boy insults," said Hamze.
West turned down an interview request from CBS4 News on Monday. As of Monday night, his office had not yet responded to requests for a statement on the matter.
#2
"West turned down an interview request from CBS4 News on Monday. As of Monday night, his office had not yet responded to requests for a statement on the matter."
While CAIR in all its forms are slittering worm-tards and Islamofascist fronts, maybe West could elaborate?
Posted by: Shakey Steve ||
08/16/2011 7:53 Comments ||
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#3
"In a Boynton Beach Town Hall meeting, West told the Miami leader of CAIR that "I will always defend your right to practice a free religion under the First Amendment, but what you must understand, if I am speaking the truth, I am not going to stop speaking the truth. The truth is not subjective."
Here-here. Words to live by...
Posted by: Shakey Steve ||
08/16/2011 7:58 Comments ||
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#4
Then CBS4 News discovered that during World War II, General Anthony McAuliffe famously wrote a one-word letter to the Germans in response to a surrender ultimatum. The word used: Nuts!
One of the proudest moments in American history, and they didn't know it...they had to 'discover' it.
I weep for my country.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
08/16/2011 8:37 Comments ||
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#5
...maybe West could elaborate?
He doesn't need to. I got it.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/16/2011 8:40 Comments ||
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#6
In other news from Boynton Beach - this is the brother of a friend of mine.
#7
"Then CBS4 News discovered that during World War II, General Anthony McAuliffe famously wrote a one-word letter to the Germans in response to a surrender ultimatum. The word used: Nuts!"
You have to be kidding! Do reporters have any historical knowledge at all?
#8
Drat, it dropped the link.
http://www.examiner.com/college-wrestling-in-national/
don-t-rob-an-ex-wrestler-63-year-old-coach-hofstra-mat-alum-takes-down-gunman
Unfortunately, his constituents probably aren't as good at Trivial Pursuit as you are...
Posted by: Shakey Steve ||
08/16/2011 8:55 Comments ||
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#10
Then CBS4 News discovered that during World War II, General Anthony McAuliffe famously wrote a one-word letter to the Germans in response to a surrender ultimatum. The word used: "Nuts!"
Discovered an important piece of American history did ya. Something every American should know through CBS4 News probably Googled it since University Journo classes don't teach anything about dead white men anymore.
Hamze doesn't think he'll ever find out what Congressman West meant with the word because, he says, West has turned down all meetings with CAIR Florida.
McAuliffe then asked Col. Harper to deliver the message to the Germans. Harper took the typed message back to the company command post where the two German officers were detained. Harper then told the Germans that he had the American commanders reply. The German captain then asked, "Is it written or verbal?" Harper responded that it was written and added, "I will place it in your hand."
The German major then asked, "Is the reply negative or affirmative? If it is the latter I will negotiate further."
At this time the Germans were acting in an arrogant and patronizing manner and Harper, who was starting to lose his temper, responded, "The reply is decidedly not affirmative." He then added that, "If you continue your foolish attack your losses will be tremendous."
Harper then put the German officers in a jeep and took them back to where the German enlisted men were detained. He then said to the German captain, "If you don't know what 'Nuts' means, in plain English it is the same as 'Go to Hell'. And I'll tell you something else, if you continue to attack we will kill every goddam German that tries to break into this city."
The German major and captain saluted very stiffly. The captain said, "We will kill many Americans. This is war." Harper then responded, "On your way Bud," he then said, "and good luck to you." Harper later told me he always regretted wishing them good luck.
#12
"trivial pursuit" indicates you are as competent to comment on American history and politics as the Miami "journalists". Troll
Posted by: Frank G on the road ||
08/16/2011 9:48 Comments ||
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#13
Then CBS4 News discovered that during World War II, General Anthony McAuliffe famously wrote a one-word letter to the Germans in response to a surrender ultimatum. The word used: "Nuts!"
My God, we are in the hands of idiots.
As for CAIR -- I'm not shocked at their ignorance; I doubt they have any background in American history.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
08/16/2011 10:17 Comments ||
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#14
Unfortunately, his constituents probably aren't as good at Trivial Pursuit as you are...
So the Battle of the Bulge is just a matter of trivia for you?
You have been told you're an ass, haven't you?
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
08/16/2011 10:18 Comments ||
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#15
I wish the nation of Canada would stop spamming us with evidence of how crappy their educational system is.
#22
Free religion? Had the authors of the First Amendment thought of Islam or of the Aztecs it would be worded in a very differnt way. First Amendment was intended for religions who practice the "live and let live thing" not to "religions" who want to make w&ar on everything else. Neither for religions who don't abide by the "to Cesar what belongs to Cesar" ie religions who want to rule the state to the minutest details (doctors in islamic law advocate for traffic rules inspired by Shariah)and whose practicioners tell that their loyalty is to Islam not the country.
The authors of the Constitution thought about Baptists, Calvinists and perhaps Roman Catholics but definitely not abouit Muslims or Aztecs.
#24
Crisp salute to LTC(Ret) Allen West. I cincerely hope he one day leads our nation as he did our troops in the field. More men and women like him are needed. Many more.
#25
It doesn't look too professional to me. It doesn't look thought out It is both highly professional and well thought out. It draws on the mystic chords of American memory, exposes those who don't give a damn about American history and tradition, and honors the old Islamic proverb: "The best answer to a fool is silence. But in a pinch, any other answer will do as well."
#26
CAIR seeks implantation of shariah privilege, by stealth. Muslims want to live under their own law because their quran describes a political system.
After 10 years as a quasi religious-leader, Muhammad gathered a little over 100 followers.
After 13 years as a political-leader, Muhammad had NO opposition.
Most immigrants assimilate; muslims CANNOT assimilate. They are a supremacist cult.
Posted by: Injun Oppressor of the Swedes1340 ||
08/16/2011 13:14 Comments ||
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#27
Hamze stands up for the civil rights of muslims but no one else. West stands up for the rst of our rights and has proven that. Too hell with CAIR, take your asses back too the middle east where you can enjoy all the civil rights you want.
Posted by: chris ||
08/16/2011 13:42 Comments ||
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#33
Fairly generic questions, either quite boring or a groupthink poser in to agitate, unexpectedly the same time astroturf was shipped to Iowa. But whatever.
I am fairly certain Mr. West's consituants know who he is and what he is about, and why he was voted for. I am equally certain this Hamze fellow is either completely ignorant of US history, a professional pitty monger, or likely both.
#35
#19 Frank G on the road: Thank you, sir, for that unearned compliment. If you are ever in the vicinity of Winnipeg (Centre of the continent) it would be my pleasure to buy you a wee drap of a suitable libation.
I'm sure that whatever differences of opinion we might hold on any matters could be smoothed and the world's problems solved.
#36
West, in effect, said he doesn't surrender to Nazi's. His reply said many other things, to many other interest groups and individuals. I'm amazed at how much meaning can be packed into a single word in a given context.
#37
"You have been told you're an ass, haven't you?"
Now, now, Rob - no need to insult asses.
Posted by: Barbara ||
08/16/2011 15:44 Comments ||
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#38
I ever like when one of those who allied themselves with the Nazis and who on June 21th, 1941 were still doing everything in their power to help them has the gall to come here and call us far right.
You're right. I've known some fine and respectable asses, and they don't deserve that association.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
08/16/2011 17:02 Comments ||
Top||
#40
When I first saw that, I wasnt sure if he was calling me nuts, or he was calling my concerns nuts, said Hamze.
I don't know what Col. West thinks about the above. For myself, I can say "Yes" and "Yes."
I have found Col. West to express himself in a clear and professional way. His unprejudiced attitudes surprise me particularly after West got shot at by islamic nutjobs in Iraq.
#41
Shakey Stevey, "NUTS!" is not banal trivia. West's response was more for his constituents than for Hamze. It's a response loaded with history, meaning, and significance - practically a code word that separates the warrior class from everyone else, due to training, culture, and shared experiences. I got it immediately too, and not because I sit around memorizing military history for a Jeopardy audition.
Any American who has to Google it, or blows it off as an obscure factoid of a bygone era, has just signaled very loudly to that warrior class that they're a gutless, ignorant, and lazy. It's appreciated when such people energetically insist on self-identifying, but it's usually not necessary.
Posted by: Barbara ||
08/16/2011 21:14 Comments ||
Top||
#43
"Any American who has to Google it, or blows it off as an obscure factoid of a bygone era, has just signaled very loudly to that warrior class that they're a gutless, ignorant, and lazy."
1. I knew the nuance of the term 'NUTS!', and I am NOT an American
2. 'Gutless', 'Ignorant', 'Lazy'...are you bloody serious? That crap I expect coming out of the pie-holes of the damn Islamofascists we despise so much, but not here.
3. When I mentioned 'Trivial Pursuit', I didn't mean to construe that the deep meaning of the 'NUTS!' response was trivial, but that the over-the-top bloody OUTRAGE expressed by the postee that how dare West's constituents not know the nuance of 'NUTS!' was, frankly, tiptoeing into the territory of, well, political elitism.
To turn down an interview, West is appearing like he's hiding something, when there is nothing to hide. Look into the camera and explain exactly what he mean't by 'NUTS!' so there is no ambiguity and we can all go home to bed...
Posted by: Shakey Steve ||
08/16/2011 21:17 Comments ||
Top||
#44
Ignore 2. above. Misread that part of Random's post (thought he was calling me that). Sorry about that Random. I think I need to go to bed :)
Posted by: Shakey Steve ||
08/16/2011 21:20 Comments ||
Top||
#45
This is a friendly warning to dial your rhetoric back several notches.
If you want to maintain your commenting privileges, you should heed that warning.
#46
Gonna give you some advice, Stevie. I've been to Canada a few times. Done the Maritimes, Toronto, Montreal. And I've always had a good time. You know why? Because I don't insult anybody or pretend I'm an expert on Canada or Canadians.
You might wanna remember that.
#47
Just a friendly culture lesson, Shakey. We all come to Rantburg U for an education. Just helping to make sure you get it.
I know you're not American. I know you're a male Canadian scientist whose overconfidence in your own powers of analytical objectivity leads you to make a lot of baseless assumptions.
Like assuming I'm a dude. In fact, you can mark down one more hot piece of ass you'll never have, but I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess you're used to that feeling.
[Dawn] The focus in a high profile terrorist case remains on the accused and the crime and those who are seen as responsible for acquitting the 'guilty'. But there are more characters in this cast. The prosecutors and the defence lawyers.
A peep into the lives and work of public prosecutors gives another side of the story. They work in fear, without adequate administrative support, and wistfully look at the defence lawyers facing them who are making millions and becoming media savvy.
"Terrorists threaten us. They are influential and well informed. They not only know our office timings, but also the schools and colleges where our children study," a public prosecutor told Dawn. He was speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the issue's sensitivity.
In the first seven months this year, the three Anti-Terrorism Courts (ATCs) in Rawalpindi acquitted 56 accused in terrorist cases out of a total of 96 cases. And only 21 have been acquitted.
Out of 33 cases, the ATC-1 has acquitted 20 accused. Only six were convicted and the rest of the seven cases were closed due to other reasons. Similarly ATC-II released 22 accused, convicted only three and closed down eight cases.
The ATC-III convicted 12 accused out of the 30 cases it decided in the first seven months this year. It allowed 14 accused to walk free and closed down four cases.
The prosecutor agreed that poor probe is the "basic reason" for higher rate of acquittal but added that internal and external pressure is also affecting the prosecutors' progress.
In high profile cases like suicide kaboom on Rescue 15 in Islamabad, murder of Polish engineer, and liquidations of Shahbaz Bhatti and banned Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistain (SSP) chief Maulana Azam Tariq, some of the accused have been acquitted by the
ATCs of Rawalpindi in the first seven months of 2011.
"Our job is to prosecute forces of Evil facing an offence of killing dozens of innocent people, but prosecutors themselves are facing security, administrative and financial problems. We do not have a security guard or official vehicle," the prosecutor added.
About administrative problems, he pointed out that he is working as prosecutor in ATC, though he is a deputy district prosecutor (DPG). According to the law, there must be a DPG in his place.
"To save expenses, our high-ups are reluctant to appoint DPGs." He added his current in-between status has limitations. "I cannot direct investigation officer or his bosses to follow certain procedures." Summing up the hopelessness, he added: "The
prosecutor office works like a post office in ATC."
But whenever there is an acquittal in a terrorism case, there is trouble for the prosecution office. "We have to face lengthy inquiry. After the acquittal of accused in the liquidation case of army's surgeon general, the inquiry committee recommended compulsory retirement of some of our colleagues."
Working in fear and without much support, public prosecutors also look at private lawyers making millions for defending the accused in terrorist cases. "A private lawyer earns millions and a prosecutor only a few thousand rupees."
Tariq Mustafa, Rawalpindi District Prosecutor, admitted lack of facilities for prosecutors, and backed their demand for adequate security for them as they "deal with criminals". But he maintained that the prosecution work is not affected by lack of facilities. "It is poor investigation that leads to acquittals."
Mr Mustafa said unlike private lawyers, the prosecutors are government employees and paid in accordance with their pay scale. "No doubt private lawyers earn handsomely but this does not relate with the job of prosecutors."
Malik Javed Iqbal Awan, a defence counsel in Surgeon General Mushtaq Baig case, said he preferred to defend an accused on "religious and humanitarian grounds". He said defending an accused terrorist is a profitable business. "Some lawyers have become millionaires by appearing as defence counsel in high profile terrorism cases."
Saleemullah Khan, a former Additional Inspector General (AIG) of Police and currently a practicing lawyer, says forces of Evil are powerful. "They threaten to kill police officials, prosecutors and their family members."
He suggested that to get make prosecution effective, there is a need to hide the identity the investigator, prosecutor and the judge in terrorism cases.
He also proposed trial through video conferencing to ensure security and safety of all.
"It will need a change in Qanoon-i-Shahadat (Evidence Act)." But he also insisted that the centuries-old Evidence Act is not effective today when forces of Evil are equipped with latest technological tools.
He stressed for a law in which minimum evidence would be admissible and acceptable for the court.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/16/2011 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#1
He suggested that to get make prosecution effective, there is a need to hide the identity the investigator, prosecutor and the judge in terrorism cases. That being necessary indicates there is no rule of law in Pakistan.
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: The Legislature of the Iraqi Islamic Party, Khalid al-Alwany, has shouldered the Prime Minister and the Large Political Blocs with responsibility for the security deterioration and the bloody explosions that took place in Iraq on Monday, reiterating that the delay of assigning the Security Cabinet Ministers had been the main reason for the explosions that took place during the day, that caused dozens of victims.
Alwany had also expressed surprise from the statements that shouldered the responsibility for what had happened during the day, for what was described as political sides, standing behind the Baghdad TV Satellite Channel.
The Channel had stopped screening the TV series, entitled al-Hassan and al-Hussein, in response to a demand by the Iraqi Parliament, he said.
The Legislature for the State of Law, led by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Abdul-Mahdi al-Khafaji, had told a news conference held at the Iraqi Parliament earlier in the day that the political sides, standing behind the Baghdad TV Channel bear the responsibility for the Monday explosions, calling upon them to shoulder their legislative, humanitarian and national responsibility to safeguard the national unity and save the bloods of the Iraqi people, rejecting to follow any course that tears down the unity of the people.
We condemn the explosions that took place today (Monday), against many cities; so, we confirm that the Baghdad TV Satellite Channel and those political forces, standing behind it, to bear responsibility, especially after the instigation role they played, since the Parliaments decision to stop the screening of al-Hassan and al-Hussein series; so, we call upon the Channel to stop its screening, stemming from its duty to safeguard the national unity, Khafaji said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/16/2011 00:00 ||
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Hizbullah Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem ... the Grand Vizier of the Hezbullies... accused on Sunday the Mustaqbal ... the Future Movement, political party led by Saad Hariri... movement of being a militia, saying that it does not want to recognize Leb as a country of diverse sects.
He said during an iftar in the city of Baalbek: "The Mustaqbal party has not taken into consideration the situation in Leb and it believes that it has the right to monopolize the premiership."
Once it no longer controlled the position, it resorted to violence, he added.
"It is a militia in every sense of the word. It possesses arms and they used them in Tripoli, Beirut and other areas. It turned to violence when the government's decisions did not please it," Qassem continued.
"A militia rejects the government, premier, and ministers before they came up with a policy statement because it wants to monopolize rule," he noted.
"It wants to use force to impose its control over everyone," he added.
"A militia breaks the law and hides state funds and uses Solidere to arm groups fighting against Syria," said the Hizbullah official.
Prime Minister Najib Miqati's government is a new blow against the Israeli project because it was able to devise a policy statement that adheres to the equation of the army, people, and Resistance, he stressed.
When the other camp failed to achieve its goals, he said, it resorted to rumors and misleading the public in an attempt to target the resistance.
"They accuse Hizbullah of being behind any security development in Leb ... the most recent of which was the Antelias blast, which all evidence indicates was an individual incident," he said.
A blast shook the town of Antelias on Thursday, killing two people who were in possession of the bomb.
"The Resistance will continue with its project and it will not pay attention to various protestors," he stressed.
In an interview with As Safir daily published Monday, Qassem advised some Lebanese parties to put Leb's interest before any other interest and work to solve the daily problems of the people rather than betting on the Shiite party's downfall.
He said: "Leb's interest should be put before other personal interests and before the logic of farms and different foreign guardianships."
Asked if he thought that Israel would launch a new war on Leb, the Hizbullah deputy chief told the newspaper that the Jewish state is marred by problems on living conditions and economic hardships.
Last week, 250,000 people flooded into Israel's main cities to demand economic reforms to ease the cost of living and income disparity.
"That's why we rule out any Israeli adventure against Leb," Qassem said.
He stressed that the resistance was on the right track no matter how much Leb witnessed festivities among different political parties and no matter how critical the situation in the Arab world became.
"We always stress (Hizbullah's) readiness because it is not linked to negative or positive political developments," he told his interviewer.
Qassem was adamant that even the developments in Syria will not affect Leb, which according to him is characterized by the bond between the army, the people and the resistance.
He advised "those who are betting that the changes in Syria will affect the resistance not to waste their time or wrongly mobilize their supporters."
He said in reference to the March 14 Those are the good guys, insofar as Leb has good guys... -led opposition that it should contribute to finding solutions to problems which fall in the interests of both Leb and Syria.
When asked about President Michel Suleiman's invitation for national dialogue, Qassem said: "We support the dialogue to discuss the national defense strategy and we reject any preconditions and changes."
March 14 is conditioning its participation in the all-party talks on finding a solution to Hizbullah's "illegitimate arms."
"Leb has a single enemy which is Israel and we should discuss the defense strategy to protect Leb in the appropriate way. Full stop," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/16/2011 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Hezbollah
[An Nahar] Amal movement and Hizbullah leaderships in southern Leb have stressed on dialogue as the only solution to Leb's problems.
"The Lebanese have the single choice of dialogue to solve their problems," the two allied parties said in a statement following an Iftar organized by Hizbullah in Nabatiyeh.
"Those betting on regional and other changes and building their strategies to reject dialogue and further complicate the crisis, are threatening the stability of Leb and preventing its prosperity," they said.
The statement stressed support for the Syrian leadership in its efforts to quell the conspiracy that seeks to target it under the slogan of change and reform.
The leadership of the two Shiite groups said the conspiracy against the Assad regime aims at isolating Syria from the resistance forces in the region.
Amal and Hizbullah stressed the importance of consolidating the people, army and resistance triangle to confront Israel. "The policy of deterrence in the oil dispute is the only pillar that can preserve the rights of the Lebanese in their territorial waters and their oil resources," they said.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/16/2011 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
#1
As things stand, Iran desires to project military power into the Mediterranean proper [Atlantic Ocean?], espec NAVAL POWER + likely also LR AIR POWER, but can't do so unless it has STRATEGIC ACCESS = AIR-SEA PORTS/BASE RIGHTS IN KEY REGIONS.
The KSA + Turkey aren't going to give said rights to Iran given their current state of diplomatic relations - that leaves Iranian ally SYRIA + PALEO STATE [Gaza Strip] + LEBANON [Hezbollah Govt] + VARIOUS NORTH AFRICAN "ARAB SPRINGS" [read, Muslim Brotherhood = Egypt = SUEZ CANAL, + Libya].
BAHRAIN? YEMEN?
Surprise, surprise, TEHRAN has given its ostensible support to so-called "People Power", pro-Islamist Movements includ as per internal Govt. Reforms.
[An Nahar] A senior Paleostinian official on Monday strongly condemned Syria over violence that forced thousands of Paleostinian refugees to flee a camp in the port city of Latakia.
"We strongly condemn the operations of the Syrian forces in raiding and shelling the Paleostinian Ramel Camp in Latakia and the displacement of the population," said Yasser Abed Rabbo ... Paleostinian politician and a member of the Paleostine Liberation Organization's (PLO) Executive Committee. He holds an M.A. in economics and political science from the American University in Cairo..... , secretary general of the Paleostine Liberation Organization.
Abed Rabbo made the comments to Agence La Belle France Presse shortly after the United Nations ...Parkinson's Law on an international scale... Relief and Works Agency, which assists Paleostinian refugees, said it believed more than 5,000 had decamped the Ramel camp as troops fired at Latakia from both land and sea.
"We consider these actions to be part of the crimes against humanity that have been directed at the Paleostinian people and their Syrian brothers who are also the victims of this ongoing bloody campaign," he said.
UNRWA front man Chris Gunness told AFP that more than 5,000 people had decamped the informal refugee camp in Latakia a day after activists said that Syrian troops began firing at the city from gunships out at sea.
He said the agency was calling for immediate access to the area, but had received no response so far from the Syrian government.
"Thousands of the refugees have decamped the camp. There are 10,000 refugees there and more than half of them have decamped," he said.
"Some were told to leave by the Syrian security forces, others have gone on their own. We don't know where these people are, how many of them are sick, are dying, are maimed."
Gunness said reports from a "broad range of sources" described attacks on the city both from sea and land.
"The signals that we get on the ground are not encouraging, you have gunboats firing into refugee camps, you have firing from the land into the refugee camps," he said.
Syrian activists said that gunboats began an assault on the city with heavy machine-fire on Sunday, the first time the forces of President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad One of the last of the old-fashioned hereditary iron-fisted fascist dictators. Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor... have attacked from the sea since the anti-regime revolt erupted on March 15.
Dozens of civilians were said to have been killed since the assault began, but the Syrian state news agency SANA denied that naval vessels had opened fire on Latakia, saying troops had fought a ground battle with gunnies in the port city at a cost of two dead and more than 40 maimed in their ranks.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/16/2011 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
[An Nahar] Jordan urged Syria on Monday to "immediately" stop violence and start implementing reforms, as more than 2,000 people have been reported killed in a government crackdown on the pro-democracy revolt.
"Prime Minister Maarouf Bakhit today telephoned his Syrian counterpart Adel Safar and told him that violence must stop immediately," the state-run Petra news agency reported.
"Bakhit said Syria should listen to reason and start implementing reforms."
Petra quoted the premier as saying that "world anger and rejection of the bloodshed in Syria are growing."
"Military operations must stop to preserve Syria's unity and reforms should start to create a better future for the Syrian people," Bakhit said.
"We in Jordan are waiting for urgent, effective and tangible measures to be taken soon," he said without elaborating.
The violence has killed around 2,200 people, including some 400 members of the security forces, according to rights activists. Syrian authorities have blamed the bloodshed on armed gangs and Islamist myrmidons.
Jordan's Foreign Minister Nasser Joudeh last week described the situation in Syria as "worrisome, unfortunate and sad."
A Jordanian died of his wounds on Sunday after he was hit by sniper fire in the Syrian city of Homs, a hotbed of that county's anti-regime revolt, becoming the first officially reported Jordanian fatality in the unrest.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/16/2011 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Turkey did not give the Syrian regime a grace period to carry on with its military operations, which must be stopped "immediately," Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu stressed Monday.
Or what?
"Military operations in Syria have not stopped since Thursday evening," Davutoglu said, describing the military assaults as "a blatant violation of human rights." ...which often include carefully measured allowances of freedom at the convenience of the state...
At a presser he held in Ankara, the Turkish minister noted that "Turkey is not only supporting the Syrian people, but rather all the peoples that are calling for democracy in the Middle East in a peaceful manner."
"We will do all we can to help the Syrian people and we demand an immediate halt to the military operations," Davutoglu added.
The minister held talks with Syrian President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad One of the last of the old-fashioned hereditary iron-fisted fascist dictators. Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor... for more than six hours on Tuesday, pleading that he end bloodshed and open the path to political reforms.
His visit to Damascus ...The City of Jasmin is the oldest continuously-inhabited city in the world. It has not always been inhabited by the same set of fascisti... was to pass on Ankara's message that it "has run out of patience" with the ongoing violence, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said.
Ankara, whose ties with Damascus have flourished in recent years, has repeatedly called on Assad to initiate reforms but has stopped short of calling for his departure.
The Syrian regime has sought to crush weeks of protests with brutal force, killing more than 1,600 civilians and arresting at least 12,000 of dissenters, rights activists say.
Turkey's ambassador to Damascus visited Syria's flashpoint protest hub of Hama, Erdogan said Wednesday, as Syrian army vehicles pulled out of the city.
"Our ambassador went to Hama and said that the tanks, security forces had started to leave Hama. This is highly important to show that our initiatives had positive results," Erdogan said in televised remarks, addressing his party members in Ankara.
"We hope that all these will be completed within a 10 to 15 day period," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/16/2011 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
#1
See also WAFF > TURKEY ISSUES "FINAL WORD" TO SYRIA.
ARTIC = Syrian President Bashar Assad's military operations agz his own people must cease, IMMEDIATELY + UNCONDITIONALLY, OR ELSE IIUC TURKEY WILL NOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY FOLLOW-ON STEPS THAT OCCUR, BE IT UNILATERAL OR INTERNATIONAL, ECON OR MILITARY, ......@ETC.
* SAME > IRAN USING PKK [+ PJAK] TO TRAP [entrap/ensnare] TURKEY.
ARTIC = IRAN believes ...
> Iff Assad regime in Syria falls, the next target for the "Arab Spring" will be TEHRAN = IRAN ITSELF.
> Islamist Iran desires convenient strategic access to the Mediterranean, HENCE DESIRES TO ISOLATE TURKEY FROM THE US-EUROS.
Iran = better to fight the US-Israel-Allied
"over there" AMAP ASAP ALAP, than "over here"???
* SAME > [American Thinker] IRAN'S [ + ME's]QUIET WAR.
ARTIC = POTUS Obama's policy of PRETENDING? thatIran is not going to its future Military Capabilities agz Israel + US is FOOLISH. IRAN'S WAR IN THE MIDDLE EAST HAS ALREADY STARTED.
IIUC, except that the USA = POTUS BAMMER + Admin don't know it yet???
* PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUM > [GlobalResearch] NATO + TURKEY PLAN TO SUPPORT ARMED REBELS IN SYRIA, CAMPAIGN [start Separatist = anti-Assad Jihad].
#2
...The Turks have a well equipped and thoroughly professional military - but after the very real purges that have swept through it, their leadership is now probably on a par with that of Iran: picked for political and religious reliability instead of military skill. Makes me wonder if Erdogan figures that if he gets into a war with Syria and screws it up, we have to come bail him out...he's in for a real surprise on that account.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
08/16/2011 8:41 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Mike, more likely he hasn't a clue that professional leadership is needed for a professional military outcome.
* WAFF > [Foreign Ministry] TURKEY SAYS "TIMES FOR WORDS IS OVER" UNLESS SYRIA ATTACKS END.
* SAME > BRACE FOR ANOTHER MIDDLE EAST WAR. FIRST LIBYA, NOW ANOTHER SOURCES SAY NEXT COUNTRY [Syria] WARNED OF NATO ATTACK.
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > [Defector from Syria's Secret Police] SYRIA USING IRAN SNIPERS AS VIOLENT CRACKDOWN CONTINUES | IRANIAN SNIPERS REPORTEDLY BEING DEPLOYED IN SYRIA.
versus
* FREEREPUBLIC > [WND.com] "NETANYAHU SHOULD PREPARE HIMSELF FOR THE CAGE"! IRAN WARNS ISRAELIS THEY SHOULD FLEE [leave the Middle East] OR FACE ANNIHILATION.
Supreme Ayatollah Khamenei + IRGC = denote that Israel = Israelis in "occupied lands" is encircled/surrounded by dedicated Muslims bent on their destruction.
[LITTLE BIG HORN, ISANDHLWANA Battles here].
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > NUCLEAR WAR ON IRAN? | CUBA'S FIDEL CASTRO: NUCLEAR SAGE OR SIREN?
Various factors, still-developing circumstances may prove ultimately Uncle Fidel correct in his warning that any US-Israeli attack agz Iran may devol into a de facto NUCLEAR WAR.
[BASE-TOO-FAR QATAR, NOSTRADAMUS = "...UNTIL THE SEVEN/SEVENTH HOLDS THE LINE" here].
DECISIVE = Islamic "HEAVENLY" BATTLE.
* SAME > [Bloomberg] ISRAEL-LEBANON OIL DISPUTE [maritime borders]SHOULD BE STOPPED SHORT OF WAR: VIEW.
Steadily escalating risk of Israeli-Lebanon [Hezbollah] military confrontation oer offshore energy fields.
[An Nahar] The Special Tribunal for Leb probing the liquidation of ex-Prime Minister Rafik Hariri is investigating Iran's possible involvement in the Feb. 2005 bombing that killed Hariri and 22 others, the German Der Spiegel magazine reported on Monday.
The report said that there is evidence that link Iran with the murder of Hariri.
The four men named in the indictment issued by the STL are members of Hizbullah and the tribunal is "following evidence that lead to Iran."
The magazine said that the four suspects traveled to Iran in 2004 and during their stay, they went through military training in "Khomeini's training camp" near the city of Qom.
It added: "The training supervisors built sets similar to the scene of the crime" of Hariri's murder.
Der Spiegel said that "al-Quds brigades" that is considered the revolutionary guards right hand, supervised the entire operation.
"Syrian intelligence officials also participated" in the training, the magazine reported.
The STL's president, Judge Antonio Cassese, on Thursday urged the four wanted in the case to appear before the court.
He made the appeal in an open letter two days after he was told by Lebanese authorities that none of the four men identified by the tribunal as suspects has been tossed in the slammer.
The Hague-based tribunal's head said he was studying Leb's report, with the next possible step to advertise the indictment, or part of it, in Lebanese media.
Hizbullah's leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has ruled out the arrest of the four suspects, hinting that the STL was heading for a trial in absentia.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/16/2011 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.
Allegations of summary executions, aerial bombardments of civilians and enforced disappearances in Sudan's South Kordofan could constitute crimes against humanity or war crimes, the U.N. said Monday.
Najib Miqati
Yasser Abed Rabbo
President-for-Life Bashir 
President-for-Life Bashir 
[An Nahar] The Special Tribunal for 
