[An Nahar] Afghanistan's Caped PresidentHamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai ... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use... on Thursday said Washington should respect his country's judicial authority after the release of 65 alleged Taliban fighters triggered U.S. condemnation.
"Afghanistan is a sovereign country. If the Afghan judicial authorities decide to release the prisoners, it is of no concern to the U.S. and should be of no concern to the U.S.," Karzai told news hounds in Ankara.
"I hope that the United States will stop harassing Afghanistan's procedures and judicial authority".
The release of the prisoners on Thursday dealt a new blow to he relationship between Kabul and Washington, already badly strained by Karzai's refusal to sign an accord allowing some US troops to remain in Afghanistan after NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the cut of the American pants... 's withdrawal this year.
The U.S. said those who walked free were responsible for killing NATO and Afghan soldiers as well as civilians. The U.S. embassy in Kabul called the releases "a deeply regrettable" move that could lead to further violence in Afghanistan.
NATO head Anders Fogh Rasmussen also criticized the releases as a setback to security and the rule of law in Afghanistan.
Karzai has called Bagram prison, 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of Kabul, where the men were held, a "Taliban-producing factory" and alleged that some detainees were tortured into hating their country.
According to some analysts, Karzai hopes the releases could help kick-start moribund peace talks with the Taliban, who were ousted from power in 2001.
"The very presence of the Bagram prison is against the Afghan law and Afghan illusory sovereignty," Karzai said, after meeting Turkish President Abdullah Gul and Pak Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... in Turkey's capital.
Karzai said the prison was one of the most contentious issues between Kabul and Washington since 2007 because the United States judges the inmates there "prisoners of war, therefore ... outside of the judicial authority of Afghanistan".
"My government has been trying since then to remove this prison from U.S. control and to turn it into an Afghan facility in accordance with Afghan laws and in accordance with Afghan illusory sovereignty."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/14/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
I have a feeling the death of the two American contractors may have been an inside job, with ties to this dispute over the US public, response to the release of the prisoners. The release of prisoners is most likely a bargain chip played in secret negotiations between Karzai and the Taliban.
#2
After 9/11 the US decided not to make war on Afghanistan, not to defeat Afghanistan and not to make Afghanistan own up to its responsibility for a major act of aggression.
The Afghans never did as much as apologize for (co-)sponsoring 9/11, nor did the pay even symbolic compensation.
The result is an evil passive-aggressive and hostile 'liberated' Afghanistan that is fearlessly allying itself with terrorists and threatening the US.
[Tolo News] Maulavi Shahzada Shahid, a front man to the Afghan High Peace Council (HPC), said on Thursday that the main cause of war in the region is the interference and presence of foreign forces.
The comments come just a few days after a number of Afghan politicians expressed concern ...meaning the brow was mildly wrinkled, the eyebrows drawn slightly together, and a thoughtful expression assumed, not that anything was actually done or indeed that any thought was actually expended... s with pro-Taliban statements being made by government officials.
The HPC front man called the former leader of Al-Qaeda, the late the late Osama bin Laden ... who used to be alive but now he's not... , a martyr and criticized the presence U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
"The U.S. is selfish and arrogant and says that no one can stand before her technology," Maulavi Shazada Shahid said. "The U.S. acts in a manner that it can do whatever it wants, or influence someone, it thinks always to establish a system and change a regime, but these approaches pursued by the U.S. have led to insecurity in the region," he continued.
"The U.S. committed crimes in Iraq, the U.S. came under the pretext of Osama, you [the U.S.] martyred Osama and yet you are still here."
This is the first time an Afghan government official has publically declared Osama bin Laden a martyr, and it has received quite a bit of blowback.
"When the President of Afghanistan begins secret relations with the Taliban and releases prisoners and allows elements to enter in the Presidential Palace with fake documents and even delay signing of the agreement to make Taliban happy, it is natural that the individuals who are related to government circles or serve on the HPC will talk louder than the President on behalf of the Taliban," Parliament's Youth Affairs Chairman Naqibullah Fayeq said.
Recent statements and actions from President Hamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai ... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use... , along with the most recent ones from the HPC front man, do not bode well for Kabul-Washington relations. Instead, they suggest Afghan leaders are looking to push the U.S. and its allies away while also ingrating themselves to violent Islamists in the region.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/14/2014 00:00 ||
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Ethiopian troops have started movements in some parts of Galgadud region such as Guri el town.
News sources say that the motive behind the arrival of Ethiopian troops in the town was to reach out for some districts and divisions which are currently under Alshabab control. The troops are said to have planned to conquer El Bur, El Garas and El Lahelay divisions in Galgadudu province.
Commanders of the troops are said to have met the local administration of Guri El district as confirmed to Shabelle by Osman Isse Nur, a resident of the town.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/14/2014 00:00 ||
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A confidential U.N. monitors' report warns of "systematic abuses" by Somalia's government, which the monitors say has allowed the diversion of weapons Somali authorities purchased after the U.N. Security Council eased an arms embargo on Mogadishu last year.
And everyone was just so surprised...
Some of the arms believed to have been diverted in the conflict-torn Horn of Africa nation were earmarked for a leader of the al Qaeda-linked Islamist militant group al Shabaab, the monitors said in their report, which was obtained by Reuters.
In their 14-page report to the Security Council's sanctions committee, the U.N. Somalia and Eritrea Monitoring Group recommends either restoring the full arms embargo or at least tightening notification and reporting requirements related to arms deliveries.
Because nothing solves arms diversions faster than tightened notification...
"The Monitoring Group has identified a number of issues and concerns over current management of weapons and ammunition stockpiles by the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS), which point to high-level and systematic abuses in weapons and ammunition management and distribution," the report said.
The council's decision to ease Somalia's decades-old arms embargo last March was a controversial one. Some members of the 15-nation council disagreed with it, although Washington supported the Somali government's appeals for relaxing restrictions to enable it to better arm its security forces to fight al Shabaab.
Why didn't we just sell the guns to Mogadishu directly? We could have cut out the middlemen and regulated the process better...
The new report details difficulties the monitors have had in getting access to weapons stockpiles in Somalia and information about the country's growing arsenal. It says the government canceled several inspections of Somali armories the monitors and U.N. officials in Somalia had planned to undertake.
The monitors describe how parts of shipments of weapons from Uganda and Djibouti, including assault rifles, rocket launchers, grenades and ammunition "could not be accounted for." The report also mentioned discrepancies about what had happened to arms sent from Ethiopia.
"Given the gaps in information ... it is impossible to quantify what the scale of diversion of weapons stocks have been," the report said. "However, the Monitoring Group has obtained other pieces of qualitative evidence that point towards systematic abuses by the (Somali army)."
The Security Council imposed the embargo on Somalia in 1992 to cut the flow of weapons to feuding warlords, who a year earlier had ousted dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and plunged the country into civil war. Somalia held its first vote since 1991 in 2012 to elect a president and prime minister.
The monitors' report said that it has identified at least two clan-based "centers of gravity" for arms procurement within Somali government structures that are distributing arms to "parallel security forces and clan militias that are not part of the Somali security forces."
One of those groups is within the Abgaal sub-clan of Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who last month said he wanted the U.N. Security Council to extend the partial lifting of the embargo beyond its March expiry because government troops needed more and better equipment to battle al Shabaab. The monitors' report said "a key adviser to the president, from his Abgaal sub-clan, has been involved in planning weapons deliveries to al Shabaab leader Sheikh Yusuf Isse ... who is also Abgaal."
Plays both ends does he...
The report also referred to the role played by a Somali government minister from the sub-clan Habar Gedir in relation to arms purchases from a "foreign government in the Gulf" - a government the report does not identify.
"The Monitoring Group has received credible evidence of un-notified weapons deliveries by air from the Gulf state to Mogadishu during the course of October 2013, which would constitute a direct violation of the arms embargo," it said.
"Indeed, after delivery, some of the weapons were moved to a private location in Mogadishu," the monitors said.
The easing of the U.N. arms embargo has allowed sales of such weapons as automatic assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades, but left in place a ban on surface-to-air missiles, large-caliber guns, howitzers, cannons and mortars as well as anti-tank guided weapons, mines and night vision weapon sights.
It's not exactly hard to get RPGs in the third world these days...
"The trends described above demonstrate that the implementation of the (government's) security policy is being captured by clan and sub-clan politics," the report said. "Weapons distribution along clan lines for the prosecution of clan warfare is ultimately reducing the prospect of a cohesive strategy by the (government) against al Shabaab."
The report said private arms markets have popped up in Mogadishu where weapons diverted from the army have been sold.
The monitoring group presented eight options for the arms embargo next month when the current easing of weapons-import restrictions expires. The options it offers the Security Council range from lifting the arms embargo altogether to restoring the full embargo and possibly adding new measures.
The monitoring group recommends either restoring the full embargo as it was before the restrictions were eased last year or at least keeping it as is and introducing stricter rules regarding notifying and reporting to the U.N. sanctions committee regarding arms sales to Somalia. It also suggests the possibility of beefing up the U.N. mission in Somalia by attaching a verification team to it that would track arms deliveries and stockpiles in Somalia.
How long before the verification team would get kaboomed?
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/14/2014 00:00 ||
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Turkey has stopped direct budgetary support to Somalia, cutting off a major source of funding for a government trying to rebuild the country after more than two decades of chaos.
Eeek! Me meal ticket!
Turkey is a key ally of the Somali government. Its vast humanitarian aid effort at the height of the 2011 famine has endeared the country to many Somali people, especially as Ankara continues to build hospitals and dispatch aid across Somalia. Turkey has backed the Somali government with direct cash aid, in contrast to Western governments who have pledged billions but not in the form of direct budget support.
A Turkish foreign ministry official told Reuters direct budget support payments stopped at the end of 2013. It is not clear how much cash Turkey donated to Somalia in 2013, when the government budget totalled $110 million.
One of the things a sovereign government is supposed to do is stand on its own: have enough support of the people that the people will pay the taxes necessary to operate said government. If that's what Turkey is trying to encourage, then good. But of course that's not what is going on...
Somalia's former central bank chief, Abdusalam Omer, said during his seven-month tenure the support amounted to $4.5 million per month, which he said was paid in cash to the moochers, grifters and thieves in the central bank.
A Somali government official confirmed the support stopped at the end of 2013 but said his government "hopes the payments will be re-started".
It's hard to maintain a certain lifestyle without that cash, you know...
When asked whether there were plans to restart payments in 2014 or whether talks were taking place over resuming direct budget support, the Turkish official told Reuters in Ankara: "We have no such plans at this stage. It is not on our agenda."
An official from TİKA (Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency) said its projects in Somalia were unaffected and would continue.
The government of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, which was firmly backed by the West when it came to power in September 2012 amid a wave of optimism, has since become a source of frustration for many Somalis angry with the slow pace of change, insecurity and graft allegations.
Just like all the previous Somali governments. What's that phrase about doing the same thing over and again and expecting a different result?
The government has lost much goodwill from Western donors angry over a scandal sparked by the resignation of central bank governor Yussur Abrar, who said she quit after only seven weeks in the job due to pressure on her to sign shady deals.
"Get with the program, Yussur!"
Somali officials denied the corruption claims.
"No, no, certainly not!"
The Turkish official said Turkey's budget support cut was not related to recent developments, saying the support agreement was only in place for 2013 and had expired.
Horn of Africa analyst Rashid Abdi said the loss of Turkey's budget aid will "definitely be a disappointment for the current government but I have no doubt they will find another (Middle Eastern) partner who will be happy to plug the shortfall."
Who, the Iranians?
Western diplomats say they will not be stepping up to fill the budget hole and some shudder at how little oversight Turkey had over its aid.
One begins to understand the 'affection' the Somali government officials had for Turkey...
Former governor Omer recalled how once a month he would visit Turkey's Mogadishu embassy to collect $4.5 million in boxes full of cash. "It was always in $100 bills," he told Reuters in Nairobi.
Freshly printed from North Korea...
Turkey's ambassador to Somalia declined to comment on his government's method of delivering budget support.
And he absolutely refused to verify the amounts handed over versus the amounts reported back to Ankara...
Analyst Abdi said other countries may be much more secretive over how much financial support they give to Mohamud, an Islamist president with many allies in the Middle East.
"Turkey for all its faults was pretty transparent in its budgetary support for Somalia compared to other Muslim countries."
Tallest dwarf in the circus...
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/14/2014 00:00 ||
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Posted by: 49 Pan ||
02/14/2014 0:09 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Hat tip to despicable, egomaniac Rumsfeld. He's got high-level inside contacts and knowledge. I doubt he's yapping out of his arse. If I were a betting man, I'd be all in for the Hildebeast on this one as well. Champ was distracted, mining nose nuggets, and dithering. ValJar herded him off to bed. The Klingon master [Brennan] created the 'it's a religious crisis of our own making' video diversion. Leon and the Beast went with it and made the do nothing call. No one today will admit to quite how it happened.
The truth was bound to eventually surface. These beltway vermin delight in outing one another.
#3
(All together now)
IS NOT.
(Sing it with me, brothers and sisters)
Bush...BUSH...BUSH
(can I get a amen...) This has been the your MSNBC 4 minute's hate for today.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
02/14/2014 7:14 Comments ||
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#4
At is point, what difference does it make?
Somebody had to say it!
Posted by: Bobby ||
02/14/2014 8:40 Comments ||
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#5
that bitch doesn't know what's coming at her if she runs
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/14/2014 9:54 Comments ||
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#6
Frank, when you get done with the Burg, see me upstairs in my office. We need to talk.
#7
the great thing about Hillary is that many leftists hate her and a huge majority of independents don't trust her
moreover, Hillary is sucking up money from the donk billionaires that could be going to the 2014 Senate Dems - this will reinforce the anti Hillary thinkers on the left
good times
good times
Posted by: lord garth ||
02/14/2014 10:38 Comments ||
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#8
Hillary did not answer the 3:00 a.m. call but ultimately the buck lands on Obama's desk. Funny, along I thought it was that video...never mind (sarc).
#9
I hope y'all are right about the left taking Hillary down, but until or unless somebody on the right stands up and starts playing seriously(without some stupid self-destruction play) I fear we get at least four more Donk years
#10
I remember 2008 when there were supposedly all these pro-Hillary people "Party Unity My Ass" who weren't gonna vote for Obama and were lying to the pollsters etc...
DIDN'T HAPPEN. WASN'T REMOTELY TRUE.
I think at the end of the day they'll close ranks around whoever's invested as the New American Communist Pope and pretend they like them. Whether it's Obamakhtenaten Again, The Hildebeest, Dances With Trial Attorneys up in Taxachussets, or whomever.
#11
Pacification of Al Qaeda was the name of the game at the time by the new Obama regime. Dance with the Devil maybe he will be nice. Even if the devil pulls out an AK47, keep dancing, no military alternative planned, no plan of action if things with Al Qaeda went south. Hillary just sat there immobile, incompetent, don't abandon the dance with the devil, Obama was most likely relishing the event of Seals under attack, "lets see if they can get out of THIS one". Hillary's Muslim Brotherhood assistant girl, Huma, probably provided all the intel to Al Qaeda during the dance.
#12
DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE AGENCY NEWS SUMMARY
DATE: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2014 5:30 AM EST
CIA:
FOX NEWS: TOP CIA OFFICIAL WAS TOLD BENGHAZI ATTACK DID NOT START WITH A PROTEST. Shannon Bream, on **** Fox News Special Report **** (2/13, 2.15M), said two new data points in the Benghazi time line are raising new questions about whether early intelligence was indeed politicized. Correspondent Catherine Herridge went on to report on a critical e-mail to the CIAs deputy director, Michael Morell, from the agencys top officer on the ground in Libya, who said there was no protest before the attack. Herridge added that new information shows that e-mail was not the first time CIA leadership was told the video played no role, and that the raw intelligence described a coordinated attack by extremists, not a protest. Herridge said Fox has repeatedly asked Morell, who now works for CBS News, to answer questions about Benghazi, but that he has declined.
[An Nahar] Human Rights Watch ... dedicated to bitching about human rights violations around the world... called on Libyan authorities Thursday to provide proper defense counsel to slain dictator Muammar Qadaffy ... who had more funny outfits than Louis XIV... 's son and top aides to ensure they receive a fair trial.
The New York-based watchdog said that during visits by its staff last month, both Seif al-Islam Qadaffy and former spy chief Abdullah Senussi had complained that they had no representation at all during interrogations and pre-trial hearings in their prosecution for gross abuses during the 2011 uprising.
Former premiers Al-Baghdadi al-Mahmudi and Bouzid Dorda said they did have lawyers but that they had been unable to meet them in private to prepare their defense and had been denied access to the evidence against them.
"The Libyan government should make greater efforts to ensure these detained former officials have adequate legal counsel and the opportunity to defend themselves fairly before a judge," said HRW Middle East and North Africa deputy director Nadim Houry.
"The prosecution of these men will be no more credible than a kangaroo court if the authorities fail to provide these men with basic due process rights."
HRW called on Libyan authorities to investigate allegations made by Dorda at a court session last month that he had been beaten and maimed in his prison cell.
"Under these circumstances, it's hard to imagine how any of these men can have a fair trial in Libya," Houry said.
The four are among a total of 37 former Qadaffy regime officials who are to stand trial on charges including murder, kidnapping, complicity in incitement to rape, plunder, sabotage, embezzlement of public funds and acts harmful to national unity.
No trial date was set at the third and final pre-trial hearing.
Last May, the International Criminal Court ... where Milosevich died of old age before being convicted ... rejected a request by Libya to try Seif al-Islam, Qadaffy's former heir apparent, on war crimes charges because of doubts he would receive a fair trial.
Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... has appealed the decision but Seif is still wanted for trial by the ICC on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity during the 2011 uprising that ended his father's 42-year rule.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/14/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
"The prosecution of these men will be no more credible than a kangaroo court if the authorities fail to provide these men with basic due process rights."
I got news for these clowns: the mere fact that these men are ALIVE means they're getting more justice than they ever allowed their victims to have. The blood of thousands - perhaps tens of thousands - is on their hands. HRW should start bitching about the Taliban and Al-Queda instead of these guys - that way they might have some vague claim to relevance.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
02/14/2014 5:13 Comments ||
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[MAGHAREBIA] Algeria's initiative to criminalise ransom payments to hard boyz is winning international and regional support.
Meeting in Algiers on February 4th, African and foreign officials agreed to implement the "Algiers Memorandum on Good Practices on Preventing and Denying the Benefits of Kidnapping for Ransom (KFR) by Terrorists".
The Group of Eight in the United Nations ...a lucrative dumping ground for the relatives of dictators and party hacks... Security Council had already adopted the Algerian memorandum, presidential advisor Kamel Rezzag-Bara said. The Security Council also gave a directive to work on expanding international support for the initiative.
For his part, African Centre for the Study and Research on Terrorism (CAERT) Director Ambassador La Belle Francesco Jose Madeira said that more than 35 per cent of abductions committed by terrorist groups for ransom were recorded in Africa.
"International terrorism has taken a new form with the split of al-Qaeda into several independent branches, each trying to find its own sources of funding," he noted.
"Terrorist groups are in control of entire regions," he added, describing "the proliferation of this activity as a lucrative industry".
He attributed the prevalence of kidnappings in Africa to rampant corruption and criminality, the disruption of the distribution of resources, political instability and lack of development.
Although there is international consensus for an end to the payment of ransom to kidnappers, the measure's translation on the ground is still hampered by the absence of enforcement mechanisms.
Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra told Afrique-Asie last month that the international consensus with regard to the condemnation of hostage-taking and ransom had not yet been codified in an international legal form.
"Algeria intends to launch a new initiative, aimed at expanding the mechanisms of trapping the payment of ransoms to kidnappers, be they terrorist groups or narcos. This came about after it became clear that there are strong links between terrorism, organised crime, and smuggling groups," the minister said.
Algeria will continue co-operation with its partners to start new talks at the United Nations on the ratification of restrictive tools and mechanisms, he added.
Analysts confirm that drying up the sources of terror financing requires international co-operation.
Military expert Tahir ben Thamer said, "The fight against terrorism has become an international issue due to the expansion of the scope of activity of terrorist groups and the emergence of dozens of groups that embrace extreme takfir ...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who most be killed... ist ideologies."
"The transmission of abductions from the Sahel to other African countries stresses the need to adopt a unified approach that can be implemented on the ground," he added.
"Paying ransoms encourages terrorist groups," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/14/2014 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Russian President Vladimir Putin ...Second and fourth President of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from polonium poisoning. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead... on Thursday endorsed Egyptian army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's undeclared bid to head the strife-torn North African nation as the two leaders negotiated a massive Moscow weapons deal.
Sisi came to Moscow with Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy for talks aimed at securing Russian assistance -- stagnant since the late Soviet era -- that could replace subsiding support from Cairo's more recent ally Washington.
Putin told Sisi that Moscow fully backed Egypt's new constitution and crucially made no mention of Cairo's crackdown on protests or the army-backed overthrow in July of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi ...the former president of Egypt. A proponent of the One Man, One Vote, One Time principle, Morsi won election after the deposal of Hosni Mubarak and jumped to the conclusion it was his turn to be dictator...
"I know that you, mister defense minister, have decided to run for president of Egypt," Putin told Sisi in televised remarks.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/14/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
Don't know about you people, but I like living in a bi-polar world again.
#3
I never thourght i would prefer Putin over Obama but Putin realises the true threat in the region are Islamists.Does Obama?
Posted by: Paul D ||
02/14/2014 10:27 Comments ||
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#4
I never thourght i would prefer Putin over Obama but Putin realises the true threat in the region are Islamists
If al-Sisi started waving a Koran and banging his head on a prayer rug five times a day on Egyptian television, Putin wouldn't care as long as al-Sisi stayed bought.
[DAWN] Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan Thursday said that peace talks with Pak Talibs cannot go along with persistent terrorist attacks across the country which are being claimed by the bad boys, DawnNews reported.
Speaking to news hounds at Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... airport, he said restoration of peace in Pakistain was a national issue.
"On one hand we are engaged in dealing with elements trying to disrupt peace initiative and on the other with people who want to talk," said the minister expressing his annoyance on the matter.
"Nevertheless, one thing is clear that peace talks cannot go alongside terrorist attacks," he added.
Meanwhile, ...back at the cheese factory, all the pieces finally fell together in Fluffy's mind... government negotiators have apprised the Taliban committee regarding their reaction on the issue, saying that prevailing terrorism was creating a negative impact on the dialogue process.
In a letter written to the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) negotiators, the government committee said that Taliban must put a stop to the prevailing terrorist activities.
Irfan Siddiqui, the coordinator of the government committee told DawnNews that the letter was written in light of conditions put forward by the Taliban and the point of view of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf...
He said the government committee was ready to hold next round of talks with the TTP negotiators whenever they are ready.
Siddiqui, who is also the special assistant to the PM on national affairs, emphasised that peace talks must be carried out within the parameters of the Constitution of Pakistain.
Official sources said that government negotiators were not happy regarding interviews of TTP's central front man Shahidullah Shahid on a daily basis saying it was contrary to an understanding reached in the first official meeting of the two committees.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/14/2014 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] Leader of the House in Senate, Raja Zafarul Haq, said Thursday certain neighbouring countries were using their agents to destabilise Pakistain and de-track the government's ongoing dialogue process with the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP).
Responding to points of order raised by certain Senators, Haq said time was needed to put the house in order, adding that it was not possible for things to improve immediately with the initiation of dialogue.
Haq said the country's political parties had given their consent to hold dialogue with the TTP and that a consensus existed in that regard.
Negotiators from the government and the TTP are currently engaged in peace talks aimed at ending the myrmidons' insurgency that has claimed thousands of lives.
Earlier on Wednesday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... had expressed his satisfaction over the progress in negotiations between the government committee and the TTP.
Speaking to news hounds in Ankara, the premier had added that the armed forces had extended support for the peace initiative. He moreover said that the Taliban had assured of action against those who had committed acts of terrorism in recent days.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/14/2014 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman Deobandi holy man, known as Mullah Diesel during the war against the Soviets, his sympathies for the Taliban have never been tempered by honesty ... said on Wednesday that the key to negotiations with the Taliban was with the army headquarters.
Talking in a TV programme, he said armed anti-sate activities in Pakistain were against religious teachings.
Maulana Fazl also said that Taliban had been involved in attacks on him.
Meanwhile, ...back at the Council of Boskone, Helmuth had turned a paler shade of blue. Star-A-Star had struck again... Rustam Shah Mohmand, a member of the government's negotiating committee, said some rivals of the Taliban wanted to sabotage the peace talks.
Talking to news hounds, he said the Taliban had dissociated themselves from the recent kabooms and indicated that they were ready for a ceasefire.
He said the dialogue would only be held with the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain within the ambit of the constitution and no area would be surrendered to any group.
Mr Mohmand said the talks process should continue despite difficulties.
Talking to a TV channel, Maulana Samiul Haq ...the Godfather of the Taliban, leader of his own faction of the JUI. Known as Mullah Sandwich for his habit of having two young boys at a time... , chief of the TTP's negotiating team, said all groups of the Taliban had supported the dialogue, but some elements wanted to derail the efforts for peace through their terrorist activities.
He said proposals for a ceasefire had been given by both sides and he was hopeful of an early agreement.
Prof Muhammad Ibrahim, another TTP negotiator, said a meeting between the government committee and leaders of the Taliban could be arranged.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/14/2014 00:00 ||
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[Aypee] SINGAPORE (AP) An Israeli state-owned arms company developing a laser-based missile shield that evokes "Star Wars" style technology says its deployment over the country is closer to becoming a reality. Rafael Advanced Defense Systems said development of the system was advanced enough for the company to be comfortable with publicizing it at this week's Singapore Airshow, which is Asia's largest aerospace and defense exhibition.
The laser technology behind the missile shield called Iron Beam is not that far removed from fiction. "It's exactly like what you see in Star Wars," said company spokesman Amit Zimmer. "You see the lasers go up so quickly like a flash and the target is finished."
Iron Beam is designed to intercept close-range drones, rockets and mortars which might not remain in the air long enough for Israel's current Iron Dome missile defense system to intercept. Iron Dome batteries have shot down hundreds of rockets launched by Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip at Israeli cities. With no peace deal in sight and also threatened by Hezbollah in Lebanon, Israel wants to beef up that system and develop further protection.
Avnish Patel, an expert in military sciences at the Royal United Services Institute, said Iron Beam is potentially an effective addition to Israel's defenses rather than a drastic change.
"Essentially, its military and tactical utility will be particularly useful in complementing the already proven Iron Dome system in tackling very short range threats such as rockets and mortar fire and in close quarter engagements," he said.
Rafael Advanced Defense Systems said test data show Iron Beam lasers are blasting away more than 90 percent of their targets. The new system can also be modified so that multiple lasers can be used to hit a target, according to the company. But officials remain tight lipped as to when and how the Iron Beam will be deployed.
Zimmer, the company spokesman, said it took 15 engineers about five years to work on the technology involving solid-state lasers. It works by shooting laser beams at targets which are heated so rapidly they disintegrate in an instant.
"It's very accurate and will help avoid collateral damage," Zimmer said at the company's booth at the airshow exhibition hall. "When you use lasers, you have an unlimited magazine."
Besides Iron Beam and Iron Dome, Israel is also developing the next phase of its Arrow system which can intercept missiles in space and the upcoming David's Sling, which shoots down short and mid-range ballistic missiles.
But some feel Israel, which gets significant funding from key ally the U.S. for missile defense capabilities, is going overboard. Saving the homeland fand innocent civilians, yes of course..."overboard" as you say.
Fanar Haddad, a research fellow from the Middle East Institute in Singapore, said Israeli military superiority in the region was so firmly established that Iron Beam was unlikely to change anything in the short or medium term.
"The development of another layer says more about Israeli paranoia," he said. "The possibility of a conventional attack against Israel is next to nil and there is hardly a need for five layers of missile defense systems." So-called 'Israeli paranoia'....really ?
Rafael Advanced Defense Systems would not comment on how much Iron Beam would cost or how much has been invested in it so far.
"It's very hard to say. We're still testing and it can be modified in many different ways," Zimmer said. Other nations and private companies may be keen on using the laser based technology to protect against attacks. Selling the technology pays for the system. How remarkably innovative.
Israel has become one of the world's leading weapons exporters. Israeli arms companies often point out that they bring with them years of firsthand experience from conflicts with Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, jihadi militants in Egypt's Sinai desert and Hezbollah guerrillas murdering terrorists. Yes, "firsthand experience." See 'paranoia' above.
#1
"It is capable of burning through a pair of Adidas and a Paleo's foot in 0.3 seconds."
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/14/2014 14:52 Comments ||
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#2
It may be true that Israel is paranoid. However, as Henry Kissinger or somebody said, just because you're paranoid doesn't mean there isn't somebody out to get you.
Hezbollah is reported to have stockpiled 60000+ missiles in Lebanon. I don't think Israel is being paranoid.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
02/14/2014 15:38 Comments ||
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[Ynet] Half a year after adding 'Israeli resistance' to Gaza's public school curriculum, Hamas rejects UN text books as 'ideologically and philosophically' unfit for Gazans, claiming books focus too heavily on 'peaceful' conflict resolution. Ah yes, the age old nemesis of 'peaceful conflict resolution.'
[An Nahar] Al-Mustaqbal ... the Future Movement, political party led by Saad Hariri... bloc praised on Thursday the army's "great security achievement" in arresting runaway Naim Abbas, adding that this proves that autonomous security and illegal weapons "do not protect the Lebanese."
"We salute the security forces' great achievement and particularly the army's arrest of gunnies that were planning dangerous criminal acts that could have threatened the lives of innocent civilians and harmed Leb's stability," the bloc said in a released statement after the MPs' weekly meeting.
The statement continued: "We consider that this experience underscores that security forces are capable of achieving major steps when they are allowed to do so and when they decide to take their mission seriously."
"We hope this energy continues and reveals the criminals that planned and executed the liquidation of (former Finance Minister) Mohammed Shatah and those that targeted the mosques in (the northern city of) Tripoli," ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...
These achievements prove that if security forces were supported, embraced, equipped properly and covered with a political decision, they can protect the Lebanese and civil peace, the MPs considered.
"What happened yesterday also proves that autonomous security, security zones and illegal weapons cannot protect the country or the Lebanese."
On Wednesday, the army announced the arrest of a Paleostinian leader in the Qaeda-linked Abdullah Azzam Brigades ... Leb's current al-Qaeda affiliate, named after a guy whose car the current head of al-Qaeda had boomed...
Naim Abbas is described as the group's number two man in Leb.
The army also defused around 100 kilograms of explosives, several rockets and explosives belts placed in a black SUV that was parked in Corniche al-Mazraa neighborhood, where Abbas was locked away Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages!
Posted by: Fred ||
02/14/2014 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Abdullah Azzam Brigades
[An Nahar] Islamist holy man Omar Mahmoud Othman, who is also known as Abu Qatada, strongly criticized Hizbullah on Thursday, calling on the cabinet to "pressure" the party to stop its involvement in the Syrian war.
Abu Qatada, who is being tried in Jordan on terrorism charges, also expressed his support to suicide kabooms carried out by the al-Qaeda linked Al-Nusra Front in Leb and Abdullah Azzam Brigades ... Leb's current al-Qaeda affiliate, named after a guy whose car the current head of al-Qaeda had boomed... on Lebanese territories.
"I support the bombings in Beirut. The leader of Hizbullah (His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah The satrap of the Medes and the Persians in Leb... ) sent fighters to Syria to back the regime. He is responsible for those killed in Leb," he told news hounds at the state security court in Amman.
"If Leb wants to protect itself, it should tell the party of the devil to get its fighters out of Syria," he added in a swipe at Hizbullah.
"The party of the devil started all of this. It should be pressured to get out of the Syrian conflict," Abu Qatada added, describing the bombings in Leb as "self-defense operations."
Paleostinian-born preacher Abu Qatada was condemned to death in absentia in 1999 for conspiracy to carry out terror attacks, including on the American school in Amman.
However, a lie repeated often enough remains a lie... the sentence was immediately commuted to life imprisonment with hard labor.
In 2000, he was sentenced in absentia to 15 years for plotting to attack tourists in Jordan during millennium celebrations, and videotapes of his sermons were allegedly found in the Hamburg flat of 9/11 ringleader Mohammed Atta.
He has pleaded not guilty "Wudn't me." to all charges.
Britannia expelled him last summer after Amman and London ratified a treaty guaranteeing that evidence obtained by torture would not be used in his retrial and that the proceedings would be transparent.
After his deportation, Abu Qatada was granted a retrial in line with Jordanian law, and military prosecutors charged him with conspiracy to carry out acts of terrorism.
If convicted, he could face a minimum of 15 years' hard labor.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/14/2014 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: al-Qaeda
#1
Britannia expelled him last summer after Amman and London ratified a treaty guaranteeing that evidence obtained by torture would not be used in his retrial and that the proceedings would be transparent
but torture just for the sake of being an asshole is OK. Just don't use any evidence obtained
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/14/2014 10:46 Comments ||
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#2
Yo, Abu. Might wanna tone it back a bit. You're not in "absentia" any more...
[An Nahar] Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Wally Jumblat ... Druze politician, head of the Progressive Socialist Party, who's been on every side in Leb at least four times. He'll sell you his friends for a dollar, but family comes higher because of shipping and handling... praised on Thursday the "extraordinary procedures" that led to the discovery of terrorist networks that were planning to carry out attacks in Leb.
He said in a statement: "The procedures demonstrate once more that there can be no substitute to the state and its security agencies that are operating under difficult and complicated circumstances."
"The performance of the security agencies sends a strong message that the state can, once it chooses to, achieve accomplishments," he continued.
Furthermore, he stressed the need to firmly deal with terrorists, urging against providing them with any "political or non-political cover."
Jumblat hoped that the security agencies' achievements on Wednesday would pave the way for the discovery of all cells planning terrorist attacks in Leb.
"I take this opportunity to urge the entire Lebanese society to seize this important occasion and organize political disputes, should the means to solve them be unavailable," said the MP.
"Perhaps their unity, despite their disputes could help ease the security weaknesses and prevent the country from slipping further towards fragmentation," he remarked.
The army succeeded on Wednesday in incarcerated Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit! Naim Abbas, a prominent member of the al-Qaeda-affiliated Abdullah Azzam Brigades ... Leb's current al-Qaeda affiliate, named after a guy whose car the current head of al-Qaeda had boomed...
Investigations with him led to the discovery of a booby-trapped car in Beirut's Corniche al-Mazraa neighborhood.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/14/2014 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Grand Mufti Sheikh Rashid Qabbani lauded on Thursday the Lebanese army in thwarting attempts to destabilize the country by those who aim at inciting sedition and kill innocent people.
"The culprits should be interrogated and referred to the competent judiciary in order for people to feel safe in a stable and secure country," Qabbani said in a statement issued by his press office.
He expressed hope that the army and its leadership would be able to protect Leb amid direct attempts by some local sides to violate its constitution.
On Wednesday, the army announced the arrest of a Paleostinian leader in the Qaeda-linked Abdullah Azzam Brigades ... Leb's current al-Qaeda affiliate, named after a guy whose car the current head of al-Qaeda had boomed... and seizing two booby-trapped cars in Beirut and the Bekaa.
Naim Abbas is described as the group's number two man in Leb.
The army's endeavors were applauded by all Lebanese officials.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/14/2014 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] The Qaeda-linked Abdullah Azzam Brigades ... Leb's current al-Qaeda affiliate, named after a guy whose car the current head of al-Qaeda had boomed... shared a video on social networks, in which the group reveals how the attack was carried out, vowing to carry on targeting Hizbullah bastions if the party didn't withdraw from the conflict in neighboring country Syria.
The video entitled "the invasion of the Iranian Embassy ...You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy!... in Beirut," which went viral on twitter, depicts an interview with one of the jacket wallah, who reveals that he chose to "martyr to achieve great loses in the enemy's side."
He notes in a Youtube video that he took part in the festivities that happened in the southern town of Abra, to protect his neighborhood and religion.
Salafist holy man Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir ...Leb Salafist holy man with the usual grouch against Shiites. Currently on the run, he seems intent on reigniting the Leb civil war... 's supporters engaged in armed battles with the Lebanese army in June in the area of Bilal Bin Rabah Mosque and nearby buildings in Abra.
Asir, a 45-year-old holy man who supports the overwhelmingly Sunni rebels fighting to topple Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Light of the Alawites... , had been calling for Hizbullah to disarm.
The suicide bomber Hizbullah secretary-general His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah The satrap of the Medes and the Persians in Leb... , pointing out that the number of "those who are ready to martyr is greater than the party's members."
He called on Hizbullah to withdraw from Syria and the release of Islamist inmates in Roumieh prison in order to stop the attacks on the party's stronghold.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/14/2014 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Britannia said Thursday it was "outrageous" that Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Horror of Homs... 's regime had been detaining men and boys evacuated from the ravaged city of Homs.
Foreign Secretary William Hague said there was a risk that the evacuation could be the pretext for further attacks on Homs.
The authorities have been screening scores of men of weapons-bearing age who were detained after they were evacuated from besieged rebel-held areas.
"It is outrageous that the Syrian regime is holding and screening men and boys who have been evacuated," Hague said in a statement.
"We need answers urgently about what is happening to them. They should be released immediately.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/14/2014 00:00 ||
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#2
Perhaps the feckless khakis have forgotten how they sent the children of London, Birmingham, and Manchester to temporary foster parents and relatives in the countryside to avoid the terrible air war of WWII.
Iran has trained some 150 000 Syrian citizens in Iran, and another 150 000 in Syria itself, Iranian MP Seyyed Mahmoud Nabavian said, Fars news agency reported on Feb. 12.
Nabavian said all of the mentioned Syrian citizens underwent military training, while speaking at the Islamic Association of Independent Students meeting in Iranian eastern city of Mashhad. Nabavian went on to note that Iran sent some 50 000 Lebanese militants to Syria.
The opposing forces in Syria claim that Iranian military forces are fighting against them, while Iran dismisses the claims, saying that Iran only has advisors in Syria, to transfer its military experience to the Syrian army.
"Advisors", eh...
Nabavian said that Hezbollah announced it having 80 000 missiles that can be targeted towards Israel.
"Iran's efforts on training Syrian citizens and Hezbollah's readiness to launch missiles at Israel made the U.S. policy in Syria to be unsuccessful," he said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/14/2014 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.
Nawaz Sharif
A confidential U.N. monitors' report warns of "systematic abuses" by Somalia's government, which the monitors say has allowed the diversion of weapons Somali authorities purchased after the U.N. Security Council eased an arms embargo on Mogadishu last year.
Turkey has stopped direct budgetary support to Somalia, cutting off a major source of funding for a government trying to rebuild the country after more than two decades of chaos.
[An Nahar] 
International Criminal Court
...Second and fourth President of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from polonium poisoning. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead...
Maulana Fazlur Rehman
Druze politician, head of the Progressive Socialist Party, who's been on every side in Leb at least four times. He'll sell you his friends for a dollar, but family comes higher because of shipping and handling...
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
Perhaps the feckless khakis have forgotten how they sent the children of London, Birmingham, and Manchester to temporary foster parents and relatives in the countryside to avoid the terrible air war of WWII. 
