[An Nahar] U.S. Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State... warned Thursday of a risk of genocide in South Sudan if the country's four-month-old civil war is not stopped.
"There are very disturbing leading indicators of the kind of ethnic, tribal, targeted nationalistic killings taking place that raise serious questions," Kerry told news hounds.
"Were they to continue in the way they've been going (they) could really present a very serious challenge to the international community with respect to the questions of genocide," he added.
Fears of both genocide and famine in war-torn South Sudan dominated Kerry's agenda Thursday, one day after arriving in Æthiopia to launch an Africa tour focusing on the continent's most brutal conflicts.
"Those who are responsible for assassinations based on ethnicity or nationality have to be brought to justice, and we are actively considering sanctions against those who commit human rights ...which are often intentionally defined so widely as to be meaningless... violations and obstruct humanitarian assistance," he said.
Outrage is mounting over the scale of killings, with both government forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and rebels backing ex-vice president Riek Machar implicated in massacres, rapes, attacks on U.N. bases and recruiting child soldiers.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/02/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
I'm sure the esteemed Secretary will be just as effective in this African endeavor as he has been with the Mid-East.
[ALLAFRICA] A Senator from Taraba State, Emmanuel Bwacha, on Wednesday raised a fresh alarm on "a strange helicopter" that "had been dropping strange armed personnel and equipment in the Dakar area of the state".
He said the development has heightened fears among the residents.
Bwacha spoke during Senate plenary under a Point of Order.
He, therefore, urged the Federal Government and the military authorities to move to the area immediately to flush out suspected "turbans before they establish another Sambisa camp in Taraba State".
"I want to say that our attention has been drawn to suspicious movements and activities around Dakar in Taraba State and it is believed also that a helicopter is dropping materials and personnel around the place.
"We fear that this may be another Sambisa that is in the making in Taraba State. I recall that sometimes in December, our colleague, Senator Alkali Jajare, drew our attention to the fact that what is happening in Yobe and Borno states could spread to other states of the federation not only in the North East.
"What has happened in my constituency appears to be a confirmation of what our colleague had drawn our attention to," the Senator told his colleagues.
Bwacha recalled that members of the Taraba State House of Assembly have already passed a resolution, "which appears to have been an expression of lack of confidence of the capacity of the state to contain the crisis".
He said the state politicians had subsequently called on the Federal Government to take over the security of the state.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/02/2014 00:00 ||
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[Ynet] The Kingdom unveils missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads purchased from China; but while Israel used to be Saudi's main target, Riyadh and Jerusalem now have a common enemy - Iran.
Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... showcased its new ballistic missiles in the country's military parade on Thursday. The Chinese-made Dongfeng-3 missiles have a range of up to 3,300 kilometers and are armed with nuclear warheads.
In the past, sources voiced concern that the Saudi missile's main target is Israel, but due to the growing strategic rivalry between the Riyadh and Tehran, Iran has become the primary enemy.
"Israel is no longer the topic of choice, we are looking at a dramatic step meant first and foremost to deter Iran," said Tal Inbar, the head of center for space studies at the Fisher Institute in Herzliya -- which has been tracking the missile arsenals of Middle Eastern governments.
"The Saudis want to clarify to the US -- with which they've disagreed over talks with Iran -- that, if necessary, they have the ability to unilaterally deal with Tehran," he said.
The Dongfeng-3 missiles, outdated by Chinese standards, were recently revealed at a military parade in their launchers. While the missiles were sold to Saudi Arabia with conventional warheads, they are capable of carrying nuclear payloads, if the Islamic kingdom purchases such weapons in the future.
#2
Can't they buy the nuke warheads from the Pakis? Would they even have to buy it? Don't the Pakis owe them? Haven't they already threatened to do so? Or, what if they already have?
#3
Furthermore, how do you get the Iranians to agree to shut down their nuke program when the Soddies are threatening them? Thank you, Bush. Thank you, Obama, for dithering all these years while Iran destabilized and upset the strategic balance in the Middle East with their nuke program.
#5
I have heard from several people that are considered experts in their field that they believe the first nuclear exchange will happen in the Middle East. And it will be between Arab/Islamic powers.
I have seen little to dissuade me from that train of thought.
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/02/2014 12:43 Comments ||
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#7
If the prevailing winds in that part of the world blow from west to east then at least we can look forward to Russia and China getting the brunt of the fallout.
#8
Way to go Hillary and Obama - your foreign policy failures have pushed the Saudis into acquiring long ranged missiles, and likely the nuclear warheads to go on them.
Not a fucking peep from the US press on this massive failure, and its impact on the stability of the region.
The Saudis certainly have no nuclear warheads just lying around. On the other hand, I have no doubt that there are some warheads in a WSA in Pakistan that have their shipping paperwork all filled out. If the Iranians announced a successful test on Monday, the Saudi missiles would have warheads on them by Thursday night.
And hoo boy, would Friday prayers be interesting.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
05/02/2014 20:09 Comments ||
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#10
Oldspook: they've had those missiles for a long while. Ordered in 1987, and delivered in 1988.
#11
I think Old Spook is referring to the failures of Hillary and Obama have emboldened anyone with the means of snapping the USA in the snout.
This is the first time, since their 1988 purchase, the Saudi's have acted upon a desire to demonstrate, in a very public way, their positive relationship with the ChiComs.
[TheBlaze] What Secrets Lie Within 27 Boxes of New 9/11 Documents Discovered in Florida?
The FBI probe that is the focus of the Freedom of Information lawsuit investigated a Saudi family with ties to the Royal Family and apparent connections to some of the 9/11 hijackers, including ringleader Mohamed Atta, and former Broward resident and currently suspected al Qaeda leader Adnan Shukrijumah.
The investigation began after neighbors in the upscale south Sarasota gated community of Prestancia called authorities to report that Abulaziz al-Hijji and his wife, Anoud, had suddenly moved out of their home two weeks before 9/11, leaving behind cars, furniture, clothing and food in the kitchen.
Sources have said agents later found gatehouse logs and photographs of license tags and phone records, showing that Atta, Shukrijumah and others had visited the al-Hijji's home.
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
05/02/2014 12:07 ||
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[The Nation (Pak)] Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) said today that "talks and war cannot go together" and that they were ready to face any situation.
"The government on one hand says it wants the dialogue but on the other it has adopted the policy of threats," said Taliban spokesperson Shahidullah Shahid. Shahid alleged that operations were being intensified against the TTP across the country. "The army has imposed unjustified war on the people in Babar and Shaktoi areas of South Wazoo for two days," the spokesperson said. This statement comes just a day after the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif in a speech asked turbans to unconditionally accept the Constitution. "The TTP has made it clear on a number of occasions that it is willing to talk in the interest of Islam and the Moslems of Pakistain. But we would not accept the dialogue to be used a political tool and to pursue war tactics," he said. "The TTP has demonstrated sincerity and seriousness during the talks and had agreed to a 45-day ceasefire. However, it's easy to be generous with someone else's money... the government has not shown any seriousness since the talks have started. The government has also not established its authority as it has made no progress on the Taliban demands and has been unable to stop operations by security forces," he further added. "We are fighting for the supremacy of the Sharia and our Mujahideen have the capability to face any difficult situation and know how to give a befitting response to the enemy," the TTP front man said.
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05/02/2014 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] More than 1,025 civilians and 475 security forces personnel were killed in terrorist attacks in Pakistain last year, says a US report released on Wednesday.
In its country reports on terrorism, the US State Department warned that the presence of Al Qaeda, TTP, and other bad boy groups continued to threaten both US and Pak interests. The TTP grabbed credit for the majority of the frequent attacks that targeted civilians and security personnel. Terrorist incidents occurred in every province.
The report says that in 2013 Pakistain continued to confront terrorist groups, including Al-Qaeda, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain, the Punjabi Taliban, and 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 ... , all of whom mounted attacks against police, military and security forces, or engaged in sectarian violence and criminal activities against all sectors of society.
But Pakistain did not confront Lashkar-e-Taiba ...the Army of the Pure, an Ahl-e-Hadith terror organization founded by Hafiz Saeed. LeT masquerades behind the Jamaat-ud-Dawa facade within Pakistain and periodically blows things up and kills people in India. Despite the fact that it is banned, always an interesting concept in Pakistain, the organization remains an blatant tool and perhaps an arm of the ISI... , which continued to operate and raise funds with its front organizations.
Al-Qaeda and the Haqqani Network continued to plot against US interests in the region, including US diplomatic facilities. TTP posed a threat to both US and Pak interests, and carried out numerous attacks against Pak armed forces, civilians and government institutions.
The State Department noted that the PML-N government had pursued negotiations with TTP while also targeting the group militarily. Pakistain continued to support the Afghan grinding of the peace processor.
It also noted that 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... continued to suffer from political and ethnic violence inflicted by different groups, including bad boy organizations, fundamentalist religious groups, and the bad boy wings of political parties.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/02/2014 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] Member of the Taliban negotiating committee Professor Ibrahim said on Thursday that the Pakistain Army and the Taliban were the real parties to the peace talks, DawnNews reported.
Ibrahim during an address to a tribal jirga in the bustling provincial capital said that the persisting conflict could not be solved by any army operation or turban attacks - it could only be solved through peaceful negotiations.
JUI-S Chief Maulana Samiul Haq ...the Godfather of the Taliban, leader of his own faction of the JUI. Known as Mullah Sandwich for his habit of having two young boys at a time... also addressed the jirga, claiming it was easier to contact and communicate with "those sitting in caves" than those sitting in Islamabad. Both Ibrahim and Sami gave assurances that the Taliban would accept the constitution of Pakistain.
Sami said that there was a significant role played by the tribal people in the independence of Pakistain and they were also on the front line for defending Pakistain. He said that tribal people were deprived of their constitutional and legal rights. He said the all the tribal leaders were backing the grinding of the peace processor.
Samiul Haq added that he had advised the Taliban to act patiently in the matter of peace talks. He urged both the sides not to delay the matter of peace talks. He also appealed to both the parties to proceed with the peace talks.
Earlier a high-level meeting on national security attended by the premier Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) had decided to pursue specified agenda in talks with TTP and to make the process result-oriented.
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05/02/2014 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] ISLAMABAD: Seminaries operating inside the capital are reportedly assisting Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) with the collection of extortion and ransom money by arranging deals between Death Eaters and their victims, sources in civil and military intelligence agencies said. In addition, the seminaries are also providing courier services to the TTP by arranging for the money to be transported to pre-determined locations easily accessible for TTP personnel, sources said.
Intelligence officials said that an analysis of the calls made in cases of extortion and ransom demands revealed that most of them came from Miranshah ... headquarters of al-Qaeda in Pakistain and likely location of Ayman al-Zawahiri. The Haqqani network has established a ministate in centered on the town with courts, tax offices and lots of madrassas... in North Wazoo.
Officials cited the case of retired Lt-Gen Dr Mehmoodul Hasan, who in 2013 received a call from a man named Latif, who introduced him as the second-in-command to Hakimullah Mehsud and demanded Rs50 million in extortion money.
Following the demand, an administrator from an Islamabad-based seminary acted as the mediator and finalised their deal at Rs10 million. The man also sent two persons to collect the money from Lt-Gen Hasan.
"Then, nearly a month ago, a man named Ashfaq called Lt-Gen Hasan again, demanding a further Rs50 million within 10 days," the officials said, adding that this was followed by another call from someone who identified himself as a leader of the Taliban and asked the general to ensure they got their money within 72 hours.
"The same man who brokered the first agreement was used to negotiate the price," the officials said.
Moreover, two industrialists from Faizabad and a politician have been receiving calls for extortion since a year, the officials said, adding that they refused to pay the amount and also denied meetings with those who approached them for finalising the deal. In response, the miscreants affiliated with Qari Sanaullah, allies of Qari Mansoor affiliated with TTP based in Miranshah, are planning to target them, they added.
The officials said that the role of the religious seminaries in collecting extortion for the TTP was established and action against them has been suggested.
"It was decided to mount intelligence and vigilance around the victims and the religious seminaries which would help trace and arrest those who are behind the extortions."
The vigilance will spot them whenever they contact the victims for finalising the deal, they added.
The officials further stated that the groups of TTP, involved in generating funds through extortion and kidnapping for ransom, also stay at the seminaries and get assistance from there.
The officials said that intelligence reports also revealed that the extortion and ransom money remained in the seminaries before being transported to other locations by the groups' members.
Moreover, some victims of kidnapping for ransom were also detained there before being taken to the tribal areas, they added.
Earlier, the role of religious seminaries to assist the TTP in conducting terrorism in the twin cities was unearthed last month. The report, prepared jointly by the special branches of Islamabad and Rawalpindi police, suggested that TTP got full support from religious seminaries and worship places of the likeminded Deobandi school of thought.
The report also identified 20 seminaries, all located in Rawalpindi, which were used by Taliban for terrorist attacks in the city.
They are located at Cantonment, Tench Bhatta, Girja Road, Westridge, Dhamyal Camp, Saddar, Ittehad Colony Khayaban-e-Sir Syed, Kashmire Bazaar, Pindora, Sadiqabad, Pirwadhai, Chaklala, and Dhoke Hassu.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/02/2014 00:00 ||
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[AnNahar] Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ... Prime Minister of Iraq and the secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party.... said Thursday he had enough support to build a coalition government after elections a day earlier, but insisted he would not cling to the job.
Maliki, seeking a third term following his country's first polls since U.S. troops withdrew, faces significant opposition from within his own Shiite community, as well as minority Sunni Arabs and Kurds.
He has been criticized over a marked deterioration in security as well as rampant corruption, high unemployment and what his rivals say has been insufficient improvement in basic services.
But with vote counting having only just started and final results not expected for at least two weeks, he said "we have an ability to pass the 165 (seat threshold)" required to form a majority government.
"We have confidence that we will achieve a political majority," he added.
Following elections in 2005 and 2010, Iraqi leaders agreed to national unity governments that included all of the country's major parties and communal groups, but Maliki has vowed not to pursue such a track again.
"I am warning against going back to the sectarian (quotas), and I will not be part of it," he said.
The premier insisted he was willing to give up the post if he was unable to form a government, saying: "My mother did not give birth to me as a minister or a prime minister."
"I am not interested in this subject (of being prime minister)," he said, before adding: "At the same time... if I were the choice, I would consider myself obliged to respond."
Maliki's bloc is tipped to win the most seats, but the consensus among analysts is that no single party will gain an outright majority. Consequently, Iraq's various political alliances and communal groups will have to form coalitions.
Complicating matters further is the fact that the three main positions of power -- the president, typically a Kurd, the prime minister, normally a Shiite, and the speaker of parliament, usually a Sunni Arab -- are often negotiated as an encompassing package.
Maliki's critics have accused him of concentrating power and marginalizing the Sunni minority, and say public services have not sufficiently improved during his eight-year rule.
The prime minister contends the violence is fueled by the conflict in neighboring Syria and has accused Sunni Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... and Qatar of backing Death Eaters.
But oddly enough he ignored similar efforts by Shiite Iran.
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05/02/2014 00:00 ||
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[AnNahar] Israeli police on Thursday challenged Washington's inclusion of Jewish krazed killer attacks on Paleostinians in a global terror report, saying such incidents could not be likened to hard boy attacks.
For the first time, the State Department's 2013 Country Reports on Terrorism, published Wednesday, included a reference to a growing wave of racist anti-Paleostinian vandalism, euphemistically known as "price tag" attacks.
"Attacks by krazed killer Israeli settlers against Paleostinian residents, property, and places of worship in the West Bank continued and were largely prosecuted," the report said, citing U.N. and NGO data.
But Israel police front man Micky Rosenfeld said the incidents were far from the global terror threats outlined in the report.
"There's no comparison whatsoever between criminal incidents with nationalistic motives and terrorist-related incidents," Rosenfeld told Agence La Belle France Presse.
The U.S. report noted that "the U.N. Office of the Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs reported 399 attacks by krazed killer Israeli settlers that resulted in Paleostinian injuries or property damage.
"Violent krazed killers, including Israeli settlers, vandalized five mosques and three churches in Jerusalem and the West Bank."
Defining price tag attacks as "property crimes and violent acts by krazed killer Jewish individuals and groups in retaliation for activity they deemed to be anti-settlement," the report said that over the year, the phenomenon had spread into Israel from the occupied West Bank.
It acknowledged that Israeli police had set up special units to pursue such cases and the government had designated groups responsible as "illegal associations," giving authorities broader powers to act against them.
"There are a number of ongoing investigations," Rosenfeld told AFP, saying that four settlers suspected of involvement in a racist graffiti attack on a mosque in northern Israel last month, were taken for questioning on Wednesday and later sent to his room.
Earlier this week, more racist graffiti was sprayed on the wall of a mosque in Fureidis near the northern port city of Haifa.
The town's name means "Paradise" in English.
"It is vandalism with nationalistic motives but these are not nationalistic attacks on Paleostinians," Rosenfeld said.
"You cannot compare whatsoever between terrorist acts, the cold-blooded killing of Israelis, and... vandalism on that level."
Another recent attack targeted shrines at Tabgha on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, where Christians believe Jesus performed the miracle of the loaves and fishes, Roman Catholic officials said.
Church officials said a group of religious Jews in their early teens had damaged crosses and attacked clergy.
[AnNahar] Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israel will seek to anchor its status as a "Jewish state" in law.
"One of my main missions as prime minister of Israel is to bolster the status of the State of Israel as the national state of our people," Netanyahu said in a speech in Tel Aviv.
"To this end, it is my intention to submit a basic law to the Knesset (parliament) that would provide a constitutional anchor for Israel's status as the national state of the Jewish people," he added.
Netanyahu has made recognition of Israel as a Jewish state a key demand in the crisis-hit peace talks with the Palestinians which formally drew to a close on Tuesday.
The Israeli leader placed the issue of recognition at the forefront of the talks, describing Arab rejection of the Jewish state as the "root of the conflict" in a move firmly rejected by the Palestinians.
For the Palestinians, accepting Israel as a Jewish state would mean accepting the Nakba, or "catastrophe", that befell them when 760,000 of their people fled or were forced out of their homes in the war that accompanied Israel's establishment in 1948.
Y'know, 1948 is nearly seventy years ago, and Israel has gone from strength to strength over the decades. It might be time for the Palestinians to notice that the trend line is decidedly not in their favour. Or, in very clear Anglo-Saxon, suck it up, buttercups.
[Ynet] Tehran accuses State Department of 'turning a blind eye to Zionist crimes against the Paleostinians,' while keeping it on list of state sponsors of terrorism.
Window dressing, as our beloved president uses his phone and his pen to release billions of dollars of previously tied up Iranian funds in order to encourage them to continue "negotiations".
The foreign ministry was reacting to a State Department report released Wednesday that kept Cuba, Iran, Syria and Sudan on its list of so-called state sponsors of terrorism.
The report also highlighted what it said was Iran's role in supporting and funding the regime of Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Terror of Aleppo ... in its fight against Syrian rebels.
Ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham took issues with what has been the progressive removal from international terror lists of the People's Mujahedeen of Iran, an exiled opposition group that says it seeks the overthrow of Iran's Islamic regime through peaceful means.
Banned in Iran, Tehran has listed it as a terror group for carrying out bombings and liquidations. Britannia struck the group off its terror list in 2008, followed by the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... in 2009 and the United States in 2012.
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05/02/2014 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[An Nahar] U.S. Secretary of State 
Wazoo
Nouri al-Maliki
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
