[Geo TV] Afghanistan's new peace council said on Thursday it would be willing to make concessions to bring hard boyz to the negotiating table, and called for Soddy Arabia's help in mediating peace talks.
Qiyamuddin Kashaf, the front man for the High Peace Council, also appealed to all Mohammedan nations for help brokering an end to a war now in its 10th year, and repeated Kabul and Washington's longstanding demand that cut-throats renounce violence.
Inducements to tempt fighters back into the government fold could include jobs, homes and cash, Kashaf told a news conference in the Afghan capital.
"The High Peace Council expects the Islamic world, in particular the (Organization of the) Islamic Conference, and the Saudi king, to support the pious people of Afghanistan in achieving peace," Kashaf said, reading from a council statement.
When pressed what role Soddy Arabia could play, and why he mentioned them, Kashaf said it was one of three nations that recognized the Taliban government, has good ties with Pakistain, and is custodian of the holiest Islamic sites.
Soddy Arabia sponsored secret talks last year and has acted as an interlocutor between Afghan officials and Taliban capos in the past.
The 70-member council was proposed by President Hamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai to seek a negotiated end to decades of violence and endorsed by a jirga, or traditional gathering, earlier this year.
It had settled on the mechanism it wishes to use as a road map for starting negotiations, Kashaf said, focused on seeking an "honorable" way for cut-throats to return to mainstream society.
"This honorable return involves position, house, salary and self-respect. They want concessions and we will give them," he told a news conference, but declined to give further details.
"The High Peace Council is earnestly asking Afghanistan's armed opposition and their leaders to give up violence and join the peace processor," Kashaf added, reading from the council's first statement after days of deliberation.
NATO and Afghan officials have confirmed preliminary contacts between Karzai's government and the Taliban. NATO's top civilian representative in Afghanistan said on Thursday the Kabul government had opened channels with some "significant Taliban leaders."
"We are really just at the stage where channels of communication are beginning to open between the Afghan government and some significant Taliban leaders and we don't really know whether they are just leading particular factions or whether they speak for wider groups," Mark Sedwill, speaking from Kabul, told British media.
"We hope that these talks will make progress, we hope that those leaders who are willing to re-enter the mainstream ... have the opportunity to do so and genuinely pursue this but I think we are some way off from that day," he said.
The Taliban issued a statement on Thursday describing the reported talks as "mind-boggling lies" and "organized enemy propaganda."
"The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan refutes outright these false claims, neither has it sent any delegations for talks and neither does it intend to negotiate at a time when the country is under occupation," the Taliban statement said.
The Taliban have always pushed for the withdrawal of the nearly 150,000 foreign forces now in Afghanistan as their main condition for holding talks with Karzai's government.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/23/2010 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV] Talibs in Afghanistan say there is no hope for peace talks with the Afghan government, promising to continue the fight against US-led forces in the country.
Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef, the former Taliban ambassador to Pakistain, said they have not been in contact with the Kabul administration despite recent reports.
The hard boy leader said the group will not enter into any dialog until all foreign troops leave the country.
"The fundamental problem, the basic problem is the ... occupation of Afghanistan. This is the real problem and the Americans want to ignore that," Rooters quoted Zaeef as saying.
"They are interested in peace on their own condition. To be safe, to be here ... and tell other countries 'do that' and they should do it," he added.
This is while NATO and Afghan officials say preliminary talks have been held between President Hamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai's government and the Taliban.
Karzai, who has been pushing for a negotiated settlement to the country's militancy, has set up a peace council tasked with brokering an end to the war with the Taliban.
Earlier in the week, Afghanistan's former president Burhanuddin Rabbani was elected chairman of the council.
Commander of the US-led NATO forces in Afghanistan General David Petraeus has recently confirmed the role of US-led foreign troops in taking Taliban leaders to Kabul for talks.
Meanwhile, ...back at the ranch... some Afghan officials have said they doubt that contacts were taking place at senior levels of either the Afghan government or the Taliban.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/23/2010 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Taliban
[Iran Press TV] Opposition groups in Bahrain have denounced the country's electoral process, saying the results of the upcoming parliamentary polls are pre-decided.
The Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) says the Sunni-dominated government will manipulate the forthcoming elections through electoral rules and systems set by the Executive Authority which enables the government to control the formation of the High Commission for Elections and sketching out the electoral districts on the basis of sectarian and political loyalties.
The High Commission for Elections has reportedly distributed electoral districts in a sectarian manner. While the population of Bahrain is predominantly Shia, the commission has decided to allow one candidate to run for every 12,000 people in Shia-dominated areas, while in the Sunni-dominated areas every 4,000 people will have one candidate.
The group has also described the government's decision to grant the immediate right to vote to tens of thousands of people, who have been granted citizenship based on their political and sectarian belongings and loyalties, as another effort by the government to manipulate the elections.
BCHR says it has based its claims on a copy of a secret document the organization recently obtained, which spoke in detail about the government's plan to manipulate the electoral process to make sure that their preferred candidates win.
The prominent rights group has also accused the government of disrupting the electoral process by banning opposition candidates and political parties running for elections from broadcasting their election campaigns and ads through the radio and television and instead broadcasting programs, which directly or indirectly, influence the voters to vote for pro-ruling family candidates.
Manama has prevented international and regional organizations from monitoring the media coverage of the upcoming elections, saying monitoring media in Bahrain is a domestic issue.
Bahraini authorities have also dissolved the Bahraini Association for Human Rights, the only independent Bahraini human rights ... which are not the same thing as individual rights, mind you... organization authorized to monitor elections.
Since mid-August, ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections, Bahrain has jugged hundreds of Shia muscle, accusing them of having links to beturbanned goons and conspiring to overthrow the Bahraini government.
According to human rights ... which are not the same thing as individual rights, mind you... groups, the Shia detainees were ill-treated and tortured during interrogations and were forced to make false statements.
Many opposition parties have decided to boycott the elections due to be held on 23 October.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/23/2010 00:00 ||
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[8 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
(the results of the upcoming parliamentary polls are pre-decided) - this is a statement without evidence.
(The Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR)) - solve internal matters within your society first before speaking about the matters of the country.
(While the population of Bahrain is predominantly Shia) - you claim to be Bahrain Human Rights Society but you always speak comparing between Shia and Sunnis while both sides are Bahrainis. Stop this sectarian tone.
(The group has also described the government's decision to grant the immediate right to vote to tens of thousands of people, who have been granted citizenship based on their political and sectarian belongings and loyalties, as another effort by the government to manipulate the elections.) - those who got citizenship recently are also Bahrainis, don't you want to support their rights. Is this society only for supporting those 'who got citizenship since a bit longer time'.
(BCHR says it has based its claims on a copy of a secret document the organization recently obtained) - a statement with no supporting evidence.
(The prominent rights group has also accused the government of disrupting the electoral process by banning opposition candidates and political parties running for elections from broadcasting their election campaigns and ads through the radio and television and instead broadcasting programs, which directly or indirectly, influence the voters to vote for pro-ruling family candidates.) - For this statement refer to the laws of publishing & broadcasting. No country will allow provocative broadcasts in the country. Do you want everyone to start his own radio broadcasting. Bahrain is a small country where the candidates and voters can meet during the election campaigns.
(Manama has prevented international and regional organizations from monitoring the media coverage of the upcoming elections, saying monitoring media in Bahrain is a domestic issue.) - this is wrong there are representatives of almost all recognized media companies present in Bahrain during the election 2010 to cover this democratic event.
(Bahraini authorities have also dissolved the Bahraini Association for Human Rights, the only independent Bahraini human rights) - this is wrong. Salman Kamaleddin has resigned by himself that resulted in internal society problems.
(Since mid-August, ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections, Bahrain has jugged hundreds of Shia muscle, accusing them of having links to beturbanned goons and conspiring to overthrow the Bahraini government.) - come on you are again talking about Shia only. You could have used the word Bahrainis only because you are Bahrain Human Rights Society. Why don't you talk about Sunnis who are/were in jail in other countries.
(the Shia detainees were ill-treated and tortured during interrogations and were forced to make false statements.) - please stop claiming without a proof of what you are claiming.
(Many opposition parties have decided to boycott the elections due to be held on 23 October.) - No opposition party has boycotted the elections 2010, including the major opposition party Al Wefak.
Posted by: Spuns Protector of the Munchkins4769 ||
10/23/2010 19:17 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Thank you for writing, Spuns Protector of the Munchkins4769. That was indeed a thoughtful post, apparently from one familiar with the issues, and deserves a thoughtful response. I have to run out to the grocery store to get some coffee for my husband's breakfast, but as soon as I return, I'll address the issues you raise.
#3
Just to be polite... you realize this is a site aggregator, and that while we _quote_ Iran's Press TV, it isn't because we necessarily think they're always stating the exact, absolute, unvarnished truth. Fred in particular thinks it's instructive to pay attention to the way they polish, varnish, and sometimes apply liberal amounts of paint thinner to the truth.
#4
I'm back, and there is now enough food in the house, so here goes. I'm italicizing what Spuns Protector of the Munchkins4769 wrote, and setting my answers in normal typeface, because that is the convention here at Rantburg.
(the results of the upcoming parliamentary polls are pre-decided) - this is a statement without evidence.
Agreed. But the article was from Iran Press TV, who can't be expected to differentiate between opinion and simple fact. Not because they are Shiites, but because they are a propaganda organ of the ruling Mullahcracy. Someday, when the Iranian people overthrow the current regime and establish a true democracy, their journalists will learn to write the unembroidered truth.
(The Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR)) - solve internal matters within your society first before speaking about the matters of the country.
We have a saying in America: Let not the perfect be the enemy of the good. If no organization or person could speak until they had reached an ideal state, nothing could ever get said. There is, after all, no perfection this side of Heaven.
(While the population of Bahrain is predominantly Shia) - you claim to be Bahrain Human Rights Society but you always speak comparing between Shia and Sunnis while both sides are Bahrainis. Stop this sectarian tone.
Again, this comes from Iran. They can't help it. It would be interesting for those of us paying attention from outside to know if the BCHR is truly a native Bahraini organization, or a stooge of Iran's mullahs.
Separately, the CIA Factbook, usually so helpful in resolving these matters, says on the subject of Bahraini religion unhelpfully
Religions:
Muslim (Shia and Sunni) 81.2%,
Christian 9%,
other 9.8% (2001 census)
There are no official figures for the proportion of Shia and Sunni among the Muslims of Bahrain. Unofficial sources, such as the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, estimate it to be approximately 33% Sunni and 66% Shia.[84] The vast majority of Muslims are shia, with other estimates at almost 80%.[85][86]
And congratulations on accepting both Jews and Baha'i in your population! I am impressed. At this moment I think only Iran in the Muslim Middle East also has both, but they haven't dealt with that very well, which is why the world centers for both are in Israel.
(The group has also described the government's decision to grant the immediate right to vote to tens of thousands of people, who have been granted citizenship based on their political and sectarian belongings and loyalties, as another effort by the government to manipulate the elections.) - those who got citizenship recently are also Bahrainis, don't you want to support their rights. Is this society only for supporting those 'who got citizenship since a bit longer time'.
Most countries in the world base their idea of citizenship on "blood and soil" as the Nazis used to say before they were defeated. Very few accept gracefully the idea of recent immigrants as full citizens, no matter what the piece of paper says. You are to be congratulated that Bahrain has the modern view.
(BCHR says it has based its claims on a copy of a secret document the organization recently obtained) - a statement with no supporting evidence.
Of course. It's a secret document.
(The prominent rights group has also accused the government of disrupting the electoral process by banning opposition candidates and political parties running for elections from broadcasting their election campaigns and ads through the radio and television and instead broadcasting programs, which directly or indirectly, influence the voters to vote for pro-ruling family candidates.) - For this statement refer to the laws of publishing & broadcasting. No country will allow provocative broadcasts in the country. Do you want everyone to start his own radio broadcasting. Bahrain is a small country where the candidates and voters can meet during the election campaigns.
A legitimate point. But actually, that is exactly how we do it in America... except for having individual radio stations. That's much too expensive, of course, except on the internet where a great many people do have their own radio stations. Instead, all the radio and television stations are required to accept and broadcast the paid commercials of every properly registered candidate, and even of advocacy groups supporting any of the candidates. The only caveat is that the political advertisements must meet the same standard of truthfulness as commercial advertisements. (Some of them are highly amusing, and some of those deliberately so.)
We also have publicly televised debates of the candidates for key offices like state governor and state senator -- some of just the candidates from the two major parties for a given office (the two parties are currently called the Democrats and the Republicans, and they function as government and opposition, depending who got more votes for that particular office in the last election), some of all the candidates for a given office. *sigh* This can get a bit busy during presidential elections, but this is an off year. And all the local news organizations present each candidate with a list of questions, then print the answers and put them up on their website. But we aren't a small country, which has disadvantages as well as advantages.
(Manama has prevented international and regional organizations from monitoring the media coverage of the upcoming elections, saying monitoring media in Bahrain is a domestic issue.) - this is wrong there are representatives of almost all recognized media companies present in Bahrain during the election 2010 to cover this democratic event.
Including Al Jazeera and the Associated Press and such? Well done.
(Bahraini authorities have also dissolved the Bahraini Association for Human Rights, the only independent Bahraini human rights) - this is wrong. Salman Kamaleddin has resigned by himself that resulted in internal society problems.
I assume Mr. Kamaleddin was the head of the organization? Why did he resign? The answer will impact our understanding of the cause of the society's problems.
(Since mid-August, ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections, Bahrain has jugged hundreds of Shia muscle, accusing them of having links to beturbanned goons and conspiring to overthrow the Bahraini government.) - come on you are again talking about Shia only. You could have used the word Bahrainis only because you are Bahrain Human Rights Society. Why don't you talk about Sunnis who are/were in jail in other countries.
We aren't interested in other countries at the moment, only Bahrain. Other countries get their own articles when they have elections, or anything else interesting occurs. And we have seen a number of articles here at Rantburg recently about mass arrests of Shiite Bahraini political leaders, putatively for plotting terror acts against the government. This may or may not be true -- we had only open source articles to inform our thinking until you posted here today. In the interest of fairness, I have underlined above those word choices that were made by the man who posted the article, and are not original to the Iran PressTV reporter.
(the Shia detainees were ill-treated and tortured during interrogations and were forced to make false statements.) - please stop claiming without a proof of what you are claiming.
We have no evidence that either you or the reporter is the one telling the truth. Evidence would be appreciated, although I realize how hard it is to prove a negative without photos.
(Many opposition parties have decided to boycott the elections due to be held on 23 October.) - No opposition party has boycotted the elections 2010, including the major opposition party Al Wefak.
Good to know. Have they done so in the past, and if so, why?
Thank you again, Spuns Protector of the Munchkins4769. I'm sorry it took so long to answer, but you deserved a proper and thoughtful response, which took me the better part of the past hour. I look forward to your next post.
Google Translate
US military and federal police agencies have been ordered to start assisting the Mexican Policia Federal in a program aimed to regain control of Juarez, Chihuahua, according to a US State department document obtained by the Mexican daily Milenio.
The first high level meetings began in January, 2010 in El Paso between Mexican security authorities and US counterparts.
A centerpiece of the program is the use of the DEA's Intelligence Center of El Paso (EPIC). The program apparently will allow Mexican authorities to gain access to intelligence information used by other US federal agencies.
Reports also say US Department of Defense will fund secure communications for police cooperation between Mexican and US security authorities.
Included in the funding will be installation of an anonymous telephone hotline in Juarez, encrypted communication for police forces, which include the delivery of a thousand portable radios for police patrols. The equipment will be interoperable with the systems of the Ministry of National Defense. Ten other border cities are to be included in the program as well as Juarez.
Also included is the building of an aircraft for use of Mexican Policia Federal. UAVs are also under consideration in the program.
American Al Qaeda bigmouth Adam Gadahn Saturday urged terrorist wannabes to act alone instead of trying to join cells. His 40-minute tape supported a call last week by Al Qaeda for sympathizers to mimic the Ft. Hood killings and attempted bombings over Detroit and in Times Square.
"My brothers, know that jihad is your duty," Gadahn harangued in Arabic. "You have an opportunity to strike the leaders of unbelief and retaliate against them on their own soil."
The message seems to confirm that Al Qaeda is scaling back the size of their terrorist attacks. Last week Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula's online "magazine", Inspire had essays by Anwar al-Awlaki also urging individual jihad.
The AQAP how-to manual offered suggestions for individual mass murder, such as gunning down feds at DC eateries during lunch and welding blades to the grill of a large truck to "mow down" pedestrians.
"Here you are in the battlefield, just like the heroes before you," said Gadahn.
#1
"welding blades to the grill of a large truck to "mow down" pedestrians"
LOL!! Note to police...if you happen to see any "cool" hood ornaments truckin' down the road...shoot first, ask questions later.
Posted by: Black Charlie Chinemble5313 ||
10/23/2010 16:14 Comments ||
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#2
The whole purpose of hiring Mr. Gadahn and giving him that fancy office was so that he'd harangue the wannabes in English. Who actually understands Arabic these days, beyond rote memorization of the Koran and such?
#4
I think the Jihadi's here are scared, cause you know, as a rule if there's one thing that's far more likely than anywhere else....Americans shoot back.
Efforts to prosecute the controversial security firm, founded by Holland native Erik Prince, have been falling apart.
Most recently, the Justice Department said it would not seek murder charges against a Blackwater employee accused of killing an Iraqi bodyguard in 2006.
In September, a mistrial was declared in the trial of two former Blackwater employees accused of killing Afghani civilians, after a Virginia jury failed to reach a verdict.
Last year charges were dismissed in the murder trial of five Blackwater guards who where accused of killing Iraqi civilians in a notorious 2007 shooting in Baghdad.
Federal prosecutors have failed to overcome a series of legal hurdles, including the difficulties of obtaining evidence in war zones, of gaining proper jurisdiction for prosecutions in American civilian courts, and of overcoming immunity deals given to defendants by American officials on the scene.
[Al Jazeera] The United States will cut off aid to several Mighty Pak Army units believed to have killed civilians and unarmed prisoners, according to reports.
The New York Times and Guardian newspapers said that some US-backed Mighty Pak Army and special operations troops who have been in action against Taliban fighters in Swat Valley and South Wazoo along the border region with Afghanistan, will be affected by the decision.
The reports come as the US government is laying out a new multibillion-dollar military aid package for Pakistain, as it presses the Islamabad government to step up the fight against al-Qaeda and the Taliban there.
Washington officials told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named news agency that Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, and Shah Mehmood Wormtongue Qureshi, the Pak foreign minister, were expected to unveil the package on Friday, at the end of the latest round of high-level US-Pak strategic talks there.
'Real concerns'
The move to cut off some funding would be in line with a law known as the Leahy Amendment, which requires the US to stop aid to foreign military units found to have committed gross human rights ... which are not the same thing as individual rights, mind you... violations.
"I told the White House that I have real concerns about the Pak military's actions, and I'm not going to close my eyes to it because of our national interests in Pakistain," Senator Patrick Leahy, the amendment's author, told the New York Times. "What's our national interest mean to me? Nuttin'!"
Last month, Washington asked Pakistain for an explanation about a video purporting to show Pak troops executing bound and blindfolded young men.
Human Rights Watch said it briefed the US state department and congressional officials earlier this year about evidence of more than 200 extrajudicial killings of suspected Taliban sympathisers. The heart [urp!] bleeds.
Those killings were said to have taken place in the Swat Valley, the home to about 1.3 million people and the site of a Pak military operation last year to take back the former Taliban stronghold.
Units from Indonesia and Colombia have been affected by the amendment in the past, but this would be the first time it would hit a country of such strategic importance as Pakistain.
A senior Pak official involved in discussions about the matter told the newspaper that the United States had expressed concern about reports of hundreds of extrajudicial killings committed by the Pak military.
Pakistain inquiry
Pakistain was addressing the issue, he said. But the official noted that so far, the US government "has not threatened us with withholding of assistance or training for any of our military units on these grounds".
Al Jizz's Kamal Hyder, reporting from Islamabad, said the allegations will not affect the broader co-operation between the two countries.
"As far as allegations are concerned the Pakistain military chief said an inquiry would be appointed. The accusations have been there for quite a while," he said. "The videos that have emerged [recently] are very grainy and possibly show Pak military soldiers [carrying out abuses] but the big question mark was if there were executions, if the Paks wanted to conceal it, why are they being filmed?" "So really, there's insufficient evidence, isn't there?" Except for the film of course, but it's very grainy ...
"At the same time as this is going on there is a realisation in Washington that any solution to the Afghan problem must have Pakistain on board ... unfortunately Pakistain has been marginalised as far as talks with the Taliban are concerned.
"Both countries have their reservations [about the third round of strategic dialogue between Pakistain and US] and obviously this amendment is going to figure prominently in those talks."
The aid cuts were just the latest in a series of developments highlighting the uneasy relationship between Washington and Pakistain, which the US sometimes sees as hindering the fight against al-Qaeda.
It comes as the two nations seek to smooth over their latest crisis after Nato helicopters killed Pak troops along the Afghanistan-Pakistain border and Islamabad responded by blocking the main transit point for US war supplies.
Pakistain receives about $2bn in US aid for its military each year.
This article starring:
Human Rights Watch
Patrick Leahy
Posted by: Fred ||
10/23/2010 00:00 ||
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[6 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#1
that traitorous f&ck Leaky Leahy is gonna give Pakistain an excuse to treat the Taliban with even softer kid gloves. "WE don't wanna lose our aid $"
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/23/2010 8:49 Comments ||
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[Geo TV] Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani Friday revealed for the first time that former president Pervez Perv Musharraf gave approval for US drones to make surveillance flights over the country.
"The previous government gave them permission for surveillance and reconnaissance flights by US drone aircraft but not to launch missile attacks," Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani told diplomatic correspondents.
He denied that US drones were taking off from a military base in southern province Sindh but said "we will find out" when asked about reports that drones use Shamsi base in southwestern province Balochistan.
The Prime Minister said stability in the entire region can only be achieved through establishing peace in Afghanistan while terming dialogue the only way towards resolution of issues between India and Pakistain.
He expressed concern over the human rights ... which are not the same thing as individual rights, mind you... violations being committed in Held Kashmir and that Pakistain will continue diplomatic and political support to the Kashmiri people.
The Premier said Pakistain enjoys cordial relations with its neighbours and that it will never compromise on matters of its illusory sovereignty.
"Pakistain is presently facing a number of challenges but it will emerge as a successful and stronger nation at the end of the day," he remarked.
He said Pakistain is an ally of the US and termed the gaining of access to European markets as a positive development.
Pakistain will continue its efforts towards establishment of peace in the region, he said. We are a responsible nuclear power and Pakistain will only use its nuclear capabilities for its defence, he added.
The Prime Minister said balance of power in South Asia is essential for maintaining peace in the region.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/23/2010 00:00 ||
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[6 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
Many hate Wikileaks, thinking it harms the war effort. I like wikileaks because freedom of speech enables us to know what is really going on and fix mistakes. if this is the shambolic mess that Iraq is in, perhaps it is best we leave. we got rid of Saddam, an awful dictator, but if this is what is left behind, we need to face it, correct the problem and move forward in the right way. Really - clean up our act. Not just pretend to. We're going to agree to disagree on this one.
Documents were leaked simultaneously to the New York Times, the Guardian, Al Jazeera, and Der Spiegel. (Did I miss anyone?) If we're going to look at this, and I think we must, to see how much we already knew from open sources that comes as such a shock to the journalists involved. I'm looking forward to the ones detailing finds of WMD -- the bunkers full of huge barrels labelled insecticide, f'r instance, something like half a century's worth... and insecticide being so very little different from the traditional nerve gas formulations as to be usable for the same purpose.
Graphic accounts of torture, civilian killings and Iran's hand in the Iraq war are detailed in hundreds of thousands of US military documents made public on the whistleblower website WikiLeaks.
Across nearly 400,000 pages of secret military field reports spanning five years, the largest military leak in history, a grim picture emerges of years of blood and suffering following the 2003 US invasion to oust Saddam Hussein.
Continued on Page 49
#1
The Guardian said WikiLeaks is thought to have obtained the electronic archive from the "same dissident US army intelligence analyst" who leaked 90,000 logs about the war in Afghanistan this year.
Bat puckey, methinks. There were probably multiple "dissident US army intelligence analysts" floating around the Five Sided Puzzle Palace during G-Dub's tenure, but you sure as hell didn't see 400,000 pages of classified documents winding up published in every fifth-column leftist "news" rag in the Western world. I have trouble seeing how this leak and the last one could have happened without the active involvement of traitorous scumbags officials from the Obama administration.
I'll qualify my statement by saying that I'm just an ex-enlisted squid, not an intel type. But I know there are Burg regulars who CAN make informed comments based on their professional experience in such matters...what do you think, folks?
Posted by: Ricky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) ||
10/23/2010 0:35 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Most of these leaks are about Iraqis abusing & killing other Iraqis, which was the status quo before the war started. Unless the US attempts to run Iraq top to bottom, this is not within our power to 'correct.'
#5
I'm sure Al-Q had thousands of such 'incidents' reported in the hopes of another abu-graib. I wonder of any of the 'reports' happen to include the conclusions of the investigations....
#6
Old Spook
Wikipedia is NOT affiliated with Wikileaks
Posted by: European Conservative ||
10/23/2010 1:53 Comments ||
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#7
Extraordinary rendition was developed during the Clinton administration, years before Iraq Part II. That is foreign nationals were turned over to their foreign governments for 'questioning'. Why would anyone be surprised?
#8
It's our fault. We should somehow, as soon as we arrived, magicked the Iraqis into happy little Hansels and Gretels, holding hands as they covered themselves up with leaves in the woods.*
*Completely ignoring the beginning of the tale that explained how they ended up in the woods, or the next bit which explained why they were clinging together under the leaves instead of safe and warm at home in their little beds under the eaves of the family hut.
#9
It's interesting that Assange chooses to release these documents right before the mid-terms. And not just any mid-terms, but mid-terms in which a number of veterans are running.
Since he's all into disclosure, I think Assange's next leak should be of his checkbook. Let's see if Bawney or the SEIU shows up.
Posted by: Matt ||
10/23/2010 11:32 Comments ||
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#10
Since he's all into disclosure, I think Assange's next leak should be of his checkbook. Let's see if Bawney or the SEIU shows up.
Matt, I'd also include this Nazi collaborator and international financial criminal on your list of potential Assange sugar daddies. I have to confess I never thought of Wikileaks maybe having such a direct political connection to the midterms - but it definitely makes sense and if anything makes my original scenario even more possible.
Posted by: RIcky bin Ricardo (Abu Babaloo) ||
10/23/2010 12:27 Comments ||
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Palestinian Authority security forces uncovered a large arms cache belonging to Hamas in the West Bank city of Ramallah, the London-based newspaper Al-Quds Al-Arabi reported on Friday.
According to the report, PA security forces found rockets and automatic weapons in the warehouse, which may have been meant for use on PA officials as well as on targets in Israel.
The Hamas spokesman in the Gaza Strip, Sami Abu Zohari, denied the report and called it an attempt to justify attacks by the Palestinian Authority on Hamas.
Two weeks ago, the spokesperson for the military wing of Hamas, Abu Obeida, warned that his organization will take drastic measures if the PA continues its policy of arresting Hamas officials.
(KUNA) -- The Commissioner-General of UNRWA (United Nations, aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society Relief and Works Agency for Paleostine Refugees in the Near East) Filippo Grandi held talks Friday with EU institutions in Brussels and Strasbourg on the recent developments and challenges faced by UNRWA and the continuing humanitarian crisis in the West Bank, Gazoo, and parts of Leb.
Speaking in a presser here Friday afternoon at the end of his 4-day visit, Grandi said he also explored with EU officials - including foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton - a more strategic outlook for the support to Paleostine refugees, how to enhance the EU-UNRWA partnership and a three-year finance agreement for the UN agency.
He noted that the EU provides 66 million euro per year to the core budget of UNRWA which goes to education, health and alleviation of poverty and Grandi has called on the EU to raise this amount. "I hope it will reach 80 million euro," he added.
In addition , the EU also gives 15-20 mn euro in humanitarian aid and another 15 mn euro in special programme for the poorest Paleostinian refugees. "The EU remains the largest contributor to UNRWA. EU member states' contribution last year covered 62 percent of all contributions to UNRWA," he stated.
Grandi said there is a shortfall of about 50 million euros in UNRWA's budget this year and the EU has provided an additional amount of 20 million euros to cover this.
Turning to the situation in Gazoo and the West Bank, he said it continues to be difficult.
In June, Israel eased its blockade on Gazoo allowing mainly consumer goods to come in, but restrictions on building materials continue.
Israel eased its siege on Gazoo following an international outcry after Israeli commandos killed nine Turkish peace bully boyz on a humanitarian aid flotilla in international waters in May.
The UN official said Israel argues that the blockade on Gazoo is necessary for its security, but added that the "harshness of the blockade is not good for the security of Israel as it pushes the Paleostinian population to anger and frustration."
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10/23/2010 00:00 ||
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(KUNA) -- Richard Falk, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights ... which are not the same thing as individual rights, mind you... in the Paleostinian territories, said on Friday that the Israeli continued policy of building settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem makes the creation of a Paleostinian State an "illusion" and "almost clearly a political impossibility." "The accelerated expansion of settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, the coupling of settlement expansion with a series of other policies such as house demolitions, evictions, has made the vision of Peace based on the two state consensus almost clearly a political impossibility at this stage. You have a disconnect between an inter-governmental peace processor which appeared premised on an illusion that at the end of the peace processor there is an independent Paleostinian State," Falk told a presser.
"The idea of a separate Paleostinian State seems increasingly problematic as a solution, because it would require the substantial reversal of the settlement process, and the political reality in Israel and among the settlers makes that a non viable possibility," he added.
Commenting on Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Leiberman's speech to the UN General Assembly last month when he recommended a "two-staged" solution to the Israeli-Paleostinian conflict that "could take a few decades," and a final status agreement entailing "not land-for-peace, but rather, exchange of populated territory," Falk said "that's where they (negotiations) are going. what it amounts to is de facto annexation under the banner of temporary occupation, creeping annexation. It is an important reality that has to be exposed." He noted that the US, initially and in early years, condemned the establishment of these settlements. "Now there is a creeping reformulation of the issue as if only the expansion of the settlements is contrary to the creation of a political atmosphere that makes peace negotiations possible." The fundamental Paleostinian rights connects to "all settlements not just to their expansion," he noted.
He depicted a grim situation in Gazoo and said "it is my judgment that Israel has made a huge mistake" not to deal with Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, as a political actor and not as a terrorist organisation, and until it does, then "no progress will be made."
Posted by: Fred ||
10/23/2010 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: PLO
#1
At best the Israeli settlements make up only a small part of the land.
#2
PM Netanyahu repeated that the Palestinians will not be ready for peace until they recognize Israel as a Jewish state.
On the other hand, apparently de facto President Abbas and PM Netanyahu have agreed to the appearance of negotiations through November 3rd, so as not to embarrass dear President Obama until our mid-term elections are over. So Special Rapporteur Falk's clause-filled verbiage will do nothing except feed the addiction of the world's antisemites.
[Iran Press TV] A senior Iranian holy man has praised President Mahmoud Short Round Ahmadinejad's last week visit to Leb for foiling enemy efforts to humiliate the Islamic Theocratic Republic.
"This trip was [one] of the glories of the [Islamic] establishment and miracles of the Revolution," IRNA quoted Tehran's interim Friday Prayers Leader Ayatollah Kazem Seddiqi as saying.
"The enemies imposed sanctions on us and meant to pretend that Iran is isolated but this visit demonstrated they [themselves were] isolated and that we have penetrated [other] nations' hearts," the holy man stated.
Ayatollah Seddiqi noticed an ever-increasing tendency towards the Islamic theocracy across the globe. He also hailed Iran's diplomatic and technological progress in the last few years.
Last Wednesday, Ahmadinejad flew into Leb amid loud cheers from huge crowds of Lebanese who gathered on the streets to give the Iranian president a hero's welcome.
He held talks with the country's bigwigs, discussing regional issues as well as bilateral relations.
During his visit, which came upon an invitation from Lebanese President Michel Suleiman, the Iranian president met with the country's brass hats, politicians, academics, and university students and addressed large crowds of people in Beirut and southern Leb.
Many Lebanese politicians and religious leaders later expressed gratitude to the Iranian president for promoting unity and solidarity among the divided factions in the country against Israeli threats.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/23/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Later he hit 9 holes in one at the All Martyr's Golf Course and on a tour of a farm he spontaneously developed a new process to make tainted food halal.
[Iran Press TV] Germany's Green Party says sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program are against international laws as long as no evidence of deviation is found.
As long as one cannot prove deviation in Iran's nuclear activity, imposing sanctions against it is illegal, IRNA quoted Green leader Karl Wilhelm Koch as telling news hounds following a Friday conference in the German parliament on the future of the NATO.
Koch, who lives in the German state of Rheinland-Pfalz where US nuclear weapons are stored, instead accused NATO, the United States and Germany of violating the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
"Storing US nuclear weapons on German soil and transferring US nuclear know-how to India is a flagrant violation of the NPT," he charged.
Iranian-German parliamentarian Omid Nouripour also criticized a recent military deal between the US and Soddy Arabia, which Washington claims to be aimed at beefing up the Arab kingdom's deterrent power against Iran.
The US Congress is weighing plans to sell USD 60 billion worth of F-15 jets, Apache gunships, Blackhawk helicopters, light helicopters and thousands of laser-guided smart bombs to Soddy Arabia.
"This measure is the last thing the [Middle East] region needs and will not help the issue of Iran's nuclear stand-off with the West," he stressed.
Iran has repeatedly rejected US-led allegations accusing the Islamic Theocratic Republic of seeking nuclear bombs, citing numerous reports by the ineffective International Atomic Energy Agency.
Tehran maintains its nuclear program is purely aimed at civilian purposes, including medical research and meeting the ever-increasing energy demands at home.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/23/2010 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
We know, we know.
They only want nuclear missiles for "peaceful civilian power generation".
#2
The Greens are supposed to be concerned about the environment, huh? But I guess it's alright if Iran lets off a few nukes over Israel. Just a little bit of radiation for a good cause? /sarc
[Iran Press TV] Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi says Tehran's measures have successfully countered the influence the West has been seeking over Iran's economy.
Speaking at an exports conference, Rahimi said Iranian officials have successfully located the possible channels to circumvent US-engineered sanctions since they were approved by the UN Security Council in June, ISNA reported Thursday.
Despite speculations that Iran's trade with Europe should shrink due to the sanctions, our transactions have increased in comparison with the last six months, he said.
"Europeans themselves create go-between companies to trade. That I mentioned France's [economic] collapse in case of halting Iran's imports was not bragging, because we account for 50 percent of France's car exports and in case of a 20-percent cut on our part, they will bite the dust," Rahimi explained.
The vice president said Europe's unilateral sanctions against Iran did not harm the country as the move reduced the Islamic Theocratic Republic's 21-billion-dollar imports.
"We did not bow before them and in effect they boycotted themselves."
Rahimi further called on all exporters and associated officials to join hands to tackle the sanctions. "Today, we need to be coordinated and stand up to sanctions and fortunately the sanctions are done away with."
Posted by: Fred ||
10/23/2010 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
[MEMRI] This week MEMRI is launching its South Asia Studies Project. Be sure to visit the South Asia Studies Project daily.
This paper seeks to identify the top jihadist commanders of the Taliban, Al-Qaeda, and other Sunni terrorist organizations in Pakistain who remain free despite the security operations conducted by the Pak military in recent years.
On September 1, 2010, the U.S. Department of State designated Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP, or the Movement of Pak Taliban) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), and declared Hakimullah Mehsud, the Emir of TTP, and his deputy Waliur Rehman as Specially Designated Global Terrorists. A reward of $5 million each was also announced for information leading to the location of the two terrorist commanders.
The decision came within a month of the U.S. Department of State declaring Harkat ul-Jihad al-Islami (HuJI) as an FTO and its commander, Mohammad Ilyas Kashmiri, as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. On August 6, the United Nations, aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society also listed Mohammad Ilyas Kashmiri as a global terrorist for "being associated with" Al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, or the Taliban, and for "participating in the financing, planning, facilitating, preparing or perpetrating of acts or activities by, in conjunction with, under the name of, on behalf [of], or in support of" Al-Qaeda.
Like Hakimullah Mehsud and other TTP commanders, Mohammad Ilyas Kashmiri is also believed to be based in the Pak tribal region of Wazoo. Kashmiri heads the Brigade 313, an operational unit of Al-Qaeda. In a sign of undeniable cooperation between the TTP and Al-Qaeda, Pak media reports indicated that the December 31, 2009, suicide kaboom on the CIA's forward base in Afghanistan's Khost province was planned by Ilyas Kashmiri, Hakimullah Mehsud, and other jihadist commanders based in the Pak tribal region. A video that emerged later showed Humam Al-Balawi, who carried out the Khost attack, sitting alongside Hakimullah Mehsud while recording his reasons for carrying out the suicide kaboom.
Now, the operational relationships between the Taliban, Al-Qaeda, HuJi, and other Sunni jihadist organizations are so linked that it is impossible to delineate true differences between these groups. The Taliban are united under the leadership of Mullah Mohammad Omar, Emir of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the Taliban's shadow government in Afghanistan). Though the Afghan Taliban are currently focused on their goal to drive out the U.S. and NATO troops from Afghanistan, their relationships with the Pak Taliban are inalienable. The Pak Taliban are united under the banner of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP), but consider Mullah Omar as their Emir.
After the 2001 U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, a large number of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda forces of Evil returned to their familiar bases in South Wazoo, where they were commanded by Nek Mohammad. However, The infamous However... after the killing of Nek Mohammad in mid-2004 in a U.S. missile attack, the forces of Evil were leaderless.
In December 2007, Baitullah Mehsud established the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistain to organize the forces of Evil in South Wazoo. The TTP soon emerged as a loose confederation of a number of turbanic groups based in Pakistain's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATAs), which are situated along the Afghan border. Haroon Rashid, a senior Pak journalist who has reported developments in the Pak tribal region over several decades, noted in August 2009 that "unlike the other Taliban capos such as Hafiz Gul Bahadur and Maulvi Nazir Ahmad, Baitullah Mehsud's objectives were not limited to establishing Islamic Shari'a within South Wazoo and the tribal region; rather Baitullah Mehsud wanted the enforcement of Islamic Shari'a in Pakistain and across the entire world, and had indeed begun planning and was prepared to take bigger risks."
This article starring:
BAITULLAH MEHSUD
TTP
HAFIZ GUL BAHADUR
TTP
HAKIMULLAH MEHSUD
TTP
HUMAM AL BALAWI
al-Qaeda
MAULVI NAZIR AHMED
TTP
MOHAMAD ILYAS KASHMIRI
Harkat ul-Jihad al-Islami
NEK MOHAMAD
al-Qaeda
WALIUR REHMAN
TTP
Posted by: Fred ||
10/23/2010 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.
American Al Qaeda bigmouth Adam Gadahn Saturday urged terrorist wannabes to act alone instead of trying to join cells. His 40-minute tape supported a call last week by Al Qaeda for sympathizers to mimic the Ft. Hood killings and attempted bombings over Detroit and in Times Square.
[Al Jazeera] The United States will cut off aid to several 
[Geo TV] Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani Friday revealed for the first time that former president 
(KUNA) -- The Commissioner-General of UNRWA (
[Iran Press TV] A senior Iranian 
