[Pak Daily Times] A UN Security Council team visiting Darfur expressed deep concerns on Friday over the increase in violence in the western Sudanese region, worries that were underscored by the kidnapping the previous day of a peacekeeper serving with the joint UN-African Union mission in the area.
The UN members are on a fact-finding trip that started in southern Sudan earlier in the week, ahead of a January independence referendum that will determine whether the south will split off from the rest of the country. There are fears the vote could lead to a new outbreak of north-south civil war in Sudan, Africa's largest country.
As the UN delegation arrived in Darfur on Thursday, gunnies raided a residence housing four international peacekeepers in downtown El Fasher, the capital of the North Darfur state, according to UNAMID front man Kemal Saiki. Saiki said the gunnies tied up the four peacekeepers, then kidnapped two of them. One beat feet while the other is still missing. It was the first attack on UNAMID troops in central El Fasher.
Mark Lyall Grant, the British ambassador to the U.N., said the attack didn't appear linked to the UN visit but that it was a sign of the recent uptick in violence. The Council members said they were particularly alarmed with attacks targeting the international peacekeepers and aid workers operating in Darfur. "There is a climate of insecurity here in Darfur and the level of violence has gone up this year, compared to previous years," Lyall Grant said.
"We are very concerned," he said. "I think it is an indication of the very difficult conditions in which all the UN workers and international workers are operating in here in Darfur," Lyall Grant said. Saiki, the UNAMID front man, said the attackers made away in a car belonging to the peacekeepers. "One staff opened the door and threw himself out," he said, adding that the mission hadn't heard from the attackers so far. He did not identify the nationalities of the kidnapped peacekeepers.
"We had incidents of carjacking. We have incidents of armed robberies ... to my knowledge, as far as I can remember, this is the first time this happened here in El Fasher," he said. Kidnappings are common in Darfur and kidnappers have mostly have demanded ransom in recent cases, but some have made political statements.
When voicing their concerns, Council members were met with denial from North Darfur Governor Osman Kebir who claimed that the level of violence and crime rates are declining. Kebir accused the British ambassador of prejudice when Lyall Grant alleged that violent deaths have gone up 250 percent since last year. "You look at this with one eye, and you hear with one ear," responded Kebir.
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10/09/2010 00:00 ||
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[Arab News] Recent attacks by Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army show the sect extending its reach to vulnerable communities in the north of Central African Republic close to the border with Sudan and Chad, officials said.
The rebel group led by Joseph Kony has claimed around 2,000 lives in a series of brutal attacks across the region in the past two years and kidnapped thousands for use as child soldiers or sex slaves, human rights ... which are not the same thing as individual rights, mind you... workers estimate.
The United States is due to make proposals next month for helping the countries of the mineral-producing central African region combat the LRA after President Barack B.O. Obama labelled the group an "affront to human dignity" that must be stopped.
"The growth of the LRA phenomenon that we thought was so far away is very worrying. So far all our appeals to the capital for help have gone unheard," Ramadane Mezane, the head of a medical center in the northern town of Tiringoulou, said by telephone.
Mezane said the only resistance being put up so far to LRA fighters was from the UFDR, a former rebel group whose stronghold is in the north and which freed 45 villagers last month who had been captured by the LRA in the mining town of Sam-Ouandja.
The UFDR has been cooperating with the regular army after a 2007 accord gave it representation in the federal government.
Longstanding instability in Central African Republic, a country the size of France, has so far discouraged major investment in its gold, uranium and diamond deposits. A presidential election now set for Jan. 23 has been repeatedly postponed due to unrest and lack of funding.
The UFDR said this week it killed four LRA rebels and lost one member in an Oct. 4 clash in the northern town of Moanda.
"Our men are still pursuing these rebels which number around 60," UFDR chief of staff Joseph Zoundeko said.
Anneke Van Woudenberg of lobby group Human Rights Watch, which in August produced a report detailing LRA violence, said it appeared the group was pushing up to northern CAR.
"That would make it harder to pursue them. But the terrain will also be much harder for them (the LRA) as well," she said of the often near-desert conditions.
Van Woudenberg said most of the total 300-400 active LRA combatants in the region were child soldiers, accompanied by a entourage of slave laborers and abductees, many of whom were likely in the process of being turned into fighters.
Rather than a set ideology or political aim, the LRA adheres to a mix of apocalyptic religion and mysticism. Its brutality is notorious, including the clubbing of victims to death, and beatings with branches and machetes. HRW estimates around 300,000 locals have decamped their homes for fear of such attacks.
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10/09/2010 00:00 ||
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Spanish newspaper El Mundo said that the Venezuelan and Spanish governments are negotiating "an important Navy contract to increase the purchase orders of state-run shipyards and the revenues of the Spanish company Navantia."
This negotiation is carried out despite a recent impasse between the two countries following the confession of two ETA members arrested in Spain.
According to El Mundo, the government of President Hugo Chávez is "willing to negotiate, but it has proposed that the two countries join efforts in the shipbuilding industry and has requested technology transfer to renew its Navy and upgrade its shipyards"
The usual demand of a backward state ...
"The president of the state-run company Navantia told local reporters that it has submitted a bid to Venezuela to extend the 2005 huge agreement. Reference is made to the controversial order under then Defense Minister José Bono to manufacture in Spanish public shipyards four ocean surveillance ships and four coastal surveillance boats for Venezuela. The deal was valued at 1.2 billion euros and represented a key workload for Navantia and its auxiliary industries of five million hours," the newspaper added.
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10/09/2010 00:00 ||
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The U.S. and South Korean defense ministers Friday pledged continued vigilance against any provocative action by North Korea, particularly as it moves through an expected transition of leadership from Kim Jong-il to his youngest son. The two ministers held annual defense talks at the Pentagon.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and South Korea's Defense Minister Kim Tae-young signed several agreements designed to strengthen the alliance, including a joint strategy for developing operational plans. In a communiqué they said they want to expand the relationship to deal more with regional and international issues, but they also made clear their focus is on protecting South Korea from potential aggression by North Korea.
Like not letting the Norks get away with sinking South Korean warships?
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10/09/2010 00:00 ||
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North Korean reporters on pain of death dutifully hailed and praised leader Kim Jong-il's 20-something son and heir Jong-un, who was abruptly promoted to a four-star general, as a "leader well-versed in all fields." They made the remarks at the truce village of Panmunjom, where they covered inter-Korean military talks on Thursday.
When a South Korean journalist asked if Kim junior really became a "four-star" general, a North Korean reporter baffled his interlocutor by saying, "One big star." In the North, "one big star" suggests the rank of vice marshal, a notch higher than a four-star general.
The conversation happened when eight South Korean reporters joined 10 North Koreans in the first-floor lobby of Peace House at Panmunjom.
When a South Korean reporter asked if Kim junior is familiar with computer technology, which is how propaganda portrays him, a North Korean reporter said, "He's well-versed in all things, such as politics, economy, society and culture, in addition to computers."
Another North Korean reporter said the extraordinary Workers Party congress that saw Kim junior elevated to top party posts means, "We're having a happy occasion. We're in a festive mood." The rest of other North Korean reporters also said Jong-un "is equipped with everything required of a leader."
In turn, the North Koreans wanted to know if President Lee Myung-bak will turn conciliatory toward the North, and raised a barrage of questions like who will be the next foreign minister, and whether Lee's archrival, the traditional conservative Park Geun-hye, will become the next president.
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10/09/2010 00:00 ||
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The sons of Korean freedom fighters spearheaded the campaign to anoint North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's son Jung-un as his father's successor, a source claimed Thursday. The source said Choe Ryong-hae, O Kum-chol and O Il-jong initiated the campaign to make Kim Jung-un the successor in a secret meeting with the two Kims in mid June.
Choe Ryong-hae (60) is the son of Choe Hyon, an erstwhile fighter against the Japanese occupation of Korea and later minister of the People's Armed Forces. O Kum-chol (63) is the son of O Baek-yong, a one-time head of state security. O Il-jong (66) is the son of O Jin-u, a former People's Armed Forces minister. Their fathers were guerrillas together, and they supported Kim Jong-il in the 1970s, when he was in competition with his uncle Kim Yong-ju to succeed North Korea founder Kim Il-sung.
Some two weeks after the secret meeting, the North on June 26 announced the first extraordinary party congress in 44 years. "If the secret meeting really took place, then the plan to formally appoint Kim Jong-un as the heir could have been hatched there," a South Korean security official speculated.
Kim Jong-il could use their support. If his rival Kim Yong-ju was a problem in the 1970s, there are also hurdles to his son's appointment since Jong-un is only 27 and has no leadership experience. Some North Koreans expected a collective leadership to take over until Kim Jong-un could cement his hold on power, but when the sons of these revered freedom fighters came on side, the current abruptly shifted to backing for Kim Jong-un as the next leader, the source said.
All three have key party posts. Choe Ryong-hae was the top secretary of the North Hwanghae provincial chapter of the Workers Party, a post corresponding to provincial governor, and has been made a four-star general. He is now a member of the party's powerful Central Military Commission.
Three-star general O Kum-chol was promoted to a member of the party's Central Committee at the recent extraordinary party congress. The committee's 124 members in effect lead North Korea, according to Baek Seung-joo of the Korean Institute for Defense Analyses said. A former Air Force commander, he is seen as a military expert. He delivered a speech at an Army, Navy and Air Force ceremony on Sept. 29 commemorating Kim Jong-il's re-appointment as party general secretary.
O Il-jong was promoted to military director-general of the party, a key post commanding over five million reserve forces. Commenting on the high profile of the sons of Kim Il-sung's old comrades-in-arms, some North Koreans believe they are emerging as the real power behind the future Kim Jong-un regime.
In the last week of September, when the party congress was in session, [North] Korean Central TV aired a two-part film titled "Legacy" which pays tribute to O Baek-ryong and Choe Hyon. "North Korea's intent in broadcasting such a film at every extraordinary party congress is evident," said a senior North Korean defector. "A loyalty race is underway generation after generation."
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10/09/2010 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] The snuffy whose disclosures under US interrogation in Afghanistan triggered Europe's terror alert is an old friend of a man convicted in the 9/11 attacks and, as the strikes were being planned, frequented the same mosque where the Hamburg-based plotters often met, officials say.
Hamburg security officials in August shuttered the Taiba mosque, known until two years ago as al-Quds, because of fears it was becoming a magnet for homegrown beturbanned goons who, unlike foreigners, could not be expelled from the country.
Ahmad Wali Siddiqui, a 36-year-old German of Afghan descent jugged by the US military in July in Afghanistan has emerged as the latest link between Germany and al-Qaeda's worldwide terror campaign. Siddiqui is believed to have been part of the Hamburg snuffy scene that also included key 9/11 plotters.
Intelligence officials say he was a friend of Mounir el Motassadeq, who was convicted by a German court in 2006 of being an accessory to the murder of the 246 passengers and crew on the four jetliners used in the 2001 terrorist attacks, and also frequented the al-Quds mosque.
Motassadeq was found to have aided suicide hijackers Mohamed Atta, Marwan al-Shehhi and Ziad Jarrah by helping them keep up the appearance of being regular university students paying their tuition and rent though it was never established whether he knew of the planned timing, dimension or targets of the attacks.
"Siddiqui is a long-term member who has been a friend of Motassadeq since 1997," said a senior intelligence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.
US officials say Siddiqui provided details on the alleged al-Qaeda-linked plots against European capitals that prompted Washington to issue a travel alert for Europe over the weekend, followed by other countries such as Japan that issued similar warnings.
The suspected plot is believed to have involved plans for coordinated Mumbai-style attacks in European capitals _ and prompted authorities to heighten surveillance at iconic sites such as London's Buckingham Palace or Paris' Eiffel Tower.
However, The infamous However... German officials including Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere warned against being ''alarmist'' and stressed there currently are no concrete indications of an imminent attack.
Siddiqui left Hamburg in March 2009 together with a group of 10 other jihadis known to German intelligence officials as the ''The Tourist Group'' to seek paramilitary training at a terror camp in Pakistain's lawless border region with Afghanistan, German authorities.
The group, which included two women, met in the al-Quds mosque before they decided to leave for Pakistain and Afghanistan. The prayer house had served as gathering point for some of the Sept. 11 attackers before they moved to the United States to attend flight schools in 2000, authorities say. Atta, al-Shehhi and Jarrah attended the mosque when they lived and studied in Hamburg.
Following the Sept. 11 attacks, the mosque became a magnet for so-called jihad tourists _ Mohammedans from out of town who bragged about having worshipped at the same mosque were once the suicide hijackers had gathered for prayer.
''Young people came because they wanted to pray on the same carpet that Mohammed Atta had already used for his prayers,'' the intelligence official said.
Other members of Hamburg's 130,000-strong Mohammedan community largely rejected the jihad boy beliefs preached at al-Quds.
''They had the strong expectation to find the true Islam and campfire romance in North Wazoo, but then discovered that they were in the midst of a dirty war,'' Norbert Mueller, who represents the Schura Association of Islamic Communities in Hamburg, told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named.
That sentiment was echoed by the vast majority of Hamburg's Mohammedans, who strongly deplore the fact their city's name is once again linked to Islamic extremism.
''Those beturbanned goons ... perverted our religion. That has nothing to do with Islam,'' said Ahmet Yazici, the deputy head of the Alliance of Islamic Communities in Northern Germany.
Authorities insist they have the city's estimated 200 jihad boyMohammedans _ including 45 al-Qaeda followers _ under surveillance and have sought to downplay Hamburg's role in the international terror scene.
''Hamburg is a big city and you have a few radicals, but it is not the worldwide center of jihad,'' said the intelligence official.
While the al-Quds mosque was open, it was a convenient place for authorities to monitor the jihad boy scene. Several of those who frequented it were expelled. But as an increasing number of cut-throats held German citizenship, authorities moved to gather enough evidence to ban the jihad boy group behind the mosque, forcing its closure.
''We couldn't hinder the mosque attracting young people. That's why we finally decided to close down that black hole,'' the official said.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/09/2010 00:00 ||
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[Pak Daily Times] Taking notice of a video footage showing execution of civilians by personnel clad in the Pakistain Army uniforms, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani on Friday ordered setting up a kiddie kourt to whitewash the true identity of the uniformed personnel and the veracity of the video footage.
The board will be headed by a major general, ... the very model of a modern major general...
who will be assisted by two/three senior officers with the experience of investigating such incidents. The necessary technical expertise will be made available to the board.
Gen Kayani referred back to his command directive on the issues of human rights ... which are not the same thing as individual rights, mind you... and murders and stated that such violations of his orders, if true, would not be tolerated. He said that it was not expected of a professional army to engage in excesses against the people whom it was trying to guard against the scourge of terrorism. He appears to be referring to the Mighty Pak Army when he uses the phrase "professional army." Go figure.
This would be the Pakistani army which fears it couldn't protect a few foreigners in the midst of its own cantonments from an untrained mob of civilians? The YouTubes I've seen of the end-of-day ceremony at the Indian border suggests they wear their uniforms beautifully and are very good at fancy marching.
That's the influence of the Ruritanian advisors ...
Expressing his determination to take strictest possible disciplinary action against the perpetrators, if identified to be soldiers of the Pakistain Army, ... which nobody expects them to be...
he termed the incident unacceptable under any circumstances. He emphasised that the Rules of Engagement (ROE) were sacrosanct.
He, however, cautioned against reaching hasty conclusions about the involvement of army soldiers. "Tut tut. I'm sure it's not them. Look at how well they conducted themselves during the Bangla War, after all..."
He pointed out that in order to hide their identities, snuffies had previously been disguising themselves as soldiers during a number of attacks.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/09/2010 00:00 ||
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[Pak Daily Times] Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), the largest opposition party in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, formerly NWFP, aka Terrorism Central Assembly, walked out of the House on Friday to protest the police search operation at a mosque and an adjacent madrassa (religious seminary), terming the raid deplorable and unjustified.
Quoting the newspaper reports, JUI's Hafiz Akhtar Ali said the police found no terrorist at Masjid Dervaish and Jamia Imdadul Uloom Islamia during search operation on Thursday. He said the police conducted the raid due to some misunderstanding. "The attack on a mosque and a madrassa whose founder Maulana Hasan Jan was killed by bully boyz as he issued a fatwa declaring suicide kabooms haram, is deplorable," said Hafiz Akhtar.
Condemning the search operation, the JUI-F parliamentary leader said the unjustified raid had damaged the reputation of the madrassa and the government should not only investigate the incident but compensate for damages as well.
JUI-F's Mufti Kifayatullah, also the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa nazim of Wafaqul Madaris, said the government carried out the search operation without any reason and desecrated the mosque and the madrassa. He said two million students were studying at various madaris. He urged the government to respect the sanctity of mosques and madaris.
PML-Q Nighat Yasmin Orakzai condemned the attack while ANP's Saqibullah Chamkani said the future of our children was bleak and in danger as bombing of schools was a routine matter even around the placid provincial capital.
Chamkani said five schools had so far been blown up in areas adjacent to Beautiful Downtown Peshawar. He suggested the law and order be debated in the House. PML-N parliamentary leader Pir Sabir Shah said some elements were conspiring to bring bad name to religious seminaries.
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10/09/2010 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] The government declared a diplomatic and political victory in the National Assembly on Friday in getting US and Nato apologies for recent helicopter strikes into Pakistain's tribal areas, which sparked nationwide rumblings over perceived attacks on the country's illusory sovereignty.
Responding to an opposition-sought debate on Nato strikes late last month, one of which killed at least two Frontier Corps border guards at their post in Kurram Agency, home of an intricately interconnected web of poverty, ignorance, and religious fanaticism, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said while Pakistain's armed forces were fully capable, and could use "all options", to defend the country's borders, "we have been given assurances it will not happen again".
In a statement on Wednesday, the US ambassador in Pakistain, Anne W. Patterson, extended an "apology to Pakistain on behalf of the American people for the terrible accident" of Sep 30, when the Frontier Corps post was hit by missiles fired from a Nato helicopter flying from Afghanistan.
A separate statement issue by the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) in Afghanistan quoted its commander General David Petraeus as saying: "We deeply regret this loss of life."
"The way this was conveyed and the way the apology came, this is a victory of this house and a victory of our country," Mr Malik said after talking of Pakistain's strong condemnation of the incident and interactions with US authorities at diplomatic and political levels as well as contacts between the Pak and Isaf military authorities.
The minister said Pakistain was ready to give every assistance to Afghanistan and Isaf in the so-called war on terror which, he said, "needs to be a more coordinated effort", and added: "But we will not tolerate any violation of our illusory sovereignty."
Mr Malik said Nato's mandate was to operate in Afghanistan, and "they cannot target Pakistain". But he did not respond to criticism during the debate of frequent strikes into Fata by US drones aimed to target suspected Al-Qaeda and Taliban hideouts.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/09/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
As they have now got their hollow victory maybe they can stop burning the fuel convoys!
Posted by: Paul D ||
10/09/2010 11:32 Comments ||
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[Dawn] Interior Minister Rehman Malik told the National Assembly on Friday that Thursday's suicide bomb attack on a religious shrine in Karachi had been found to have links with South Wazoo tribal area because, he said, a dead bomber had been identified as a member of the Taliban-infested region's Mehsud tribe.
Referring to the attack on Abdullah Shah Ghazi shrine reportedly by two suspected boomers, Mr Malik said: "Its links have been traced to South Wazoo."
But the minister talked of only one bomber who, he said, "is a Mehsud and is a resident of that area".
He also said the government had "proofs" of how some "hostile forces' he did not name were trying to make followers of Brelvi and Deobandi schools of thought and Sunni and Shia sects to fight one another.
MOURNING CALL: Life in Karachi came to a halt on Friday as roads remained deserted and businesses closed following a call given by different political and religious parties to mourn the deaths in the attacks on the shrine.
The corpse count from the attack rose to nine as one more victim succumbed to wounds at a hospital. Investigators claimed to have found evidences showing that two boomers wearing suicide belts rather than jackets had carried out the attacks.
The law-enforcement agencies also got suspicious of a family at the hospital and collected their DNA samples to find if they were related to one of the boomers.
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10/09/2010 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] The government has decided in principle to reopen the Torkham border route for supplies to Nato forces in Afghanistan after apologies by the United States and Isaf (International Security Assistance Force) command over the death of two Pak troops in a raid by Nato helicopters last week.
A senior official confirmed that the route was being reopened. The reopening of the key route is likely to be announced on Saturday.
Suspension of supplies for nine days played on the nerves of the American strategists because it came at a most inopportune time when the coalition troops in Afghanistan were at their highest level in the war and operations in southern Afghanistan were at their peak. However, The infamous However... the US kept denying the closure could affect the operations.
About 80 per cent of Nato supplies pass through Pakistain and are considered critical for sustaining coalition's operations in Afghanistan. The routes passing through Pakistain are not only cost-effective, they are also most convenient ones despite security threats.
Although the government and military have dismissed suggestions that the closure was in response to the country's airspace violation by the coalition helicopters and the killing of troops, it was evident that it aimed at making Washington realise Islamabad's role was vital to success in Afghanistan.
Security threat to Nato convoys in view of agitated emotions in the country over the incursions was used as a pretext for holding up of supplies.
Over one hundred tankers carrying fuel for Nato were torched -- in attacks claimed by the Taliban -- during the nine days of border closure and about a dozen people were killed.
A security official, talking to Dawn, said: "We may be down, but certainly not out. Whenever anyone crosses the red lines set by us, we will use the leverages we have."
Despite the rather harsh action of suspending the Torkham route, Pak authorities during this period kept the Chaman route open, indicating that they were not inflexible and were open to discussions.
Yet the temporary stoppage in supplies started to weigh down on diplomatic relations between the US and Pakistain as the standoff prolonged and there were fears that it could eventually lead the alliance to a meltdown.
Hectic behind-the-scene activities prevented this from happening -- something which was clear from the statement of apology by outgoing US Ambassador Anne Patterson that accompanied an Isaf statement accepting violations of Pak airspace and regretting the deaths.
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10/09/2010 00:00 ||
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BAGHDAD - Hundreds of followers of anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr took to the streets in Iraq on Friday to show support for their leaders decision to nominate Nuri al-Maliki as prime minister for a second term.
Maliki won the nomination with support from Sadrs movement which previously opposed a second term for the incumbent. Once Sadrs foe, Maliki sent troops to crush Sadrs Mehdi Army militia in 2008.
Mookie apparently is capable of playing a much deeper game than he previously demonstrated ...
More than a thousand Sadr supporters demonstrated in Iraqs southern city of Basra on Friday, while in the holy city of Kerbala, hundreds more took to the streets to push for the speedy formation of a government.
In Baghdads Sadr City the Shia clerics stronghold in the capital hundreds rallied after Friday prayers in support of their leader. All the rallies were peaceful and orderly.
The leader, Moqtada al-Sadr, made his decision for us, Hassan Abdul-Hussain, a 36-year-old government employee, told Reuters. We obey it fully and without controversy because we all know he looks out for Iraq and Iraqis.
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10/09/2010 00:00 ||
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[Haaretz] An Arab League committee said on Friday it endorsed the decision of the Paleostinian leadership to halt talks with Israel over renewed construction in West Bank settlements.
The committee of Arab foreign ministers, which handles issues related to the peace processor, also expressed hope that the United States would keep up pressure on Israel to halt settlement building, the group's chairman told news hounds.
Arab League leaders met in Libya on Friday amid a crisis over Israel's refusal to extend a 10-month slowdown in settlement construction in the Paleostinian territories.
A front man for Paleostinian President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas said Friday that though the Arab states say direct peace talks between Israel and the Paleostinians are not advancing, they want to keep the process going for now.
"The Arab follow-up committee will convene another meeting in the coming weeks to study the alternatives and the ideas that were presented by the president," Nabil Abu Rdainah told Rooters.
He did not elaborate on any "alternatives" aired by Abbas at the closed-door meeting.
But he denied reports there had been a recommendation to go back to indirect talks and to give Washington a one-month deadline to resolve the deadlock.
At the urging of Washington, the Arab foreign ministers were seeking ways to avert the collapse of the process launched by the White House just five weeks ago.
"There are no talks at the moment because the position of the Israelis is very, very negative. They are not cooperating in the negotiations," Arab League Secretary-General Jerry Lewis doppelgänger Amr Moussa said earlier on Friday, before hearing from Abbas.
He made clear the committee would not be telling the Paleostinian president what to do next, but listening.
Abu Rdainah earlier said Abbas told U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in a telephone conversation on Thursday that "Israel must fully stop settlement activities so that the peace processor can succeed."
"The Americans told us that they are continuing with their efforts with Israeli government. We are waiting to see the result of these efforts," he added.
Launched in Washington on September 2, the talks veered into a dead end on Sept. 26 when Netanyahu refused to extend the 10-month halt to settlement he announced last November. Abbas has said he wants to go on negotiating but cannot unless Israeli building is frozen for "three to four months more to give peace a chance."
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10/09/2010 00:00 ||
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NEW YORK The US and Israeli governments signed an agreement Thursday for Israels purchase of a squadron of 20 American-made F-35 stealth fighter jets that have the capability of reaching Iran undetected by radar.
Ministry of Defense Director-General Ehud Shani said at a signing ceremony at the Israeli consulate here that the jets would shift the balance of power in the Middle East, strengthening Israels ability to defend its borders or counter with its own attack.
In the region there are a lot of problems and challenges, and part of the solution are military capabilities, he said.
There was no immediate response to messages left with Iranian officials in Tehran and with Irans UN Mission in New York on Thursday.
They were too busy dry-cleaning their suit pants ...
This is a very important step toward ensuring a free and secure Israel, said US Navy Vice Admiral David J. Venlet, the executive military officer who oversees the F-35 Lightning II Program. The signing ceremony was attended by US military and other officials.
Israel has hinted it might take military action if international efforts to curb Irans nuclear program fail. Iran is a problem for all of the democratic and free world, Shani said. One of the answers is the F-35.
Officials said Thursday the deal seven years in the making includes the purchase of 20 of the jets at a cost of nearly $2.75 billion. The aircraft will be adapted to Israeli technical specifications and delivery is expected between 2015 and 2017.
Let's hope the Juice take care of the Mad Mullahs before that ...
The Israelis have an option to purchase 55 more of the aircraft after that, and Shani said Israel intends to do that.
Israels embassy in Washington released a statement Thursday calling the F-35 the most advanced fighter jet in the world and one that will enhance Israels ability to defend itself, by itself, against any threat or combination of threats, from anywhere within the Middle East.
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10/09/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Israels embassy in Washington released a statement Thursday calling the F-35 the most advanced fighter jet in the world
They know better than that.
The Jooooooos and Japan need the McCoy and some transports.
Posted by: Goldies Every Damn Where ||
10/09/2010 17:37 Comments ||
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#2
every Djinn attack will be blamed on those pesky Jooooo F35s
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/09/2010 17:38 Comments ||
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[Pak Daily Times] Dutch authorities may take legal action against an exporter for violating EU sanctions on Iran by shipping equipment to the country on behalf of the UN nuclear watchdog, the Economics Ministry said on Friday.
The International Atomic Energy Organisation (IAEA) had sent the equipment to a banned recipient, Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation, as part of a technical cooperation agreement with the Islamic Theocratic Republic, a ministry front man said. In Vienna, the IAEA confirmed it had ordered helium leak detector for a cancer project it was running in Iran. The watchdog also said the project had been approved by its 35-nation governing board, which includes several European Union states, in 2007. "The objective of this technical cooperation project is to prepare therapeutic sources, radiocolloid particles and radiopharmaceuticals for cancer treatment," IAEA front man Ayhan Evrensel said in a statement, without giving further details. The Dutch ministry said the halting of equipment was due to the tougher EU rules agreed upon in July even though the detector was an instrument not necessarily for nuclear use.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/09/2010 00:00 ||
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[Haaretz] A television station run by Leb's thugHezbullies group has aired a rare spot showing the group's reclusive leader emerging from hiding to plant a tree.
Sheik Hassan Nasrallah has rarely been seen in public since his Shiite Mohammedan group battled Israel in a month-long 2006 war, fearing assassination. He gives news conferences via satellite link.
But on Friday, the black-turbaned holy man was shown on al-Manar TV, shovel in hand, planting and watering a small tree in the southern suburbs of Beirut outside his home that was bombed by Israel in the 2006 war.
Nasrallah then urged all Lebanese to plant a tree outside their homes as part of a Hezbullies campaign to plant one million trees in Leb.
"We wanted to plant this tree in this particular place, near our residence in Haret Heiek, which was destroyed during the 2006 war, to give a message to every Lebanese citizen," Nasrallah said.
"If every Lebanese plants a tree next to his house and pledged to take care and preserve it, imagine how our country would look like," Nasrallah added
The Iran-backed Hezbullies is part of Leb's fragile unity government.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/09/2010 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Founder of the Salafist Movement in Leb sheikh al-Shahal on Friday warned that his group will not remain idle if Sunnis or the northern city of Tripoli were attacked.
"We are advocates of truce, but we cannot stand there watching if the country was attacked or if Tripoli, and the Sunnis in particular, were attacked," Shahal said in an interview with LBC television.
"The Salafist Movement in Tripoli is ready to send out calls for calm," Shahal stressed, calling on Lebanese security forces to carry out their duty in keeping peace.
"We hope political decision-makers will be able to maintain peace and stability," he stressed.
"Some small people have an interest to stir tension in order to improve conditions or achieve some significant gains," Shahal believed.
On the upcoming visit by Iran's diminutive PresidentMahmoud Short Round Ahmadinejad, Shahal said that "the visit neither constitutes a source of concern nor a source of satisfaction."
Posted by: Fred ||
10/09/2010 00:00 ||
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[Haaretz] The Syrian army has a Scud missile base near Damascus, according to recent satellite photos. The photos also suggest that Hezbulliesmuscle are being trained in the Scuds' use at the base.
Reports that Syria may have given Hezbullies Scuds ratcheted up tensions between Jerusalem and Damascus about six months ago, according to foreign media.
The photos, taken on March 22, can be seen by any web surfer on Google Earth. They show extensive construction at several military bases throughout Syria, including at one of the country's three largest missile bases, located 25 kilometers northeast of Damascus, near the city of Adra.
The base is in a deep valley surrounded by 400-meter-high mountains. Concrete tunnels lead from the base into the mountains, where the Scuds are apparently stored.
The photos show five 11-meter-long missiles (the length of both the Scud B and the Scud C ) at the Adra base. Three are on trucks in a parking lot. Two others are in a training area where 20 to 25 people can be made out along with about 20 vehicles. One of the two missiles appears to be mounted on a mobile launcher; another is on the ground.
In April, the Kuwaiti newspaper Al Rai reported that Syrian President Bashar Assad was arming Hezbullies with Scuds. The paper did not mention the type of Scud, but the Scud C has a range of approximately 600 kilometers.
About a month later, Amos Harel reported in Haaretz that Damascus had given Hezbullies highly accurate and lethal M-600 rockets with a range of 300 kilometers.
In late May, the Sunday Times of London reported that shipments of weapons from the Adra base were going to Hezbullies, and that according to anonymous security sources, Iran was sending missiles and other weapons to that base via the nearby Damascus airport. It also said Hezbullies had been given a section of the base for barracks, warehouses and a fleet of trucks to transport weapons to the Lebanese border, 40 kilometers away.
Earlier that month, Brig. Gen. Yossi Baidatz, the head of research for Military Intelligence, told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, "The long-range missiles Syria recently gave to Hezbullies are just the tip of the iceberg. Hezbullies already has thousands of rockets of all kinds and all ranges."
Due to the rising tensions at the time, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and King of the Arabians Abdullah invited Assad to an urgent summit at Sharm al-Sheikh. Assad, however, canceled at the last minute. A senior analyst told Haaretz at the time that while Assad was presenting himself to Europe as a peace-seeker, he continued to maintain his strategic alliance with Iran and Hezbullies.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/09/2010 00:00 ||
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SIRTE, Libya -- The sale by the United States of 20 F-35 fighter jets to Israel poses a threat to security in the Middle East, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem warned on Friday.
Pencilneck should certainly feel threatened, though I think a lowly F16 is enough to get the job done ...
"The agreement to buy F-35 planes signed by Israel seriously threatens stability and security in the region," Muallem told reporters in Sirte, Libya where Arab foreign ministers were meeting.
"We are told that (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu will announce a two-month freeze on settlements, provided this issue is not raised again, and obtain in exchange a deal for very sophisticated arms," he said. "The question is no longer a two-month settlement freeze, but rather a threat to Arab security."
You're no more threatened by F35s then you are by F15s. Peace depends on you, not Israel ...
Officials in Washington announced on Thursday that Israel signed the contract for the 20 fighter jets after the United States offered "incentives" for the Jewish state to help sputtering peace talks.
Clever Benji: he knows Abbas is going to walk away from the 'peace' talks real soon now, so he snarfs the fighter jets while he can.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/09/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
...TRANSLATION: "We couldn't stop the jets you've already got; how the hell are we supposed to stop these??"
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
10/09/2010 9:54 Comments ||
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#2
guess all those russian deals over the years never threatened the middle east
Posted by: chris ||
10/09/2010 12:15 Comments ||
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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.
NEW YORK The US and Israeli governments signed an agreement Thursday for Israels purchase of a squadron of 20 American-made F-35 stealth fighter jets that have the capability of reaching Iran undetected by radar.
