[TOLONEWS] President Hamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai ... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use... Wednesday accused outside forces of causing instability in Afghanistan, warning foreign interests against using the country as an "experiment".
Addressing Parliament as its reconvened after the winter break, Karzai said there are some foreign hands that are trying to ensure Afghanistan shouldn't have a proper government and that it is a country divided between the people.
He told the MPs that Afghanistan is not a lab for others to experiment with political systems and suggested the country would be fine without foreign financial assistance.
"We have $6 billion in our reserves and enough for us to enjoy for 18 months even if we don't get a penny from the world," he said.
In the same vein, Karzai suggested that the prospect of foreign forces remaining in Afghanistan after 2014 is not a done deal.
"The NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis.... secretary general told me that some countries are willing to stay post 2014. I told him that they should individually sign agreements with us," he said.
He spoke of his disappointment over the reports of abuse of Afghans at the hands of Afghan cops and pointed out it was harder for him to criticise the foreign forces on such matters when Afghans are doing it themselves.
"How can I complain against international forces when Afghan National Security Forces violate the people's rights?"
"It's not forgivable... Our Afghan people are not safe in their houses," he said. "Why should I blame foreigners?"
On the topic of the upcoming presidential election, Karzai flagged its importance to his own legacy, saying he wanted it to go smoothly as possible.
"I would have a better legacy if the election is a smooth process. I don't want people to judge me as troublemaker," he said.
"The election must happen -- free and fair. I will be an ex-president in 13 months."
He criticised foreign non-government organizations who made the last presidential election "more expensive" and warned that it would not be allowed to happen again.
"Our election should not be an income source for some foreign NGOs," he said.
Karzai called on the Afghan Taliban to be part of the political solution for Afghanistan.
"O Taliban, come and let's save our country!" He said, adding that he did not mind which political groups dealt with the Taliban as long as the High Peace Council led the grinding of the peace processor.
"Meet with the Taliban. I am fine. But let the peace council take care of the foreign aspect of the peace talks," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/08/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
suggested the country would be fine without foreign financial assistance.
until he pilfers the reserves on his way out the door
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/08/2013 10:13 Comments ||
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#2
The problem with Afghanistan is that the locals think he is talkinga about the US, UK, Spaniards, French, Swedes, and Italians.
When actually he is right the foreigners causing all of the problems. But the foreigners are Paks, Banglas, Iranians, Saudis, Etcs., of course there are a few UK and US foreigners causing problems but they wear towels around their heads instead of patrolling caps or Kevlar.
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
03/08/2013 12:34 Comments ||
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#3
I keep seeing Fred's annotation about the restaurant in Baltimore but isn't it Hamid's brother that is the restaurateur?
Posted by: Jack is Back! ||
03/08/2013 16:29 Comments ||
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[TOLONEWS] The controversial comments of Pak holy man Tahir Ashrafi in support of suicide kaboom indicate that the insurgency has religious backing, the National Coalition party said Thursday, warning that Afghanistan must adjust its policies accordingly.
Speaking at a gathering in Kabul, National Coalition member Mohammad Yunus Qanuni said the Pakistain-appointed holy man had proved that terrorism enjoys religious as well as political support.
"The words by the head of the Pakistain Ulema Council indicate that terrorism in Pakistain has political and religious support. We strongly condemn the statement," Qanuni said in a gathering in Kabul to observe International Women's Day on March 8.
The Coalition said the Afghan government must react, beginning with changes in policy such as that of releasing Taliban prisoners.
Last week, Ashrafi said in an interview with TOLOnews that Moslems were justified in "sacrificing their lives to Allah" as long as Afghanistan was "occupied" by US forces.
The statement was widely condemned, and Ashrafi later said he had been misunderstood.
The Pakistain Embassy in Afghanistan released a statement saying it was Ashrafi's personal opinion and not one condoned by the government. But the damage has been significant.
"It (Ashrafi's statement) has proven that terrorism enters Afghanistan from Pakistain," Qanuni said.
The release of Afghan Taliban prisoners from Pakistain's jails was a deal struck two months ago between the governments in an apparent hope that freedom would encourage the Talebs to negotiate for peace with the Afghan government.
Its impact appears to have fallen flat with most of the prisoners disappearing upon their release.
"Releasing these Taliban has no justification to us and will only be a cause of trouble," political analyst Mahmood Saiqal said Thursday.
National Coalition front man Sayed Aqa Fazel Sancharaki said Afghanistan needed a stronger, single policy towards Pakistain or it would continue to be pressured by outside forces.
"The lack of a focused policy by Afghanistan has allowed Pakistain to force its demands onto Afghanistan," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/08/2013 00:00 ||
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[TOLONEWS] Chief executive of New Kabul Bank Massoud Mossa Ghazi was sentenced on Thursday to three year's prison for helping an illegal money transfer to the former chairman of Kabul Bank Sherkhan Farnood.
The Kabul Bank special tribunal found Ghazi guilty of aiding the transfer of $5.8 million to a bank account of Farnood in Dubai on the night he was appointed CEO of New Kabul Bank in 2010.
The special court said that prosecution of court's decision will be the responsibility of the attorney general.
"Mossa Ghazi is sentenced to three-years prison and fined $5 million. The court has sent out the warrant but the attorney general should prosecute and imprison him," special court chief Shamsurrahman Shams said Thursday.
Mossa Ghazi has rejected the decision saying that the money transferred before he was named CEO of the government rescued Kabul Bank and said the money went to Farnood's account in Commerzbank of Dubai.
"The money were transferred the day before I was selected as chief between 6am and 10am into Sherkhan Farnood's account, so I don't have responsibility. There are documents at hand. The court decision is unfair," Ghazi said.
The special court decision comes two days after Farnood and former Kabul Bank chief executive Khalil Ferozi were sentenced to five-year prison terms for their part in the bank's near-collapse in 2010.
Another 19 former bank employees were all handed sentences of six month to five-year prison terms.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/08/2013 00:00 ||
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[Shabelle] Somali national government has struck a deal with Ahlu Sunna Wal Jama, a rival Sufi group to the other radical group of Al-Shabaab ... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda... which carries out terrorist attacks on both civilians and government supporters.
The treaty came as a high level delegation led by Somali Prime Minister is touring Galgadud region where Ahlu Sunna controls.
A meeting, which led to the signing of this new deal, was held in Abudwaq town and the government was represented in that meeting its interior and defence ministers while Ahlu Sunna was represented by two of its top leaders.
According to the treaty, Ahlu Suuna forces will be incorporated into the Somali national force.
Ahlu Sunna fought bloody struggle against Al-Shabaab in Somalia after the Al Qaeda inspired group destroyed and vandalized graves to some Suni leaders in Somalia.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/08/2013 00:00 ||
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[News24] French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian was in northeastern Mali on Thursday to meet French troops fighting Salafist tough guys, the ministry said.
He was to visit several cities, including the capital Bamako, and was due in the northern city of Gao at mid-day.
"I wanted to salute our soldiers... because it is here that fighting has been at its hardest," Le Drian said on La Belle France 24 television at the start of his visit.
Noting that two French soldiers had been killed in Mali's northern mountains in recent days, Le Drian said: "I want to pay homage to them and salute their comrades. I wanted to tell them that La Belle France is proud of its soldiers."
"The mission is not over," he said. "It is later that we will progressively withdraw to hand over to the African mission under the United Nations ...a lucrative dumping ground for the relatives of dictators and party hacks... ."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/08/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Can you imagine Obambi saying this kind of stuff?
The Fucking French, geez louise, the FRENCH are now talking like George Bush and Ronnie Reagan. Who would have thought.
And I bet you a dollar will get you a doughnut, he left the press pool cooling their heels at the airport. Fuck em, the media is a cancer on modern democracy, they are just completely leftists.
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
03/08/2013 12:57 Comments ||
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[MAGHAREBIA] The Malian government on Wednesday (March 6th) set up a reconciliation commission, AFP reported. The secular Touareg National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) is reportedly the only separatist movement with which Malian authorities are willing to negotiate.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/08/2013 00:00 ||
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[MAGHAREBIA] More than fifty Mauritanian scholars, imams, holy mans and government officials recently wrapped up a three day conference where they collaborated on ways to combat extremism.
The Mauritanian Ministry of Islamic Affairs with the Mauritanian Association of Ulemas concluded the training forum on February 20th in Nouadhibou, 450km north of Nouakchott.
The three-day forum focused on topics related to Islamic identity and the concept of the state from an Islamic perspective. In addition, it addressed the socio-economic dimension of state-building and the seriousness of extremism as it affects the entity of the nation.
Participants left the event with a number of recommendations, including the need to establish a zakat fund and increased promotion of justice in order combat extremism and fanaticism, AMI reported.
Other ideas included increased care for mosques and religious schools, and encouraging the involvement of women at such forums.
The event "called for a prominent role in guiding our youth and linking them with behaviour and ethics of the Islamic religion known for tolerance, openness and moderation, and rejection of all forms of violence and extremism", Islamic Affairs Ministry official Mohamed Hadi Ould Taleb said at the closing of the event.
The forum "made it possible to diagnose the basic ills of society from the point of view of the clergy", Association of Mauritanian Ulema Inspector General Bouna Omar Ly.
He also stressed on the other hand the issue of national unity and added that diagnosing these diseases and finding solutions for them would support the state in its development programs.
There was also discussion on the role women could play in confronting extremism, women's rights activist Salema Mint Cheikh said.
Although the recommendations did not provide a specific role that women could play, Cheik said that in general, women were better able to confront extremism.
"Women are the first school. If they were involved effectively, extremism would not have found its way to us," she said.
She added that most hard boyz were influenced by radical ideas because they were uneducated, and the vast majority who weren't influenced came from families that were literate.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/08/2013 00:00 ||
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[MAGHAREBIA] Algerian National Police Director-General Major General Abdelghani Hamel paid a working visit to the operational security installations in Bouira province on Wednesday (March 6th).
Hamel recognised the role played by the police force in protecting citizens while emphasising in the same context the mandatory need to address all forms of criminality in the Kabylie region.
Roughly 400 armed al-Qaeda beturbanned goons are still active in the Kabylie region, security officials announced last week.
The figure was released during a meeting focused on the assessment of security measures in the region to confront the gunnies deployed in the provinces of Boumerdès, Bouira and blood-stained Tizi Ouzou, Tout sur l'Algerie reported.
These areas constitute the most important strongholds of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
The sources pointed out that about 280 beturbanned goons out of the 400 in eastern Algeria were active in the province of Bouira, where hard boyz recently attacked a Djebahia gas pipeline. Roughly 73 beturbanned goons were in Boumerdès and 50 were in blood-stained Tizi Ouzou.
The latest terrorist attack in blood-stained Tizi Ouzou occurred on Monday when a soldier was maimed after a bomb went kaboom! in the Yakouren Forest. The kaboom took place during a sweep conducted by members of the Algerian army.
One day prior to the attack, army troops clashed with hard boyz at the southern entrance of the city of blood-stained Tizi Ouzou after a terrorist group opened fire on a security checkpoint.
Security affairs expert Kamal Al Hadef attributed the growth of hard boyz in the region to the "withdrawal of the gendarmes after the events of the Black Spring and the protests that defined the region years ago".
"These hard boyz pose a threat to the residents of the villages," retired military officer Tahar Ben Thamer said, noting that residents in the area became "victims of extortion of money and supplies after hard boyz lost their most important Emirs".
He added that they were operating in a "scattered manner after the after security forces and the army tightened the noose".
A report prepared by the blood-stained Tizi Ouzou Chamber of Industry and Commerce noted 71 cases of businesses leaving the province for reasons related to management difficulties hindering economic development as well as the security situation.
During a visit to the region last summer, Interior Minister Dahou Ould Kablia called for greater participation of local people in the fight against terrorism through co-ordination with the army and security forces.
"Terrorism has declined significantly," he said while stressing the need to continue the fight until its final elimination.
According to security analysts, targeting beturbanned goons deployed in the region would be a fatal blow to the organization.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/08/2013 00:00 ||
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[MAGHAREBIA] Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki on Wednesday (March 6th) voiced his determination to confront the problem of salafist hardliners, AFP reported.
"I want to continue talks with the traditionalist and reformist currents" of the salafist movement, Marzouki told El Khabar in an interview. "As for the armed current, we will fight it, [but] within the bounds of the law," he said.
In other security news, Tunisian Defence Minister Abdelkarim Zbidi announced on Tuesday that he had rejected a request from Prime Minister-designate Ali Larayedh to stay in his post.
"I cannot go on, as there is no clear roadmap for holding fresh elections in the best possible conditions and as quickly as possible," Zbidi told Nessma TV.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/08/2013 00:00 ||
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Salisbury - The US wants a drone base established in Afrika to complement the activities of the 3,500 troops that it will deploy to the continent this year.
The troops -- to be deployed to 35 Afrikaan countries ‑ will come from the 2nd Brigade's Heavy Combat Team of the First Infantry Division, according to the Pentagon, America's apex military headquarters.
Indications are that the drone base will most likely be in Niger, while another possible site is Burkina Faso.
The US already has a permanent military base in Djibouti, and it has been revealed that The Seychelles -- a SADC member state --already gave America facilities to launch Reaper drones from its territory for attacks on Somalia as far back as 2009, along with Ethiopia.
The Seychelles left SADC in 2004, applied to rejoin in 2008 and was by 2009 allegedly hosting the American military, with that country's President, James Michel, reportedly even wanting to hold "some kind of appropriate ceremony ... for the first flights".
#1
We can save a LOT of money in reduced logistics costs by moving away from fixed ground support sites to an orbital bombardment strategy. We're already tracking orbiting debris. Just need a little nudge on occasion.
#2
Fixed ground support sites enable the indigenous interaction necessary for prolonged USAID integration, socialization, and nation building. Without our help, birth rates will steadily rise and cooking fires will continue to pollute the atmosphere. Intercession in these vital global areas of concern is our obligation.
[News24] Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan ... 14th President of Nigeria. He was Governor of Bayelsa State from 9 December 2005 to 28 May 2007, and was sworn in as Vice President on 29 May 2007. Jonathan is a member of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP). He is a lover of nifty hats, which makes him easily recognizable unless someone else in the room is wearing a neat chapeau... arrived in the region at the heart of a deadly Islamist insurgency on Thursday for his first visit to the restive northeastern area since winning 2011 elections.
Jonathan landed in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state and considered the home base of Islamist beturbanned goons Boko Haram ... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality... , and travelled on by helicopter to neighbouring Yobe state, also hit by repeated attacks.
Security was tight, with soldiers stationed along roads and movement restricted. He is due to return to Maiduguri later Thursday for a visit that will extend into Friday.
"The president arrived in Damaturu around noon aboard a helicopter from Maiduguri," Abdullahi Bego, front man for the Yobe state governor, told AFP, referring to the capital of the state.
The visit comes with Jonathan facing political pressure to visit the northeast, wracked by scores of bombings and shootings blamed on Boko Haram. The military has been accused of major abuses in response to the insurgency.
It is also the region where seven members of a French family were believed taken after being kidnapped on February 19 just over the border in Cameroon. They remain held by the abductors and their whereabouts are unknown.
There have been growing calls for Jonathan, a Christian from the southern oil-producing Niger Delta region, to visit the area.
A group of opposition state governors visited Maiduguri last week, drawing further attention to Jonathan's absence there.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/08/2013 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] President Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi Thursday urged Yemen's army and security forces brass to be vigilant in case enemies of the state try to undermine a national dialogue set to begin later this month.
The army and security forces must be "vigilant" and on the lookout "for the enemies of security, stability and unity in Yemen," ahead of the March 18 national dialogue, the official Saba news agency reported him as saying.
"All military and security apparatus must draft the necessary plans, exchange information, unite operations and monitor terrorist elements," Hadi said.
The much-anticipated national dialogue aims to set in motion a process to draft a new constitution and electoral law for parliamentary and presidential polls elections in 2014.
The talks were originally planned for mid-November but the conference was delayed after factions in the Southern Movement, which has campaigned for autonomy or secession for the formerly independent south, refused to join in.
Hadi was elected in February 2012 as part of a U.N.-backed Gulf-brokered exit deal that eased veteran president President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it... out of office after 33 years in power, and ended a year of protests against his regime.
The dialogue, which is stipulated in the Gulf initiative, "is a historic responsibility at a delicate moment during which Yemen is facing security, political and economic crises," Hadi said on Thursday.
He also warned of "severe measures" against anyone who tries to undermine the talks.
Meanwhile, ...back at the argument, Jane reached into her purse for her .38... General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, a key figure who backed demands by demonstrators for the ouster of Saleh during the 2011 protests, urged military and civilian forces to rally around the dialogue and back Hadi's efforts.
Ahmar told Agence La Belle France Presse this was necessary to secure Yemen's stability and set up "a modern, civilian and democratic state" in the impoverished Arabian Peninsula country.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/08/2013 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] The government is scrutinising the laws to ban Jamaat-Shibir, as their terrorist and hard boy activities have wreaked havoc across the country, said Foreign Minister Dipu Moni yesterday.
"There have been strong demands from different quarters for banning the politics of Jamaat and its student wing Shibir," she said.
Briefing foreign diplomats at the her ministry in the evening on the recent violence and atrocities by Jamaat-Shibir and their allies, Dipu Moni said the government was not thinking of deploying army to tackle the ongoing violence.
She said the government was also investigating whether there was any funding for the terror acts.
Diplomats from around 40 countries attended the meeting. Sources said ambassadors and high commissioners of Russia, Canada, the UK and the Philippines raised several questions on the ongoing situation.
Talking to news hounds after the diplomatic briefing, the foreign minister said the diplomats had enquired mainly about three things -- plan to ban Jamaat, possibility of army deployment and funding behind violence and its source.
On deployment of army, she said, "It seems the situation does not require it. But the government will take whatever steps necessary to protect the lives and property of the people."
Dipu Moni said the foreign diplomas while asking the questions implied that there had been a huge funding behind the Jamaat-Shibir violence and if so, what had been the source, and also whether the government was investigating that.
"There have already been a lot of discussions on the matter in public domain and some independent researchers are working on it," she added.
Emerging from the briefing, German Ambassador Albrecht Conze expressed grave concern over the loss of lives and property.
"The loss of innocent lives and public and private property is a matter of great regret," he said, adding, "In the rundown of election in 10 months, I don't know how this country can sustain, as in the coming months 10 verdicts and 13 appeals will happen. If the appeals are rejected, there will be more violence."
The German ambassador said constitutionally available options were the best way to resolve the problems.
British High Commissioner Robert Gibson also expressed worry about countrywide violence and deaths.
Meanwhile briefing the diplomats, the foreign minister hoped that the international community would appreciate a new paradigm being set by Bangladesh to conduct the trials of 1971 war criminals and a strong sense of national ownership.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/08/2013 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] The Suhrawardy Udyan, formerly Race Course Maidan where Bangabandhu delivered his historic March 7 speech, reverberated with anti-Razakar slogans yesterday.
On the day in 1971, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman announced to the thunderous roars of hundreds of thousands: "The struggle this time is for emancipation. The struggle this time is for independence."
Forty-two years after that independence was won, the Shahbagh demonstrators on the same ground declared the struggle this time was to rid the country of Razakar and Jamaat-Shibir.
Marking March 7, the protesters held the rally at the Shikha Chirantan at Suhrawardy Udyan yesterday, the 31st day of the movement.
Once again, demonstrators urged the countrymen to resist Jamaat-Shibir in every neighbourhood.
"March 7 is the inspiration of our sprit of unity and a guideline for our struggle.... Driven by this inspiration, we will continue our movement until our demands are met," said Imran H Sarker, spokesperson for the protest that began on February 5 demanding capital punishment to all war criminals.
Marking the International Women's Day today, the protesters will organise a Nari Jagoron Samabesh (rally for awakening women) at the Shahbagh intersection, now popularly known as Projonmo Chattar.
Imran called upon the women of different walks of life to join the rally and urged the garment owners and other organizations to allow a few hours' leave for all women employees to join the rally.
The organisers will today announce the date, time and venues of rallies to be held in divisional cities outside Dhaka. Also, the deadline for the mass signature campaign has been extended till March 22. So far, 4.5 lakh signatures have been registered.
Like in previous rallies, Imran administered an oath to the protesters, who vowed to continue the movement until their demands are met.
Criticising the filing of a case against Imran over "disgracing the national flag", Bangladesh Chhatra Moitree President Bappadittya Bashu said, "Nothing happens when Jamaat-Shibir men burn the national flag down. But when we call for hoisting the flag, it is denigration of it."
Demonstrators also slammed Jatiya Party ...aka Jatiya Front; a political party established by Bangladictator Lieutenant General Hussain Muhammad Ershad in 1986 to lend a veneer of respectability to his rule. Since nobody was amused he was forced to resign by popular demand in 1990. The party remains in existence with about a dozen seats in Bangla's parliament... Chairman and former autocrat HM Ershad for giving "negative" comments about the Shahbagh movement.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/08/2013 00:00 ||
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Posted by: Barbara ||
03/08/2013 8:31 Comments ||
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#7
My real fear Barbara is what ideas this will give Zero.
He's already decided that the Constitution means what HE says it means. What will happen when he decides that he can run for re-election again and again and again just like his idol 'ugo?
#10
He may want, but enough of his own party won't support such openly lawless behaviour. Besides, they're already talking up Hillary Clinton. Posted by trailing wife
I'd hesitate before going "all in" on that one TW.
#11
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is busting at the seams to run for president in 2016, I would expect him to make "the one" an offer he can't refuse.
By the way TW, that's Brujo, not bruja. Wizard, not witch-there is a difference.
#12
Back in the good old days of US brinksmanship diplomacy, we would have done pretty much the same thing but it would be his HEAD on a plaque on the wall of either J F Dulles or his brother Allen, I don't know if Ronnie would have done it but I know he pretty much had the same attitude about lefty dictators in South American...
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
03/08/2013 12:37 Comments ||
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#13
Besoeker, I agree with your warning. "His" party has gone along with so much openly lawless behavior on his part that I wouldn't put anything past them.
He may want, but enough of his own party won't support such openly lawless behaviour.
HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Aw, man, that's the funniest thing I've heard all day!
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
03/08/2013 12:39 Comments ||
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#15
I was hoping they had a urinal trough filled with ice
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/08/2013 13:59 Comments ||
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#16
By the way TW, that's Brujo, not bruja. Wizard, not witch-there is a difference.
My apologies, BrujoTejano. Is it only a male/female thing, or are there different skills or areas of interest involved? And please remind me, as my memory seems more porous than usual today, how I happened to make that error.
#17
He may want, but enough of his own party won't support such openly lawless behaviour.
I agree 100%. I think there are plenty of people of good faith who still vote Dem, and just haven't been kicked in the nads hard enough yet.
Plus - I've made this point before - Obozo is just too lazy, because he thinks the presidency is his birthright. "The one we have been waiting for," as he put it himself in 2008. He sees himself as the pre-ordained, inevitable apex of the Hegelian dialectic. He knows his minions will bust their humps, and expects them to. But as for himself, Obama believes that just being Obama is enough.
From being elected president of Harvard Law Review to winning re-election in 2012, every position he's lucked into has only reinforced that delusion. Being a dictator is hard work, requiring significant personal effort that Obozo just doesn't have in him. I think the very idea would shock him. Much more likely that he'll concoct a self-serving narrative about how he gave his all for 8 years to an ungovernable country that just wasn't ready for his messianic genius, and then go find a nice comfy crowd of fawning boot-lickers on the lecture circuit.
They are getting pretty yappy even by their own bellicose standards...
SEOUL, March 8 -- North Korea said Friday that it will sever its emergency hot line with Seoul and nullify non-aggression agreements between the two countries, amid escalating tensions over the North's nuclear test last month.
"The DPRK abrogates all agreements on nonaggressions reached between the North and the South," the North's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea, a propaganda organ against the South, said in an English statement carried by the North's Korean Central News Agency. "The DPRK will close the Panmunjom liaison channel between the North and the South."
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/08/2013 14:14 ||
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#1
SK should, immediately on the NORKS nullification of the non-aggression agreement, open up on the defenses of NORK and push the border 1 mile or so north.
Whether or not they announce their intentions before the nullification is up to them.
#3
Just move a lot of air assets in, start dropping chaff, and force the Norks to put their own air up. One, it'll burn a lot of fuel the Norks really don't have. Two, it'll cause a lot of 'hanger queens' to crash. IIRC this what Ford executed with the axe murdering incident; the air force was deployed, which included B-52 bomber flights over Panmunjom.
[An Nahar] The United States said Thursday it was "fully capable" of defending itself and its allies against any North Korean missile strike, after Pyongyang threatened to launch a nuclear attack.
The U.S. military could deal with any such attack, U.S. officials said, repeating earlier warnings that North Korea would gain nothing by provocations, while stressing they took its threats seriously.
"I can tell you that the United States is fully capable of defending against any North Korean ballistic missile attack," said White House front man Jay Carney.
"Our recent success in returning to testing of the upgraded version of the so-called GBI or the CE-II missile will keep us on a good trajectory to improve our defense capability against limited ballistic missile threats."
Before the U.N. Security Council voted to impose tough new sanctions on North Korea over its February 12 nuclear test, Pyongyang earlier threatened a "pre-emptive" nuclear strike against the United States.
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Washington was taking the threats seriously, but "extreme rhetoric has not been unusual for this regime."
"You have to take a government at its word when it makes these kinds of threats, which is why we are making clear that we have not only full defensive capability for the United States but that we're prepared to defend our allies," she added.
Nuland also urged Pyongyang to give up a threat to scrap the 1953 armistice agreement that ended the Korean War.
North Korea announced on Tuesday that it would "completely declare invalid" the agreement from March 11 in response to tougher U.N. sanctions, theoretically removing the only barrier to a resumption of full hostilities.
Nuland refused to say whether that would leave the U.S. technically at war again with North Korea.
"There are obviously legal procedures and ways that this would have to actually be implemented if the DPRK were looking to pull out of it," she said, referring to the North's official name.
She stressed, though, that "this armistice has been one of the underpinnings of peace and security on the Korean Peninsula, so we would obviously urge that this not be the direction that we go." Korean War Timeline:
June 25, 1950: North Korea crosses the 38th Parallel, invading South Korea.
June 26, 1950: North Korea's tanks reach the outskirts of Seoul.
June 27, 1950: Truman commits US Naval and Air support to South Korea.
June 30, 1950: Truman and advisers agree to give MacArthur 2 divisions.
July 2, 1950: NKPA (North Korean People's Army) takes Suwon.
September 15, 1950: With US/UN/ROK forces pushed back nearly to the end of the Korean peninsula, MacArthur launches the Inchon Invasion.
September 27, 1950: Walker's Eighth Army makes contact with X Corps. MacArthur gives OK for US forces to cross the 38th Parallel.
October 9, 1950: US Army crosses 38TH Parallel near Kaesong.
October 19, 1950: US forces occupy Pyongyang
October 24, 1950: MacArthur orders his troops into Korea's northernmost provinces.
November 1, 1950: First US vs. Communist Chinese fighting at Unsan
Posted by: Fred ||
03/08/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
I'm certain it is, but my Maha-Rushian questionne' du jour is whether the TAIWAN GOVT. + US is ready iff the Motherly PLA Airborne, etc. decide to drop in on Taiwan in massive conventional first-strike + follow-on???
Lest we fergit, CHINA = MASSIVE OR PROHIBITIVE PLA CASUALTIES, ETC. IS "MEH" = ALREADY
"FACTORED IN" when it comes to finally having DE FACTO sovereign or military control of Taiwan.
#2
"I can tell you that the United States is fully capable of defending against any North Korean ballistic missile attack," said White House front man Jay Carney.
Wasn't a Carney the guy that dragged the Rubes into the freakshow at the circus?
#3
FREEREPUBLIC > [Yonhap News[ NORTH KOREA GENERAL SAYS PYONGYANG HAS NUCLEAR-TIPPED ICBMS ON STANDBY.
I can't seem to get ordinary Net access this afternoon to Chinese, Japanese, or Korean News Blogs irregardless of search engine - I could be wrong, BUT IT WOULD APPEAR THAT MILITARY? NEWS CONTROL/CENSORSHIP IS NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE???
I think we should ATTACK, just carpet bomb the crap out of the presidential compound and the suburbs where the elites and the military nobility live and then sit back and watch what happens.
You cut the head off this mess and the peasants would be more than willing to accept another form of government. I also seriously doubt if ALL of the military are raring to go to preserve the atrocities of the government.
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
03/08/2013 12:40 Comments ||
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#10
Lest we forget, it was the UN that forbid us from bombing or attacking Manchuria when the ChiComs had 1.5 million guys camping in the freaking open along the Yalu River. We could have ended all of this crap in 1950 if Truman and the UN had the stomach to put an end to it right then. We're still fighting the Korean War...not slapping down China in 50 gave them carte blanche to do what ever they wanted in Asia, Viet Nam, Cambodia, Laos, the crap in Burma ALL was an off shoot of our faint hearted actions in Korea.
Two divisions? we should have brought the entire weight of the world down on the Norks in 50 and let everyone know we were not ever going to mess around with their behavior.
Same for today, Clinton's sissiness with terrorism has put us in the constant brush fire fighting we do today. We are up to our butt in all of this because we enable it when we do not use our POWER. These people only respect POWER.
And if we have a nuke attack from Iran, blame Nork, if we have one from Nork, you can thank the IAEA's limp-dicked approach to ending nuclear proliferation.
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
03/08/2013 12:48 Comments ||
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#11
It's always this way, Bill Clinton.
Look at FDR's limp wristed approach to Hitler in the 1930's. Everybody knew that Hitler was violating the treaties that ended WWI but nobody (except Churchill) said anything about it. So instead of slapping Hitler down in 1933 or '34 we waited until it became WWII, the Russian front, Pearl Harbor and the Holocaust. We never seem to learn that people like Pudgy and his Chinese puppet masters never stop pushing until somebody pushes back. The danger now is that we have waited too long, the Chinese have gotten stronger and we have gotten weaker.
Yesterday I suggested that we nuke Pudgy. Maybe that's rash. Maybe carpet bombing Pyongyang and the NORK nuke sites would be better. I'll leave that for the generals. But I doubt that our current POTUS has the gravitas or the international support to pull off such an attack. Almost certainly he lacks the will. This is very dangerous and only goes to show what a mistake the American people made when they elected Obama.
Sanctions won't work. They never have. No matter what they say in the UN the Chinese will continue to support their little lap dog.
I do believe it is time to demonstrate to the NORKS and the Chinese that we will push back when they've gone too far and I believe they have now gone too far. For a little prick like Pudgy to threaten my country with a nuclear attack is going too far. If he was waving a pistol around on a street and making statements like that I would certainly want to shoot him first instead of attempting to find out whether or not his pistol was loaded. Why take chances? It is time to smack him back. It won't get any easier if we wait.
The UN Security Council unanimously passed strongly worded tougher sanctions against North Korea on Thursday in response to the North's latest nuclear test. The resolution tightens financial sanctions and mandates checks on North Korean cargo.
Someone, I can't remember who, in the comments a day or two asked a perfectly reasonable question: why in the world have we not already passed the toughest sanctions known to humankind against the Norks? Why pussy-foot around? Is there a reason why we'd tighten the thumbscrew slowly? Bring out the number seven truncheon already and be done with it.
In Seoul, meanwhile, diplomatic and security officials meet Friday to discuss responses to any North Korean provocation that may be triggered by the decision.
The new resolution, which now goes to a UN plenary session, prohibits North Korea from opening accounts in overseas banks if the money "could contribute to [North Korea's] nuclear or ballistic missile programs." It also bans foreign banks from opening branches in the North.
It also makes it mandatory to inspect ships and air planes carrying cargo to and from North Korea, and to monitor illicit activities by North Korean diplomats and the transfer of illegal funds by the North. Two more North Korean entities and three individuals are to have their assets frozen and face a travel ban. All 193 member countries of the UN will have to abide by the resolution.
North Korea responded by threatening to exercise it "right to preemptive nuclear strikes" in order to protect its interests and accused the U.S. of provoking a nuclear war.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/08/2013 00:00 ||
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Gen. James Thurman, the commander of the U.S. Forces Korea, expressed worries on Thursday over North Korea's threat to scrap the armistice that halted the 1950-1953 Korean War.
"It concerns me when any signatory to a mutual agreement makes a public statement contrary to that agreement," he told reporters.
The North had earlier threatened to turn Seoul and Washington into a "sea of fire" and "wave its flag" on the ridge of Mt. Halla.
Thurman apparently decided to issue a statement of his own following the lead of the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, who warned the previous day they will "strongly and sternly" strike the "starting point, its supporting forces and command" if the North attempts a provocation.
Thurman said, "We remain ready to defend the Republic of Korea."
A military source said the statement sends a warning to the North that if it provokes, South Korea and the U.S. will respond together."
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/08/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
"It concerns me when any signatory to a mutual agreement makes a public statement contrary to that agreement," he told reporters.
What world has this guy been living in the last 50 years?
[WSJ] The U.S. seized a son-in-law of the late Osama bin Laden ... who is now neither a strong horse nor a weak horse, but a dead horse... who once served as an al Qaeda front man and flew him to New York to face trial, an antiterrorism coup that casts light on the group's murky relationship with Iran.
Click his name to see stories on him in the Rantburg archive dating back to 2002.
who was captured in Jordan, has been talking to Federal Bureau of Investigation agents for several days in New York City, according to multiple people familiar with the case. He was captured after leaving Iran, which has sheltered remnants of the global terror group.
The Justice Department on Thursday unsealed an indictment charging him with conspiring to kill Americans, and he is set to appear in federal court in Manhattan Friday morning. He faces a life sentence if convicted.
Mr. Abu Ghaith's arrival in the city where al Qaeda faceless myrmidons killed nearly 3,000 people on Sept. 11, 2001 marked what may be the final stop in an odyssey that took him from his native Kuwait to Afghanistan by the side of his father-in-law and, around 2002, to Iran.
U.S. officials believe that Iran last year gave new freedoms, including the option to leave the country, to Mr. Abu Ghaith and other members of what was known as al Qaeda's management council in Iran. He was tossed in the clink Drop the rod and step away witcher hands up! in Ankara, Turkey, last month on suspicion of entering that country with a false passport.
Turkey didn't turn Mr. Abu Ghaith over to U.S. authorities, as Washington had initially wanted but instead decided to deport him to Kuwait via Jordan, officials said. U.S. operatives then captured him in Jordan, which has worked closely with the U.S. in hunting terrorists, they said.
The suspect was flown to New York by the FBI last week, and he has been talking to interrogators since, said the people familiar with the case. Officials decided to file charges against him after he stopped cooperating.
George Venizelos, head of the FBI's New York office, described Mr. Abu Ghaith's position in al Qaeda as "comparable to the consigliere in a mob family or propaganda minister in a totalitarian regime."
The next morning [after 9/11] , Mr. Abu Ghaith appeared with bin Laden and the al Qaeda leader's then-deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri ... Formerly second in command of al-Qaeda, now the head cheese, occasionally described as the real brains of the outfit. Formerly the Mister Big of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Bumped off Abdullah Azzam with a car boom in the course of one of their little disputes. Is thought to have composed bin Laden's fatwa entitled World Islamic Front Against Jews and Crusaders. Currently residing in the North Wazoo area. That is not a horn growing from the middle of his forehead, but a prayer bump, attesting to how devout he is... After the videos appeared, Kuwait stripped him of citizenship.
Iran has provided sanctuary in effect to several senior al Qaeda leaders over the years, said Mr. Jones. Some al Qaeda operatives fled to Iran when the U.S. opened its Afghan offensive in 2001.
Since then, these operatives have used their Iranian beachhead to communicate, move money and recruit members, Mr. Jones said. Some lower-level al Qaeda operatives also are believed to be in Iran. Why Mr. Abu Ghaith went to Turkey isn't clear.
[Dawn] Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani ... four star general, current Chief of Army Staff of the Mighty Pak Army. Kayani is the former Director General of ISI... conveyed to President Asif Ali Ten Percent Zardari ... husband of the late Benazir Bhutto, who has been singularly lacking in curiosity about who done her in ... on Thursday the military's concerns over the rapidly deteriorating law and order and called for urgent steps to deal with the situation.
Soon after a corps commanders' conference, where the military's top brass reviewed the internal security situation, the army chief met President Zardari to communicate the disquiet among his commanders about the security situation spiralling out of control.
No details of the meeting were officially revealed either by the army or the presidency.
A one-line statement on the meeting issued by the presidency said: "Chief of Army Staff Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani today called on President Asif Ali Zardari at Aiwan-e-Sadr. Security situation was discussed during the meeting."
A day earlier, the army chief had visited Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... for a briefing on the situation in the city where sectarianism has added a new dimension to continuing violence.
Sources in the presidency said the discussion revolved around recent incidents in Quetta and Karachi and an operation against the banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi ... a 'more violent' offshoot of Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistain. LeJ's purpose in life is to murder anyone who's not of utmost religious purity, starting with Shiites but including Brelvis, Ahmadis, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Rosicrucians, and just about anyone else you can think of. They are currently a wholly-owned subsidiary of al-Qaeda ...
They claimed that Gen Kayani had spoken about improper and inefficient utilisation of civilian law-enforcement agencies by the federal and provincial governments in dealing with terrorism.
Gen Kayani has in the past publicly expressed concern ...meaning the brow was mildly wrinkled, the eyebrows drawn slightly together, and a thoughtful expression assumed, not that anything was actually done or indeed that any thought was actually expended... s over the poor performance of law-enforcement agencies.
He also pointed out the existence of myrmidon wings of certain political parties and connections of some parties with terrorist groups as a major contributing factor to the wave of violence that has gripped the country.
Gen Kayani is said to have reiterated the army's commitment to fully supporting the civilian law-enforcement agencies if asked by the government.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/08/2013 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] The corps commanders held a meeting at the Army General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi on Thursday under the leadership of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Pervaiz Kayani ... four star general, current Chief of Army Staff of the Mighty Pak Army. Kayani is the former Director General of ISI...
The conference at the General Headquarters (GHQ) was discussing the country's internal security situation along with professional matters pertaining to the armed forces.
"Apart from professional military matters, the meeting under took a comprehensive review of internal and external security environment of the country," said a statement released by the military's public relations wing.
Sources told DawnNews the military leadership was given a special briefing on the law and order situation in the cities of Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... and Quetta.
The meeting follows General Kayani's visit to Karachi a day earlier during which he was briefed on the security situation in the country's financial capital.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/08/2013 00:00 ||
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The Hamas and Islamic Jihad terror groups threatened on Friday that a visit by U.S. President Barack Obama to the Temple Mount during his upcoming visit to Israel will be a declaration of war on the Arab and the Islamic world.
What was it the last time he visited?
2008, while he was running for president. He even stopped by Sderot, and claimed to understand why it upset the Israelis so.
A Hamas representative in the Al-Aqsa mosque, Mushir al-Masri, even called for a third intifada (uprising) and for Egyptian assistance in the "resistance" if Obama chooses to visit the Temple Mount.
Can we drone-zap Mushir? Maybe call him an honorary American if it helps?
According to the Bethlehem-based Ma'an news agency, the Gaza-based terrorist organizations made the threats during a protest march on Friday over the riots that broke out earlier in the day on the Temple Mount.
According to the report, Khalid al-Batash, a senior Islamic Jihad member, also called to prevent Obama from visiting the compound.
Obama will be arriving in the region later this month, and PA media has been widely speculating that he plans to visit the site of the Al-Aqsa mosque. However, Washington is not planning such a visit.
Political and religious leaders in the Palestinian Authority have stressed that Obama should not visit the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in a way that might compromise what they called its "Muslim sovereignty."
Sheikh Akrameh Sabri, head of the higher Islamic council and former Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, said that Obama must enter through a gate that was not under Israeli auspices.
"Any visitor is welcome to Al-Aqsa, but they should follow the regulations of the Waqf and enter through the Lions' Gate and not through Mughrabi Gate, to ensure Muslim sovereignty," he said.
Israel liberated the Temple Mount during the 1967 Six Day War, leaving the Waqf in charge of the compound.
#2
now if he doesn't visit, he looks even more like an anti-semite paleo appeaser. Good for his loser base. Bad for a US President. Par for his course. Fore!
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/08/2013 20:36 Comments ||
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[NEWS.BLOGS.CNN] One of the leaders of a clan from the southern Philippines called for a ceasefire Thursday amid deadly festivities in the Malaysian state of Sabah between armed clan members and Malaysian security forces.
The call for the ceasefire was made at a news conference in Manila by Abraham Idjirani, the front man for one of the leaders of the Sultanate of Sulu, a now defunct kingdom in the southern Philippines whose followers arrived in a remote corner of Sabah last month and claimed illusory sovereignty over the area.
After failing to persuade the scores of clan members to leave peacefully, Malaysian security forces launched an offensive using fighter jets and mortar shells on Tuesday. But the clan's leadership said its followers hadn't suffered casualties from the attack.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/08/2013 00:00 ||
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In a stark illustration of how the Syrian civil war has the potential to end decades of calm in its neighbors as well, eight United Nations peacekeepers working in the demilitarized zone between Israel and Syria abandoned their posts today, saying they "feared for their lives."
Haaretz reports that the eight soldiers are in the same battalion as the 21 Filipino peacekeepers who were captured by Syrian rebels Wednesday. The captured UN peacekeepers were taken near the Syrian town of Jamlah, less than a mile from the border and the site of fierce fighting between regime and rebel troops. The rebels say they are holding the peacekeepers until Syrian Army troops leave the area around Jamlah.
[An Nahar] Military Examining Magistrate Fadi Sawan asked for the death penalty against a Hizbullah member in the attempted liquidation of Batroun MP Butros Harb.
Sawan's request against Mahmoud al-Hayek, who hasn't surrendered to police, came in an indictment he issued Thursday.
He also issued an arrest warrant against him and referred the file to the permanent military court for trial.
State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr asked on Wednesday for a sentence of life in prison with hard labor for al-Hayek who has been charged with the liquidation attempt on Harb last year and with carrying out acts of terror.
Harb, a March 14 opposition politician, escaped the liquidation bid after residents of a building in which his office is located in the Beirut district of Badaro discovered individuals trying to booby-trap the elevator.
A string of high-level liquidations struck Leb between 2004 and 2008, targeting political, media and security figures who vocally opposed the Syrian government, including former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri who was killed in a powerful boom-mobile blast in February 2005.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/08/2013 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.
[TOLONEWS] Chief executive of New Kabul Bank Massoud Mossa Ghazi was sentenced on Thursday to three year's prison for helping an illegal money transfer to the former chairman of Kabul Bank Sherkhan Farnood.
[Shabelle] Somali national government has struck a deal with Ahlu Sunna Wal Jama, a rival Sufi group to the other radical group of A
Salisbury - The US wants a drone base established in Afrika to complement the activities of the 3,500 troops that it will deploy to the continent this year.
Goodluck Jonathan
[Bangla Daily Star] The government is scrutinising the laws to ban Jamaat-Shibir, as their terrorist and
North Korea
[WSJ] The U.S. seized a son-in-law of 
Zawahiri
President Asif Ali 
[Dawn] The corps commanders held a meeting at the Army General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi on Thursday under the leadership of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Pervaiz 
