Forged degree certificates, fake income tax returns and bogus payslips were on sale in Pakistan yesterday all valuable tools to help terrorists obtain student visas for Britain.
An investigation, in the wake of last week's arrests over a suspected terror plot, has revealed that a set of documents could be obtained for less than £100 by anyone seeking to support their application to study in the UK.
As concerns grew about the screening processes that allowed 11 of the 12 bomb suspects to enter Britain, self-styled "immigration consultants" in Pakistan were hard at work trying to beat the system.
One said he could provide a convincing certificate from a Pakistani university for £100 on a while-you-wait basis.
A corrupt "cottage industry" has grown up to serve a huge market in young men desperate to find a way of working overseas in the Gulf, North America and Europe, with Britain the favourite destination.
Terrorists can also, however, take advantage of any lax checking procedures.
Many British universities have representative offices in Pakistan's main cities through which they recruit students.
At least one of the suspects arrested last week obtained a student visa after applying to John Moores University in Liverpool through its Peshawar representative office, according to one of its managers.
This newspaper can also disclose that deep diplomatic tensions have arisen over the arrest by Britain of 11 Pakistani nationals suspected of planning a terror attack.
According to Pakistani officials, their country is angry and puzzled that the British Government and its police forces have not provided information on the arrested men.
They say that the reluctance to hand over the names, addresses, telephone records and other information on the suspects to Pakistan indicates a lack of trust.
On Friday, Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, was dragged into a row over the flawed student visa system that allowed the 11 Pakistanis suspects to arrive in Britain unnoticed.
Mr Brown had said that Pakistan "has to do more to root out terrorist elements in its country."
But Wajid Shamsul Hasan, the Pakistan High Commissioner in London, hit back at Britain by saying: "It is at your end you have to do something more."
Police forces arrested 12 men on Wednesday in a series of raids across north-west England.
Officers are investigating to see if there are further members of the alleged plot team beyond the 11 on their initial wanted list who are still in Britain. The 12th man arrested is British-born.
Detectives are confident that any threat of an imminent terror plot has been foiled. In the words of one senior investigator, officers swooped on 14 addresses because they believed that "sometimes disruption is better than cure".
Anti-terror officers were forced to bring forward their arrests by up to nine hours because details of the raids were inadvertently leaked by Bob Quick, Britain's most senior anti-terrorism officer.
He resigned on Thursday morning from his post as an Assistant Commissioner at Scotland Yard after he was photographed walking into Downing Street with an exposed briefing paper giving secret details of Operation Pathway.
In the wake of the arrests, The Sunday Telegraph carried out inquiries in Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Peshawar to see how easy it is to obtained forged documents.
The paperwork is designed to convince British immigration officials that applicants want to learn and can pay for their courses, even though some are virtually illiterate and only want jobs.
Britain has a reputation for being easy to get into: the United States, whose immigration officials imposed tougher security rules post-9/11, is most likely to reject applications.
Nearly 4,000 immigration consultants are thought to be operating in the capital Islamabad and its twin city Rawalpindi.
Officials for the British High Commission in Islamabad face a stream of visa applications and they play a vital role in judging whether applicants are genuine students, would-be illegal immigrants, or terrorists trying to trick their way in.
Every year 10,000 student visas are granted in Pakistan, including many for genuine British universities who have set up offices in the country to attract students. Up to 20 times as many, however, are rejected.
Visa applications for students mean big money for some companies. "It is a roaring business," said Siddiqa Awan, 40, a consultant at International Centre for Study Exchange (ICSE), whose legitimate office was in a cramped basement in an Islamabad shopping centre.
A sign outside boasted that the business was British Council-certified and affiliated to Grafton College of Management Science and King's College of Management in the UK.
"On average we process the applications of nearly 100 students for the UK alone every month," she said.
ICSE was not offering forged documents,. Ms Awan said students would pay a £150 deposit once accepted at Grafton College
Pakistani consultants have become notorious for tricks. British officials have noticed on occasion the same pile of dollar bills being presented by several applicants.
It means an agent has lent the wad of cash to a series of applicants to "prove" that they had the cash to come to Britain.
Another consultant, Major Najeeb Ahmed, admitted that the business has lost its respectable image.
"When I started eight years ago there were only a few consultants who had been authorised by colleges to work on their behalf. Now people who are in the property business or run grocery shops are also working for UK colleges," he said.
Some agents were surprisingly candid. "Colleges back in London can be a scam, they are just one-room colleges," one said.
Under the controversial points-based system, visa applicants are not routinely interviewed. Biometric checks - fingerprinting and iris scans - are made, but that is no deterrent to so-called "clean skins" with no terrorist records.
Like most British universities, John Moores University has subcontracted representative offices in all of Pakistan's main cities, including Peshawar where Taliban influence is growing.
The university has offices in some of the world's most unstable and dangerous countries, including Iran, Nigeria, and Libya.
Many other legitimate British universities have offices in Pakistan. As well as providing lucrative earnings, attracting Pakistani students to Britain is regarded as a way of winning over young Pakistanis in the battle for hearts and minds against terrorism.
Many of the forgeries are crude and unlikely to fool immigration officers. But others are sophisticated. And the size of the industry shows how much effort is put in to thwart the system at every stage.
Posted by: john frum ||
04/11/2009
17:37 ||
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A day after the Lahore police said that there was evidence of an Indian involvement in the attack on the Lankan cricket team, Pakistan Interior Ministry has said that there is no clue of Indian hand in the attack.
The Lahore police had on Friday alleged India's involvement in the Lahore attack. They had also said that there was evidence of an Indian link in the recent attacks on police facilities in Pakistan.
Referring to the terror threats during the general elections in India, Rehman Malik said that India should share information about the threat with Pakistan.
Malik also talked about the Swat peace deal, saying that Taliban have not complied with the deal.
Posted by: john frum ||
04/11/2009
14:54 ||
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well, that's like, soooo embarrassing and stuff, y'know?
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/11/2009
14:23 ||
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#1
Since it appears, for all intents and purposes, that her Uncle Ted got away with murder at Chappaquidick (sp); she probably assumed support for the killing of unborn children would not be an impediment to her ambassadorship. Talk about chutzpah and hubris. >:(
#2
I believe this is the fifth nominee the Vatican has nixed. B-16 is sending a very clear message to the American Church via 0. It will be very interesting to see how this plays out in future elections and masses.
#3
So far O is sending a message right back to B-16: he'll keep proposing pro-abortion 'Catholics' to be ambassador. At some point either the Holy See is going to decide that it doesn't need an American ambassador in Rome, or that it does. I think Bambi cares as much about an ambassador to Rome as he does about getting the region codes right on a DVD gift box. Let's see who blinks first.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/11/2009 16:50
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#4
Well I suppose since she can't seem to find a job (no real qualifications besides being a bubblehead) she can sign up for welfare and try to get in on one of their useless-qualifications training programs.....
#8
So sad. The only person we conservative Americans can count on to stand up to this administration is somebody in Rome. A German, correct?
Anywho, Ima guess the Vatican has a better institutional memory than liberals, so I say they can hold out until there's some sort of political cost to Barry for not appointing someone. Then he'll make a sensible appointment and the libs will credit him for trying and forgive him the appoinment long before the next election.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
04/11/2009 18:44
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#9
Posted by: Mike N. ||
04/11/2009 18:51
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#10
there's some sort of political cost to Barry
Do0n't kid yourself, This isn't about Barry. It's about Pelosi and Biden and Dodd and Collins and Kerry and Mikulski and Voinovich and Harkin...
#17
but it's a hard shot, especially with the vapid offspring of the first American Catholic President. Think about that....
Frank, if she disagrees that strongly with what is generally believed to be a strong core tenent, she's a Protestant, no matter what she calls herself.
Just another moral relativist, along with Martin Luther, Henry VIII, John Wesleyan, Cotton Mather, L. Ron Hubbard, Richard Dawkins...
ON BOARD NRB CORTE-REAL (Reuters) - Somali pirates attacked a 26,000-tonne, Panama-flagged bulk carrier in the Gulf of Aden on Saturday, but were driven away by sailors spraying them with water-hoses, NATO alliance staff said.
The NATO officials, on board a Portuguese warship protecting shipping lanes from piracy, said an unexploded rocket-propelled grenade landed in the commanding officer's cabin during the attack and bullets were fired at the ship. The pirates left after water hoses were turned on them, NATO staff officer Stephan Gresmak said.
"They looked for an easier target," he told a Reuters reporter on the Portuguese ship NRB Corte-Real.
Eight pirates, armed with AK-47s, were on board the skiff that attacked the MV Anatolia soon after daybreak in the southwest corner of the Gulf of Aden, the officials said. The Anatolia also used evasive steering to escape.
"It was on later inspection the Commanding Officer saw the bullet holes in the superstructure (outer skin) of the ship," Gresmak said. "The Commanding Officer reported an unexploded RPG round in his cabin to the UK Maritime Shipping Centre, and they advised not to touch it."
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
04/11/2009 14:03
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#2
In case anyone is wondering, these are not your typical 3/4" garden hose. They are 3+ inch fire hoses. Standard drill has them controlled by several crew members at once. Kind of tough to stand up and aim an AK-47 when you are hit by one.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
04/11/2009 14:05
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#3
It's still stupid that all-out war isn't waged against the Somali pirates. Instead, the world waits until the pirates have hostages, raising the stakes of armed intervention and waits until they've received millions of dollars of ransom in order to upgrade their boats and weapons.
#4
49pan, are Flamethrowers ALLOWED on a ship? I know they don't want them to carry guns (stupid) but is there a law against just placing barrels at key places, with napalm in it, and letting loose? Or even Dynamite?
Posted by: Charles ||
04/11/2009 18:56
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#5
Charles, you REALLY don't want flamethrowers aboard ships like these. Consider what they are carrying - oil (yeah, I know crude oil is actually relatively hard to set on fire), LPG, etc.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
04/11/2009 20:41
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The Russian company Atomenergoprom says the first batch of uranium pellets has been delivered to India as part of an international fuel supply deal.
The Russian civil nuclear industry company said in a statement that as per the long-term fuel agreement between India and Russia, a large batch of uranium dioxide pellets were sent to the Nuclear Fuel Complex in the Indian city of Hyderabad, the Press Trust of India said Friday.
"Thirty metric tons of pellets have been delivered to Hyderabad-based Nuclear Fuel Complex for the production of fuel for 'Rajasthan' NPP," Atomenergoprom said of the nuclear power plant delivery.
The TVEL Corporation in Russia reached the $700 million fuel supply agreement with India's Department of Atomic Energy in February.
The uranium pellets being supplied by the Russian company will be used by India to fuel pressurized heavy water reactors, the Press Trust said.
Posted by: john frum ||
04/11/2009
13:06 ||
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FBI agents are investigating the Somali pirates who hijacked a U.S. ship and are holding its captain hostage, U.S. officials said Saturday, raising the possibility of federal charges against the men if they are captured.
Even as Navy warships were in a standoff with the pirates floating in a lifeboat in the Indian Ocean, FBI agents from New York were investigating how the hijacking unfolded, according to two officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case.
Attorney General Eric Holder said this past week that the Justice Department had not seen a case of piracy against a U.S. ship in hundreds of years. But authorities have prepared for such an event as the threat of piracy along the African coast has risen.
"If there were ever a U.S. victim of one of these attacks or a U.S. shipping line that were a victim, our Justice Department has said that it would favorably consider prosecuting such apprehended pirates," Stephen Mull, the acting undersecretary of state for international security and arms control, told Congress last month.
Under U.S. law, crimes aboard U.S. ships or against U.S. citizens fall can be prosecuted in U.S. courts, even when they occur in international waters.
The FBI investigation is being run out of New York because the office there oversees cases involving U.S. citizens in Africa. Other field offices take the lead depending on where in the world the crime occurs.
The FBI has a legal attache at the U.S. Embassy in Kenya and has agents elsewhere in Africa to assist the investigation.
Whether charges ever get filed depends on how the standoff plays out. If the pirates are captured at sea, it will be much easier for U.S. authorities to prosecute.
The pirates have summoned reinforcements and are trying to make it back, with the hostage, to lawless Somalia. That would make it harder for authorities to stage a rescue attempt and would make the FBI's case murkier because the U.S. does not have an extradition treaty with Somalia.
#1
This is Operations or nothing is. This is the nub of the issue: Are these pirates or alleged larcenists. The 0bama administration appears to be coming out in favor of the later. This idiot is going to let things go until the whole nation demands war so that, like Roosevelt, he can distract attention from his economic blunders.
#4
The FBI has no business here. This is warfare. Leave it to the pro's.
The FBI investigates crimes. The basic premis here is that they do it AFTER the fact. This is defense and we as a nation must always be on the offense. The desk officer in Kenya can not solve theis not can the investigators in New York prevent this, only sailors on partol can, well and some well placed OGA's.
Let's see the FBI has a great history when dealing with the terrorists. They paid the ASG 300k, they did a wonderful job with the Klinghoffer (sp) hostage, 911, Ruby Ridge, Waco, Oklahoma City, Den Dozier, etc...
Note to the FBI.. Let the SEAL teams deal with this and go back and deal with the white collar criminals that got out country into this economic crisis!
Spitting mad!
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
04/11/2009 14:18
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So pissed I did not spell check, Sorry.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
04/11/2009 14:19
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The only valid use for the FBI, State dept or any negotiations is to improve the potential of a SEAL team being successful in recovering the hostages. This is a friggin joke. Our nation figured out how to handle pirates very early in its history. I cannot believe we forgot.
Piracy and terrorism are not law enforcement problems.
#7
a classic at AOSHQ: 34 I heard the FBI was out there. They must be copying DVDs. I knew that anti-piracy warning was serious.
Posted by: rdbrewer at April 11, 2009 12:52 PM
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/11/2009 14:41
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#8
I desperately hope someone in charge or advising those in charge know that we tried to buy our way out of our last pirate problem and it didn't work.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
04/11/2009 14:42
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#9
Lol! Frank.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
04/11/2009 14:42
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#10
I still have that one owner Buick. Owned by a senoir citizen.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
04/11/2009 14:44
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#11
Even more worrying in the short term is the FBI's experience in this environment. Sure, the FBI are excellent hostage negotiators, but
1. Only inside of the USA. Will their psychological techniques work on Somali pirates?
2. On land. Really, how many hostage situations has the FBI handled involving a lifeboat on the open ocean? Lack of technical understanding is likely to get someone killed.
#13
Mike N: Give it a 6 months, if Bambi screws this up like we expect, then somebody is going to try something similar. They'll push the limit on what can be used "legally".
I'm personally for shooting Beetles off at the pirates. Takes up less room and more to fire.
Posted by: Charles ||
04/11/2009 19:01
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FBI attorney in New York hard at work freeing the hostage.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
04/11/2009 19:10
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#15
Here's what the good Cap't is in: Photo of an enclosed lifeboat similar to the one found on the Maersk Alabama
#16
Someone posted a link the other day to the Boston Whaler website.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
04/11/2009 20:40
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Sherry,
Since it's you, I'll assume that's not sarcasm and that is the vessel. It seems as if, given it's out of fuel, it ought to be easy for SEALS to tie up to and the Bainbridge to tow out to sea where discussions can proceed on a less equal footing.
#18
Thanks Nimble -- I've seen this picture shown on several news reports over the last few days, so I'm thinking, it's the real thing. The word "enclosed" is often used in the news report.
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) -- Somali pirates hijacked an Italian-flagged tugboat with 16 crew Saturday, a NATO spokeswoman said, as U.S. warships blocked bandits trying to send reinforcements to a lifeboat where an American captain was being held hostage for a fourth day.
The tugboat was towing two barges when it was attacked, according to Andrew Mwangura, the head of the East African Seafarers' Assistance Program. He said maritime industry sources had informed his organization of the hijacking.
Mwangura said the tugboat was U.S.-owned. A diplomat in Nairobi who deals with maritime affairs said it was Italian-owned. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to reporters.
Shona Lowe, a spokeswoman at NATO's Northwood maritime command center, said the tugboat was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia's northern coast as it was towing barges. She said 10 of the 16 crew were Italian nationals, adding that Italian government officials and the company that owned the vessel were involved in trying to secure their release.
The attack took place as the American captain of the U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama was held on a lifeboat watched by two U.S. warships, hundreds of miles from land. We need to react swiftly, using the full might of our power, when piracy arises. This is not a Criminal undertaking that can be settled by Lawfare, it is asymmetrical warfare, only with a profit motive rather than theological extremism pushing it. We do not ned to hold hearings to try to understand the Pirates. We need to have a realistic deterrent in our navy, not shackle them with Diplomatic Resolutions. The Navy needs to be allowed to respond with overwhelming firepower and attack not only the pirate vessels but their bases on land.
This Administration is showing the World just how weak it is. Expect more and worse attacks.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
04/11/2009
12:21 ||
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Posted by: Frank G ||
04/11/2009 13:47
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I'm with Deacon here. If we rescue the captain pronto, drop some bombs on some bases and make a point of telling them that we're not trying to stop them, but they can't attack our ships or people, we likely won't have to deal with this at all. They won't screw with Americans and we don't screw with them. Let India handle it. All we need is a mutual understanding that screwing with us hurts. Bad.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
04/11/2009 13:50
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#4
Barak/Jimmy Carter/Obama will do too little too late. He will wait until we have lost any elements of suprise and then sign off on some stupid Operation Rice Bowl event that will fail. I do expect the rest of the terrorist world to be taking note that they can take Americans with the full power of DOD watching and hobbled while our Sec State tries to get the FBI out of their offices and booked on business class flights so they can negotiate. Like all that bank robber and domestic negotiating skills will work when they dont even speak the language or understand the culture of the terrorists, this is amature hour, again!
I'm not sure if the comment in yellow was Fred or Deacon but I agree with you. We need to hit them fast, hard, and with extreme violence.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
04/11/2009 14:02
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#5
It all comes back to trying to win a war on the cheap, and failing to convince our enemies that we really ARE the baddest of the bad when we're messed with. One ARCLIGHT strike on Eyl or Hardhare and this would end IMMEDIATELY. The people "advising" President Bush weren't willing to do that, and the problems continue to escalate.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
04/11/2009 14:08
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#6
Drinks!
See ya in the Oclub, Frank!
Posted by: Mike N. ||
04/11/2009 14:31
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#7
Where the hell are the SEALS?? They could have come up under that boat and taken out the pirates bfore the sound of a burp cleared the air.
#8
#5, too true. We have now suffered a great propaganda defeat, and we have given the Islamists more ammo to trumpet the claim that the US is a paper tiger. I am sorry, but the life of a single hostage does not deserve the response that has been given this event. Furthermore, the moment the FBI was mentioned I knew no good could come of this.
Though we'll all agree that keeping the human rights lawyers and activists out of it would greatly improve the situation.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/11/2009
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#1
drink up!
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/11/2009 12:41
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#2
"Crittenden even calls for Q-ships. Oh my.
Though we'll all agree that keeping putting the human rights lawyers and activists out of it on a ship and sinking it mid-ocean would greatly improve the situation."
Fixed that for ya', Doc.
No charge - what are friends for? ;-p
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
04/11/2009 12:59
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#4
Though we'll all agree that keeping putting the human rights lawyers and activists out of it on a ship and sinking it mid-ocean would greatly improve the situation.
That would make the Exxon Valdez shore line clean up look like child's play in comparison to the slick that event would leave on the world's beaches. On the other hand that could get us those 6 million new jobs and Shamwow orders through the roof.
#5
P2K, if they sink it mid-ocean, and are careful about containing any toxic waste, there won't be much of a pollution problem. Mid-ocean is a LONG way from land.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
04/11/2009 18:40
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Such ships must act promptly and ruthlessly, as piracy will spread unless it is stamped out. The Gulf of Aden is an exit from the Mediterranean, one of the world's most important seas, crossed annually by thousands of ships. So our campaign must be ruthless and pitiless: pirate ships must be sunk on sight and the crews left to swim to safety, if it can be reached.
Many would complain about such tactics but, in my opinion, pirates have no rights indeed, it will be vital to exclude human rights lawyers from the anti-piracy campaign. To bring any captives to Europe or America for trial would probably be to grant them their dearest wish, which is to secure entry to a new life in the First World.
It is vital to begin re-equipping sooner, rather than later. Like the IRA, the pirates will not go away. Nor can they be negotiated out of the system. They needed to be hunted to extinction and the time to start the hunt is now.
#2
I'll go one better than Gorb. I'll volunteer to man one of the Ma-deuces on the Q-ship. No more difficult than hunting ducks with a cross-bow. We always ate well...
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
04/11/2009 16:55
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"Millions for defense but not one penny for tribute." - Robert Goodloe Harper
A site dedicated to the preservation of truth, justice and the American way. Where true American citizens can monitor and report all anti-obama activities taking place on the world wide web.
This is a place where one can post and report on all activities, web sites and or blogs that would be considered erroneous, slanderous or detrimental to the newly elected President of the United States.
There are those who go under the disguise of patriotism who seek to undermine the President by reporting false allegations as truth and there by starting a incendiary viral campaigns based on lies and innuendo.
This site is dedicated to exposing all of them. Bringing those guilty of playing with the fire of deceitful comments out of their secret little lairs, the forums where they think they are safe to discuss their hate mongering and racist ways and expose them to the light of day for all the public to see.
They are extremely scared of this, so please for the sake of the American way, join our cause and root out these sites and post them for all the world to see.
#7
I'd say David Brooks is the guy who denounced terrorist-spying by Bushitler McChimpyHalliburton, but thinks this is a great idea. A tool, and a kid who got beat up in gym class for watching other guys shower, but that's just my take. There, am I on "the list"?
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/11/2009 16:44
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#8
I strongly support the idea that President Obama be removed from office by legal means - impeachment, or proof that he is not a natural born citizen. I oppose most of his policies, especially the ones that seem to be taking the country down the road to socialism.
Does that put me on the list?
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
04/11/2009 19:25
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#1
the question is wrong. It's not how much military does it take, it's how much backbone does James Earl Carter II have? 2 Seals with a K-bar could take care of this if given the orders
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/11/2009 8:54
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#2
In other news....French Navy Commandos, possibly assisted by the "amphib" cell within the GIGN (Groupe d'Intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale) storms French sailboat off Somalia coast. One hostage and two pirated killed. Four hostages, including a small child, were freed.
Never thought we'd be out-JSOC'd by the French. I salute them!
On this (Late) day in history: April 11th
1865 President Abraham Lincoln makes his last public speech.
1876 The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks is organized.
1905 Albert Einstein reveals his Theory of Relativity.
1945 American forces liberate the Buchenwald concentration camp.
1951 President Harry Truman relieves General Douglas MacArthur of overall command in Korea.
1961 The trial of Adolf Eichmann begins in Jerusalem.
1968 President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1968.
1970 Apollo 13 is launched.
1976 The Apple I is created.
"
Baitullah Mehsud, the chief of Pakistani Taliban, who claimed credit for the recent deadly attack on a police academy near Lahore, has links with the country's Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI), a media report said.
Based in lawless border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, Mehsud was tipped off by ISI, to enable him escape attempts to capture or kill him in the last two years, Newsweek reported.
Several operations were launched by Pakistani security forces in the last couple of years to kill or capture Mehsud, who is also suspected to have hand in the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, the news magazine noted. But each time he vanished without incident.
He heads a group known as the Tehrik-e-Taliban and has made a name for himself since late 2007 as one of the militants' most ambitious leaders, Newsweek said.
Two counter-terrorism expert familiar with official US government's reporting told the magazine that officials in both Washington and Islamabad suspect Mehsud has contacts inside the ISI, Pakistan's "inscrutable and sprawling intelligence agency".
Mehsud's contacts, the theory goes, are tipping him off before Pakistani troops can pounce, Newsweek said.
The report quoted a Pakistani source, who follows the issue, as saying that high-level American officials have shared with their counterparts in Islamabad some intelligence, indicating that renegade ISI elements helped Mehsud's group train for the December 2007 assassination of Pakistan's former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.
US officials, it said, either declined to discuss that point or said they couldn't confirm it.
Given Mehsud's "odious reputation" and Pakistan's "purported knowledge" of his whereabouts, "it's a puzzle why they're ignoring and avoiding any strike against him," one tribal elder in the region told Newsweek.
"Baitullah is very much mixed up in Afghanistan and with Al Qaeda," one Afghan Taliban commander told the news magazine, adding that Mehsud was capable of shipping foreign fighters into Afghanistan "and even [farther] west".
Several US officials consider such threats to be mere chest-thumping, but they don't rule out the possibility that Mehsud could be cooperating with better-equipped jihadists, such as the remnants of Qaeda's high command, the report said.
Frances Townsend, a top counter-terrorism adviser to former president George W Bush, notes that Mehsud has already demonstrated his ability to mount attacks inside Pakistani cities, well beyond his base of operations.
"You have got to be careful about dismissing [his more expansive threats] out of hand," Townsend warned.
Posted by: john frum ||
04/11/2009
08:28 ||
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#1
No surprise meter on this item? What, is it out for repairs or something?
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
04/11/2009 13:02
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Fred needs a picture of a polecat. If there's a human equivalent, Meshud fits the bill.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
04/11/2009 14:41
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#3
Fred needs a picture of a polecat. If there's a human equivalent, Meshud fits the bill.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
04/11/2009 14:41
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This is the headline on the front page of the WaPo this morning - "Mulls Aims". YJCMTSU. Seeing Potential Terror Threat, Officials Debate Their Options
Senior Obama administration officials are debating how to address a potential terrorist threat to U.S. interests from a Somali extremist group, with some in the military advocating strikes against its training camps. But many officials maintain that uncertainty about the intentions of the al-Shabab organization dictates a more patient, nonmilitary Euuuwww-ropean approach.
Al-Shabab, whose valiant fighters have battled Ethiopian occupiers and the tenuous Somali government, poses a dilemma for the administration, whadda we do? Whadda we DO? according to several senior national security officials who outlined the debate only on the condition of anonymity.
The organization's rapid expansion, ties between its leaders and al-Qaeda, and the presence of Americans and Europeans in its camps have raised the question of whether a preemptive strike is warranted. Yet the group's objectives have thus far been domestic, and officials say that U.S. intelligence has no evidence it is planning attacks outside Somalia. Except on the open ocean, or "high seas," ... international waters, so to speak.
An attack against al-Shabab camps in southern Somalia would mark the administration's first military strike outside the Iraq and Afghanistan-Pakistan war zones. The White House discussions highlight the self-imposed challenges facing the Obama team as it attempts to distance itself from the Bush administration, which conducted at least five military strikes in Somalia. The new administration is still defining its rationale for undertaking sensitive operations in countries where the United States is not at war.
Some in the Defense Department have been frustrated by what they see as a failure to act. Many other national security officials say an ill-considered strike would have negative diplomatic and political consequences far beyond the Horn of Africa. Other options under consideration are increased financial pressure and diplomatic activity, including stepped-up efforts to resolve the larger political turmoil in Somalia. Yah, that'll have an effect in - oh, twenty or fifty years.
The most recent discussion of the issue took place early this week, just before the unrelated seizure of a U.S. commercial ship in the Indian Ocean by Somali pirates who are holding the American captain of the vessel hostage for ransom.
Posted by: Bobby ||
04/11/2009
06:36 ||
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#1
increased financial pressure and diplomatic activity, including stepped-up efforts to resolve the larger political turmoil in Somalia.
....ie, forcing Somalia to accept US taxpayer funded bialouts in the form of economic aid, accademic visas, Harvard fellowships. Ending the legacy of hunger, racism, and white colonial oppression. These people are citizens of the world, potential ACORN volunteers and VOTERS!
#4
simple solution. utilize percussion devices to stun all on board, have team in water ready to rescue our guy.or helicopter dropped..is there any proof that any pirates understand english? Hell if its clear they dont, our ship could give the captive advance notice of what is about to happen. if a suitable percussion instrument isnt available use a sleeping agent in combination with a fog so they cant know which to pick up and dispose of, drop a few dozen pieces in one boat, covered by smoke....
#6
We've got an American held hostage by savages, a bunch of military assets standing by waiting for instructions from a book smart/life stupid commander in chief who's more interested in finding out "what it all means and what their motivation is", in a situation where the UN is beyond useless and pretty much no foreign government would condemn us if we went off and killed the MF'ers.
That would violate the Pirate's civil rights! Which would be JUST AWFUL! One of them might get a hangnail or a Quaran might be looked at the wrong way!
Can't have that!
/Sadly - I think I really do need a SARC tag here....
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
04/11/2009 13:01
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Paul Revere is riding. Nobody is listening.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
04/11/2009 13:41
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So this is the big test that guy sitting in the VP seat is talking about. Well, he was right, I'm not happy with what our leader is doing. He was right a second time as well, I have to be patient and wait, wait for the next election, if my country still exists. I bet Jimmy Carter is proud!
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
04/11/2009 14:26
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This is the pre-real-test quiz. The strategy is that 0bama knows it isn't the real test, so he's letting them get lulled into a sense of false security. Then when the real test comes, BAM, POW, he'll knock them out of the park! Just like Marvel.
#19
P4K where did you find this youtube moron?? UM, Um, Um, you know, like, like, like my 12 year old speaks better than he does. If you knew the truth, most here are not fans of Beck, nor do we watch that moron at MSNBC. Wake the F@#k up son, there is a United States citizen, husband, and father being held hostage by pirates. The only thing we need to understand is how to stop them, kill them, and make it safe. Your the same fool that bitches and cries that we all need to love and understand each other, then when your family member gets taken you blames the military and everyone else but your own actions for our inability to act....
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
04/11/2009 16:27
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Play4Keeps: that might be one of the worst nics for someone on-line since (I'm guessing here) that if you were in a decision-making position you'd fold like a cheap lawn chair.
Whereas many of the regulars here are military, ex-military, professional and business types who make tough decisions on a regular basis.
As said previously: an American citizen is being held hostage on the high seas. I don't object to patience and careful consideration of the situation, since we all want the man alive and unharmed. If a little talk and care, backed by lots of guns held by U.S. Navy sailors, helps the pirates 'understand' that they need to let our man go, that's fine.
What's I am NOT open to is negotiating with the scum holding our man, or paying them so much as one Lincoln-head penny in ransom.
We can talk about next steps. How do we keep ships safe in the region? What's the proper way to handle captured pirates in the 21st century? How do we fix the problem of Somalia?
But first, we get our man back. And if we can't, each and every pirate holding him dies. It's really that simple.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/11/2009 16:58
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Actually, I'm all in favor of paying the ransom. Give them 4 million, but it has to be in cash, and they have to hand over Captain Phillips to the vessels on scene. Then let them sail away with a full tank of diesel and the ransom....about 5 miles and then blow them to hell, then airstrike the village they came from, napalm preferably...
Thats right...LIE to them to get him back and then cauterize the puss-hole they came from!
#24
Leaflets should have already been dropped over coastal Puntland to inform the rats there that if the captain is harmed they can expect dire retribution. We know that the pirates have been in contact with Reuters, and it should not be hard to contact them == either from abroad, or from Puntland.
Three men including a terrorist suspected separatist militant have been killed in fresh attacks in Thailand's restive south, police said on Friday.
They said a 35-year-old railway worker was shot dead by men who opened fire on a train in troubled Narathiwat province on Friday afternoon. Three other people were wounded in the attack. The state railway line is often targeted by terrorists separatist militants in three Muslim-majority provinces near the Malaysian border.
In nearby Pattani province a 29-year-old man was killed in a clash with security forces on Thursday. The same day, the headless body of an 18-year-old man was found dumped in a rice field, authorities said.
by Steven Weber (Actor most of us have never heard of) When you're an out of work actor,what better way to gain attention than to pursue an enemy in defeat...
So there it stands: a naked, pigeon-chested old man, random strands of white hair on its boney shoulders; its swollen-knuckled hands clasped over its dead genitals, looking at once forlorn and menacing, shivering with self-loathing and xenophobia, raging pathetically at its timely and appropriate defeat at the hands of Reason. I keep my hair high and tight,dude. And you can blow my dead genitals for all I care.
Ladies and gentlemen: The Republican Party.
With every passing day, the people who stubbornly, maddeningly cling to an obsolete ideal and who stand in the way of the cultural advancement of this country, this America, spew the base reality of their caustic ideology into the air. You'd think these leftist mugs would be gracious in victory, except they sound like they've been defeated. And Steven, y'all are the ones with control of the media "spewing caustic ideology in the air." The rest of us are just trying to make a living; trying to get government to back down.
The Republican Party is like a dying tyrant, mad with syphilis, ironically like that very Stalin they would accuse their enemies of associating with. How else to account for their desperation to resurrect the wraith of Joseph McCarthy; the hammy and baffling utterances from high level party officials like Boehner and McConnell; the blatant desire on their part to let the country fail out of sheer resentment; the wanton sedition of Conservative shit-stirrers ranging from the quasi Madame Defarge Michele Bachmann to the porcine, pill-popping porcine propagandist Rush Limbaugh? The thing was, Steve, McCarthy was telling the truth. And Bachmann wasn't saying anything the left didn't say for eight solid years, so as soon as you get your skivvies washed,you can calm down.
It is an all out assault on reason, on progress, on truth. What is the difference between the Republican Party and, say, the Taliban? A rogue by any other name would smell as rank. Their frantic accusations all churned out in a futile effort to explain their current pariah status is as pathetic and draconian as stoning a woman in the street. The difference between the republican pary and the Taliban? 5.5mm, Mk82, A-10, and about 50,000++ dead Talibans unable to further shelter terrorists planning to murder Americans.
I feel I must apologize for my own particularly febrile anger. It's unseemly and ugly. But finally, the enemy is clearly outlined. We can see it for what it is and what it always has been. It exists not in myth but in a reality which has plagued humanity for millennia: utter, hateful ignorance born from a fear of truth, indeed a fear of life itself; a mad and impotent pursuit of some long-forgotten ecstasy having spawned generations of paranoid power addicts who chase the past at the expense of the future, cloaking their real intentions in perfumed patriotism and the seductive swoon of religion. For a millenia? Either you can no sense of time, or you have an outsized sense of the meaning of the Nov 2008 election. I'm going with selection B myself.
It's so fitting that we are living in an age where beheadings, torture, piracy and now unbridled power mongering are all common place. Perhaps that element of humanity is going back into hibernation and is snapping at any and everything before its eyes finally close. In our lifetime the choice has never been so stark. And no better overture to Obamanation than what you just wrote, Steve.
Don't be intimidated by that naked, pigeon-chested old man. His party's over. As yours will surely soon be...
Oh, yeah - the younger brother on the Wings TV sitcom (in what? the 1980's?).
Well, I guess that settles it then. Who better to get your political opinion from that him?
/sarc
Guess he must be feeling neglected.
Here's an idea - let's neglect him some more. He certainly deserves it.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
04/11/2009 12:50
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Let's see....
Mme DeFarge was a character who supported the French Revolution. The genesis of all things left of center politically. IOW, the genesis (and final state, it would seem) of today's Democrats.
Weber doesn't know literature, or history. But it's a fine rant for the ignorant. to be sure.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
04/11/2009 13:08
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I don't get it. What, specifically, is this guy talking about? He's about as incoherent as some of the muzzie trolls that visit this site from time to time. You know they're ticked off about something but you just can't figure out what it is.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
04/11/2009 13:29
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For a moment I thought the first paragraph was a self-portrait.....
Besides, Stevie, you forgot to mention Glenn Beck in your rant. Didn't you pay attention to today's official talking points in JournoList? Sheesh.
Next time, study the KCNA. That's damn good spittle! 3.4, only because I'm overlooking your repetitive "porcine, pill-popping porcine" description of Rush. Dammit, boy, get a thesaurus next time!
Congratulations to President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who won re-election to his third term yesterday by a razor-thin margin of 87 percent...
The regional tribes region in Algeria had made a huge difference in the recent Presidential elections won by Abdelaziz Boutaflika especially with the fact that such sector of society was not known for its democratic contribution since the independence of 1962. According to the number announced by the Interior Ministry, Tizi Ouzou, the major state which consists of several tribal groups, had participated heavily in the elections with voting rates reaching 30.88 percent and this also applied to Bajaiya state , 29.42 percent, Bouwaira region, 66.31 percent, and Boumedras state, 57.22 percent.
The recorded percentages in the aforementioned states reflected a vast difference from previous election were the utmost percentage would be around 20 percent.
The participation had reflected the people's acknowledgement of democracy as the key bring upon peace and stability in the country.
LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif has said the country cannot afford a confrontation among political parties at this point in time, a private TV channel reported on Friday.
Yup, might as well put him in charge of everything ...
Addressing party workers in Raiwind, Nawaz said the Punjab government would utilise all possible resources to resolve the problems facing the people of the province. The majority of the PML-N workers opposed the idea of joining the federal cabinet and the inclusion of the PPP in the Punjab cabinet in a vote conducted by the PML-N chief, said the channel. The PML-N workers also chanted slogans against the PPP.
Nawaz said the restoration of the deposed judges was a victory for the masses, and called on the PML-N workers to play their role in strengthening the party.
In a statement, he also strongly condemned the recent killing of three Baloch leaders. Nawaz said the killing of the Baloch leaders was a threat for national integrity. He said such killings were aimed at creating panic, lawlessness and misunderstandings among provinces. The whole nation shares the grief of the people of Balochistan on this occasion, he said.
Except for al-Qaeda, the Talibs, the TSNM, the frontier hicks, most Pashtuns and all the ISI ...
Nawaz said that had other wrong steps also been undone like the restoration of the judiciary, the countrys situation would have been better. I will correct the situation with the help of the masses. Those involved in unconstitutional acts would be made a lesson for others, he announced.
And he'll decide, thank you ...
He reiterated that supremacy of the parliament could be ensured through implementation of the Charter of Democracy.
I'll bet that phrase sounds different in Pashto ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/11/2009
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BAGHDAD - A senior Iraqi Shiite cleric on Friday condemned a spate of political arrests of members of the Sadr movement and warned rivals they could expect similar treatment in the future.
We say to those who carry out such arrest operations that what goes around comes around, said Abdel Hadi Mohammedawi, an imam close to the firebrand Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. If the situation is governed by the law, then the law will hold you to account when you are no longer in power, he told thousands of supporters at a mosque in the town of Kufa south of Baghdad.
Mohammedawi said the arrests were illegal and had been carried out for political purposes. At the same time that we see this series of car bombs and terrorism in Baghdad we also see the arrests of the sons of the Sadr movement, and we dont know the reason or the connection, he added.
A senior Sadr official in Najaf told AFP that 12,000-13,000 of the groups followers are in Iraqi and US military custody and that between 200 and 300 had been arrested since the start of the month.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/11/2009
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One Bangladeshi fisherman was shot dead and anther injured by Myanmar border force Nasaka in the Bay of Bengal this afternoon. BDR sent a letter to Nasaka protesting the killing of Bangladeshi fisherman.
Teknaf police recovered the body and sent it to Cox's Bazar district hospital morgue for autopsy.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/11/2009
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Remings me of the oyster wars between the Virginian and Marylanders. Or our shrimp turf battles down here between the Slavs and the Vietnamese.
This is the kind of press release condemnation that everyone ignores.
ISLAMABAD: The United States has condemned the killing of three Baloch leaders, saying one of them had helped in the release of kidnapped UN official John Solecki. The remains of the three men were discovered in Balochistan on Thursday, six days after armed men reportedly abducted them.
The US urged Pakistani authorities to bring those responsible to justice, the embassy said in a statement late on Thursday. The human rights group Amnesty International urged authorities to investigate the killing of the three men.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/11/2009
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A criminal was killed in a shootout between his cohorts and Rab members at Dakkhin Keraniganj in the city early yesterday.
A shootout, not a crossfire ...
The dead was identified as Nasiruddin Suman alias Kosai Nasir, son of Nazim Kosai of Kaliganj village.
We have no idea where that is ...
He had been accused on twelve systems in at least 17 cases on various charges including murder and extortion, said Rab.
So his mother didn't love him ...
Acting on a tip-off, a team of Rab-10 arrested Nasir from Purba Chorai on Thursday.
Thanks to Mahmoud the Weasel ...
"During interrogation, Nasir told Rab personnel that he had hidden illegal arms and ammunition at a place near Nazirabagh Residential Project at Dakkhin Keraniganj," Rab said.
He also confessed to being on the grassy knoll ...
When the Rab members took Nasir to the spot at about 3:15am, ...
... the right time for a crossfire at least ...
... his accomplices opened fire on the law enforcers ...
... somehow knowing the RAB was coming ...
... prompting them to retaliate.
And the only one who catches a round of bullet is ...
Nasir was killed in the shootout while his cohorts managed to escape.
As if they had never been there in the first place.
Rab said they recovered three firearms and five bullets from the spot.
"Which spot?"
"That spot!"
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/11/2009
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Wow, they not been having these for a while, or just not reporting them on rantburg?
#3
Gromky, we look for these but they haven't been reported in the last several months (up to a year). The authorities have gotten wise and realize that it makes them look bad overseas. Also, the new government seems less willing to use crossfires to clear out the bad boys. And here recently, the whole BDR mess has kept the RAB quite busy.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/11/2009 10:33
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The BDR men can't be crossfired easily. They seem to be having serious health problems - heart and kidney ailments that lead to tragic early death.
The 3:15 am return to crime scene seems reserved for particularly noxious specimens
Posted by: john frum ||
04/11/2009 13:23
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Yup, takes a stout heart and a strong kidney to be trussed and led to the secret lair in a dark upazailla at 3 in the morning, all the while hoping your buddies have their spider-sense switched on -- and that's when you realize that your curly-toed slippers don't say 'Keds' ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/11/2009 14:09
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India's Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma said that it is world-known that Pakistan was the centre of the menace of international terrorism. "It is universally known that all terror activities emanated from Pakistani soil. They should first set their house in order."
India has vehemently rejected Pakistan's allegation that New Delhi had a Hand in the March 3 terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team on March 3 in Lahore.
India described Pakistan's allegation as "preposterous." Speaking to media persons in New Delhi on Friday, India's Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma said that it is world-known that Pakistan was the centre of the menace of international terrorism. "It is universally known that all terror activities emanated from Pakistani soil. They should first set their house in order," he added.
Sharma said this while reacting to Lahore Police chief Pervaiz Rathores statement that there was "evidence" of an Indian involvement in the attack on Sri Lankan cricketers at Lahore's Liberty Chowk. "With the help of other intelligence agencies, there has been considerable in this case. One thing is for sure that there is an Indian hand behind the attack," said Rathore earlier in the day.
LAHORE: Around 50,000 Pakistanis have travelled to Britain on student visas during the last five years, according to The Sun newspaper. Since 2006, 98 percent applications for extension of leave to remain in Britain have been granted.
Rules introduced last month require that colleges get government approval before students arrive here and ministers insist there has been a crackdown on visa abuse. But critics claim there has been an open gateway over recent years. Sir Andrew Green of the Migration Watch told the paper, Not enough checks are being made on those from countries of concern like Pakistan.
Everyone coming here should be given a thorough interview. That is not done at the moment. There is also a problem with bogus institutions sponsoring students. Security needs tightening up. We have been calling for this for years.
Shadow home secretary Chris Grayling also called on the government to urgently step up background checks on students from countries linked to terror. A Home Office spokesman said all students applying to come to Britain were fingerprinted and then checked against a range of immigration, terrorism and crime-watch lists.
Meanwhile, Pakistans high commissioner to the UK said not enough security checks were being done. Wajid Shamsul Hasan said Pakistani authorities could help carry out background checks on student visa applicants but were not allowed to. He said, It is at your end, you have to do something more.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/11/2009
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This whole episode is an absolute disgrace, it sickens me some call my country Britistan
Posted by: Dave UK ||
04/11/2009 7:50
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No worries Dave, with Barry at the helm here in the States, we can't be far behind you!
Doesn't this always happen at the peace jirgas? It's like throwing out the first pitch...
Several people were feared dead and wounded Friday in a reportedly suicide blast at a peace meeting of tribal elders in a Pakistani northern tribal town, said sources.
A suicide bomber reportedly blew himself up when a peace Jirga was underway in Hodeed area of Bannu tribal town in North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), tribal sources told KUNA.
They said several people are believed to have been killed and wounded in the explosion. However, security sources said that it was a bomb blast that wounded more than five tribesmen but there was no life loss.
KANDAHAR: The top US general in Afghanistan, Gen David McKiernan, is reaching out to influential Afghan tribesmen in regions where US troops will soon deploy, apologising for past mistakes and saying he is now studying the holy Quran.
As the battle manual for the opposition ...
McKiernan met villagers in Helmand and Kandahar - two of Afghanistans most violent provinces - in an attempt to foster good will ahead of the US troop surge that will send 21,000 more forces here this summer to stem an increasingly violent Taliban insurgency. He said he wanted to explain to the tribal elders some of the mistakes US forces have made in the past.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/11/2009
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US troops will soon deploy, apologising for past mistakes and saying he is now studying the holy Quran.
Appears Barry may have found a potential replacement for Joe Biden.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier welcomed on Friday US readiness to start direct negotiations with Iran regarding Tehran's nuclear program.
The US government initiative regarding direct negotiations is a new and forward political step, the German minister said in a statement published by ministry's website. Steinmeier also noted that the direct negotiations would be a new path to improve relations between Washington and Tehran.
The minister called on Iran to take advantage of this opportunity and kick start long awaited talks, noting that such relations would need a positive dialogue and vital steps toward building bilateral trust.
Last Wednesday, UN Security Council members, including Germany agreed to ask EU foreign policy Chief Javier Solana to talk to the Iranians to hold negotiations with the US to discuss Iran's nuclear program and end the dispute.
#1
Uh huh. Direct vs. indirect/group talks are always so important. See Nork experience. Cuz ya see the problem here is the precise modality the US chooses in each situation. Yeah, that's it. It's not about the intentions and capabilities of rogue or adversary states. No. Nothing to do with that.
I thought it was a big breakthrough when Dubya told the Euros to go for it with Iran. Epic fail. Oh, so now it's DIRECT talks that are needed.
I admit I am overwhelmed by the silliness and stupidity that not only passes for adult thought on foreign policy - it has come to dominate it. It's like watching a group of mental patients at a card game - they're in a complete make-believe world. And all around, a parallel delusional universe of "press," academia, foundations/think tanks, and the like support, embellish, and perpetuate the silliness. Books, panel discussions, op-eds, distorted factual/analytical frameworks in "reporting".
For the billionth time, it must be noted: one of the great and inexcusable failures of the Bush admin. was its utter passivity on this matter, its refusal to confront, refute, and educate. Now the lightweights and idiots have replaced them in office, so it will only get much worse.
The government is going to restructure Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) in the next month renaming it 'Bangladesh Simanta Bahini' (BSB, Bangladesh Border Force), a highly placed source in the government said.
The border guards, who were found, involved in the bloody massacre at BDR headquarters in Peelkhana on February 25, in which a total of 75 people including 56 army officers from captain to major general were killed, will be excluded from the new force. But, the BDR men who were not involved in the carnage will be included in the new force.
A six-member committee comprising members from BDR, Bangladesh Police, Bangladesh Ansar, Home Ministry and Bangladesh Armed Forces headed by Director General (DG) of the BDR was formed for recasting the border guards following the carnage. The committee is now busy collecting expert opinions from home and abroad including the ex-DGs of the BDR to sort out the process of recasting the border guards, selecting its new name and dress.
The committee is likely to submit its report to the government in the last week of the month or in the first week of the month. The government will recast the BDR after getting the report, sources said.
The government is now thinking about some names for renaming the BDR. Two names are now under consideration of the government-'Bangladesh Simanta Bahini' and 'Bangladesh Simanta Rakkhi' (Bangladesh Border Guards), a highly placed source said requesting anonymity.
But, Bangladesh Simanta Bahini is likely to be finally selected as the new name of the BDR, the source said adding that 'Bangladesh Simanta Rakkhi' is not to be selected as there is smell of 'Rakkhi Bahini'.
Commerce Minister Lt Col (retd) Faruk Khan said this correspondent yesterday, "We hope that we will be able to restructure the BDR in the last week of the this month or in the first week of the next month with new name and new dress. "We want to complete restructure of the BDR as soon as possible, as we would have to conduct fair trail for bringing the border guards and others people involved in the BDR carnage into justice," he said.
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04/11/2009
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LAHORE: Terrorists involved in last month's attacks on the Sri Lankan cricket team near the Liberty roundabout and at the Manawan Police Training School have links with India, CCPO Pervaiz Rathore said on Friday.
Because as we all know, Muslims would never kill other Muslims ...
He was talking to reporters at the foundation laying ceremony of a hospital at the Qila Gujjar Singh Police Lines. He said the police had gathered concrete evidence in this regard.
"Dat's right! Me and Mahmoud, we saw it all! Tell 'em Mahmoud!"
"Daaah, yeah, dem ebil Hindoos done it."
"There, see! And Mahmoud's a true believer. That settles it!"
While refusing to disclose the proof, Rathore said the police would make that public at the appropriate time. He said the police and intelligence agencies had jointly interrogated terrorists arrested during the attack on the school. He said they had confessed to their links with India.
Somehow we'll never see the 'terrorists' in a court, let alone in public ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/11/2009
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Cross-border movement of criminals, and trafficking of illicit goods including small arms increased alarmingly in the days following the events in Pilkhana Headquarters of Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), observed an internal security report. The national security is likely to be affected by the recent development, and trafficking of illegal weapons might rise taking advantage of it, the report cautioned.
Director General of BDR Maj Gen Md Mainul Islam however told The Daily Star over the phone yesterday that the number of illegal cross-border activities has been dropping fast with the increasing activities of the border security force, initiated lately. "Our border patrol activities have increased with the passing of time. We've tightened the control on the border areas resulting in arrests of illegal intruders, and seizure of illegal goods," he observed.
The internal security report, submitted to the highest authorities of the government in early April, observed that the post BDR mutiny time has been marked by sharp increase of different illegal activities across all frontiers of Bangladesh. It identified the illegal activities as trafficking of women and children, and illicit narcotics, and smuggling of arms and ammunitions.
It mentioned that the price of a bottle of illicit narcotic, phensydil, had been around Tk 700 before the events in the BDR headquarters, the price of which nose dived to around Tk 350 since then, due to massive increase in inbound smuggling of the drug.
It also observed, "Since most of the members of different battalions of BDR were either directly or indirectly involved in the mutiny and lawlessness of February 25 and 26, so most of them are in a state of confusion and dilemma about their careers and future until the investigation is over. That is why, many of them are not playing an active role in guarding the borders and in curbing smuggling."
Quoting anonymous sources the report mentioned, "Keeping in mind the uncertainty of their future, some of them are even trying to ensure a future by getting themselves involved in cross-border smuggling."
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China's crude oil imports fell 5.5 percent in March from a year earlier to 16.34 million tons, or 3.86 million barrels a day (bpd), but jumped 39.3 percent from February's 11.73 million tons for the first rise in three months, government data showed Friday. Crude oil imports in the first three months of this year fell 10.2 percent from the same period in 2008 to 40.89 million tons (3.33 million bpd), the General Administration of Customs said on its website.
China's National Energy Administration, a top level administration oversees the energy sector, announced in February that the country, the world's second-biggest oil importer, would build eight new crude oil reserves by 2011.
The program will increase its strategic crude reserve capacity to 44.6 million cu m.
Just a couple of random data points in the stream, but they are interesting data points and I wish I didn't have to go to Kuwait's news agency to find them. The Western media is getting nearly useless in its fearmongering and fanaticism...
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran hanged three men on Friday for their involvement in a bombing inside a packed mosque that killed 14 people nearly a year ago, the official IRNA news agency reported. The three, who were not identified, were hanged in Abdel Abad prison in the southern city of Shiraz near where the attack occurred, the agency said. The sentencing was carried out after Iran's Supreme Court upheld the guilty verdicts against them.
Iran's Revolutionary Court found the three men guilty in November for their involvement in the April 12 bombing that also wounded more than 200 people. The court, which handles state security cases, also found the three guilty of having links to the United States and planning to destabilize Iran through a campaign of bombings and assassinations. It said they had confessed.
According to the court, the three said they were members of the Iran Royal Association, a little known monarchist group that wants to overthrow the country's ruling Islamic establishment.
Which is enough regardless of whether or not they ever threw a bomb.
The mosque that was bombed is part of the Rahpouyan-e-Vesal cultural center in Shiraz, about 550 miles (885 kilometers) south of Iran's capital, Tehran. The mosque was packed with about 1,000 worshippers at the time of the explosion.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/11/2009
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Shocking stuff.
Posted by: Dave UK ||
04/11/2009 4:53
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RAWALPINDI: The Pakistan Army Promotion Board on Friday ended promoting 75 officers to the rank of brigadier and 170 officers to that of colonel, defence sources have said. The decision to promote the officers was made at the end of the three-day 63rd Formation Commanders Conference at the General Headquarters (GHQ), which was chaired by Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Kayani. Sources said names of more than 1,000 officers were considered for promotion, and the board decided to elevate the best ones after analysing each candidate.
No formal statement was issued by the ISPR at the end of the meeting that approved the promotions. Sources said the names of the promoted officers would be made public at the time of their posting.
How many of them made their names fighting on the eastern front?
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/11/2009
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Nearly a 25% selection rate! Damn fine officers they have.
Check out the text of the Pakistan Enduring Assistance and Cooperation Enhancement (PEACE) Act of 2009, officially titled HR 1886, introduced by Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA) on April 2 and currently referred to the committee.
If this bill did not relate to a serious issue in the backdrop of a very grim situation facing Pakistan and this region, one might have dismissed it as a bad joke. While it would be an essential exercise to deconstruct it clause by clause to lay bare its intent, and one hopes the Foreign Office will do exactly that, it is important here to at least point to what is obvious.
First, the bill and some of its clauses, especially those pertaining to India's interest, are the work of Indian lobbying. That, one should, without any grudge, say is excellent work from India's perspective. Equally, one might ask what effort, if any, was made by us to thwart India's designs.
The question, however, is this: should the United States be dealing with Pakistan on the basis of its (US) interests or India's? The question, at this stage, assumes quite arbitrarily that US interests vis-à-vis Pakistan may be different from India's. Increasing evidence may even put paid to this assumption but for now we shall not touch upon that.
One may also assume that given the Obama administration's own rhetoric, the US faces a grave threat in the region, which it cannot tackle without Pakistan's help. Logically this means that the US should be trying to find points of convergence with Pakistan. Coming up with a bill that does not even purport to hide its India tilt is a strange way of doing that.
Iranian Army commander General Atqollah Salehe said Friday the Islamic Republic planned to intensify production of modern fighters.
Salehe, quoted by Iran's Fars news agency, said the Iranian people would see the largest and "most destructive" submarine in the region, affirming Tehran's success in its deterrence against foreign threats.
General Salehe announced the holding of an exhibition of the ground forces to display achievements of the troops.
With the new year, he added, Iran would produce modern jet fighters, and that Tehran has programs to manufacture submarines and underwater equipment to be added to Iran's satellite.
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/11/2009 0:22
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largest and "most destructive" submarine in the region
They gonna put the Revolutionary Guards on an oil tanker and sink it?
Posted by: john frum ||
04/11/2009 11:29
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I didn't know the Iranians could make seagoing nuclear reactors, and put them into something that could outdo a Los Angeles class sub.
Besides, it is hard to hide submarine construction from prying satellite eyes, especially when it takes quite a while to build a large submarine. And especially when you don't have any real experience doing it. The ocean is very unforgiving when you are motoring around under the surface.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
04/11/2009 18:26
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Tehran has programs to manufacture submarines and underwater equipment to be added to Iran's satellite.
Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah categorically denied Friday that the Lebanese party has intentions to undermine Egypt's security.
Nasrallah was reacting to accusations by the Egyptian public prosecutor that a person identified as Sami Shehab tried to carry out acts undermining security of Egypt. Shehab is a member in Hezbollah, Nasrallah admitted, but added that he was "carrying out logistic work on the Egyptian-Palestinian borders in favor of the resistance and to transfer equipment and individuals to the Palestinian brothers."
Egypt's public prosecutor Justice Abdulmajeed Mahmoud said interrogations were underway with a new 49-member organization financed by the Lebanese Hezbollah, accused of planning to carry out "hostile" actions inside Egypt.
These accusations, said Nasrallah, "aim at arousing the Egyptian people and to say that Hezbollah wants to do sabotage acts in Egypt. They (those who made the accusations) want to tarnish the picture of Hezbollah in Egypt ... (But) it is normal that Hezbollah and the resistant movement are highly respected by the Egyptian people ...," he said.
Nasrallah said Shehab collaborated "with people whose number does not reach 10 persons and many of the arrestees have no relation with him." Nasrallah said: "if helping the Palestinians whose lands are occupied and they are the onse getting killed and starved is a crime, then I officially confess of this crime." Hezbollah, asserted Nasrallah, "does not seek a conflict with the Egyptian regime." The Lebanese cleric had, during the Israeli onslaught against Gaza Strip, urged the Egyptian people and armed forces "to exercise pressure on the political leadership" to open the Rafah crossing. But Cairo considered this a "declaration of war on the Egyptian people," and accused Nasrallah of being "an agent of the Iranian regime." Nasrallah said Hezbollah's sole objective was to liberate and protect the Lebanese territories from the Israeli threats.
Nasrallah brushed aside reports suggesting that Hezbollah was supporting groups in Yemen and Bahrain, calling on the Arab people and governments not to hold Hezbollah "the responsibilities bigger than its country, circumstances and capabilities."
#1
HMMMMMM - the SOMALI PIRACY. "SCUD DIPLOMACY" > active defense/fallback to under LR Iranian or Other defense umbrellas, ee CHINA'S ANTI-NAVAL/CARRIER MISSLES???
#2
Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah categorically denied Friday that the Lebanese party has intentions to undermine Egypt's security...yet.
There, fixed that.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
04/11/2009 3:19
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The recent meeting between a deputy of Richard Holbrooke, the United States special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, and an emissary of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, leader of Hezb-i-Islami Afghanistan (HIA), is by all accounts a landmark move in the United States' stated aim of involving militant groups in ending the conflict in Afghanistan.
I can't imagine Hekmatyar would want to be seen with Holbrooke ...
The choice of Hekmatyar also indicates just how desperate the US is in finding an escape route from the escalating crisis in Afghanistan. Hekmatyar is a declared terrorist with a reported $25 million price on his head. The 61-year-old engineer from Kunduz province and his anti-government fighters are responsible for large numbers of attacks against Afghan and international forces, mainly in the northeast of the country. For years, Washington has branded Hekmatyar an irreconcilable militant.
Which is correct ...
The HIA, founded by Hekmatyar, was one of the most effective mujahideen groups to fight the Soviet invasion during the 1980s. But, according to reports, the party became a favorite of Pakistan's intelligence agency and Hekmatyar's men were known as the most fundamentalist of all Afghan resistance fighters. It was "one of the most effective" in the sense that the Hek's mujaheddin and Masood's mujaheddin between them were responsible for a majority of the operations, when Hek wasn't actually on the Sov side. But the majority of that majority consisted of Masood's operations -- he really was the hero of the Afghan war. And combining Ismail Khan's operations or Haqqani's operations with Masood's while excluding Hek would probably still account for a majority of the operations, and certainly better account for the majority of the effective operations.
To date, however, the US has failed miserably in attracting mainstream Afghan forces of the past back into the political process, including tribal warlords, the Taliban, the Northern Alliance and the HIA. I kinda sorta agree with that. We should be looking forward to replacing Karzai with somebody more capable, like Ismail Khan or even Younus Qanooni. We should be best friends with Ismail and with Mohammad Fahim and even with Dostum. We really should be holding together and expanding the Northern Alliance, if only in anticipation of Karzai actually losing the Pashtun areas to Pakistan-based al-Qaeda and their puppets like Baitullah Mehsud.
This means, as Peter Lee wrote last month in Asia Times Online, "...the unpredictable Hekmatyar, who has survived the jihad, the civil war, defeat at the hands of the Taliban, exile in Iraq, an assassination attempt by the CIA, and return to Afghanistan as an insurgent leader, is the great hope of all parties as the only Pashtun strongman untainted by al-Qaeda and possibly capable of taking on the Taliban." I'm sure that Hek "allies" with al-Qaeda just as easily as he allies with Iran and the Paks and probably with the Paraguayans or even the Antarcticans if they have any money. He doesn't have to be "tainted" by an al-Qaeda alliance, since he's a taint in himself. His motto: "To thine own self and nobody else be true."
The insurgents loyal to Hekmatyar have now emerged as the most important component of anti-Western coalition resistance in Afghanistan. While most of Taliban-led resistance is situated near the Pakistan Afghanistan borders, insurgents loyal to Hekmatyar hold complete command over Kapissa province's Tagab valley, only 30 kilometers north of Kabul. The HIA, whose political wing has offices all over Afghanistan and keeps 40 seats in the Afghan parliament, is fully geared to replace President Hamid Karzai in the upcoming presidential elections.
Now, eight years after the US attack on Afghanistan, Washington is initiating dialogue with Hekmatyar through his longtime lieutenant Daoud Abedi, the link between the Hekmatyar and the West. Abedi is an Afghan-American based in California as well as a prominent businessman, social worker and a former representative of the HIA. Kill him. And set Ismail Khan on Hekmatyar.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/11/2009
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I'm not even a guerrilla leader and I wouldn't want the stank of Holbrooke on me.
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/11/2009 0:24
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"Sorry Richard, but you are just not my type. But if you have any pre-teen sons, or even a daughter..."
Velupillai Prabhakaran is in an unpredictable mood these days. Sometimes when his gimlet eyes fix on those around him, he looks murderous.
Sometimes he looks like a broken man muttering under his breath, I am dying, Eelam, dying, as though he were in some Shakespearean melodrama. Those around him are wary of talking to him when Prabhakaran is having a conversation with himself. When they see a rage building up inside him, they keep out of the line of his sight. The only time they go to tell him something is to give the news from the battlefront. Sometimes the battlefront is four kilometres away. At other times it is less than a kilometre away. All the time the battlefield is shrinking. Sometimes they don't have to tell Prabhakaran some of the news because he can hear it coming too. That is when the Sri Lankan shells come with a high whine and explode and body parts lie everywhere. It is not what the explosion does that is terrible. It is the sound of screaming that follows that is unbearable. The screaming goes on for hours without stop.
All the news from the battlefront is bad news. All the news that comes via the satellite phone is bad news. They couldn't get the UN to intervene. This MP will try to do this but it is difficult. They couldn't do this. They couldn't do that. They had to shoot a few who were trying to break the cordon here. They had to fire into the crowd to restrain a rebellion there. All the stack of medicine was over and amputations had to be done without the help of medicines. Water was running low. A thousand were dying of bullet wounds and other injuries. Many were already dead from the pain. There were no more ablebodied youngsters left to defend the last positions, should they look for older persons? More shells had fallen in such and such place and so many had been wounded and so many dead. Should they ask people to start burying those who had been dead for a day? Whenever he gets the latest bad news, those around Prabhakaran keep their fingers crossed. They have no idea whether he is going to burst into tears or start shooting at everything and everyone in sight. Often these days Prabhakaran feels he has been stabbed in the back with a knife that has Tamil lettering on its handle.
He had had the same feeling many years ago, when Rajiv Gandhi had corralled him into Hotel Ashok in New Delhi and coerced him into accepting the Indo-Sri Lankan Accord. Then he had complained to V Gopalasamy that he had been stabbed in the back. "I feel like committing suicide," he had confessed to V Gopalasamy on the phone twenty-two years ago. The lettering on the knife handle then had been English.
Anton Balasingham had translated it for him, clause by clause. Often these days Prabhakaran thinks of committing suicide.
He wants to ask Gopalasamy, "What have I done to deserve this fate? Have I sacrificed my whole life for this? Should I have settled for much less than Eelam?" Eelam was slipping away from his grasp like a fistful of Puthukudiyiruppu beach sand.
All that answers him is the warm evening wind moving among the coconut trees near his bunker. But now he cannot get on the phone and tell Gopalasamy that he wants to end it all. The only person who gets on the satellite phone nowadays is Nadesan. He is on the phone to Malaysia, to Thailand, to UK, Canada. They are all advising Nadesan to tell Thalaivar to save himself and escape while he still can. With him around there will be hope for the movement. Soosai had the boats ready. All that had to be done is to give the signal and they could make a break for it past the cordon of vessels four nautical miles away where they are safe from LTTE range and head towards a mid-sea rendezvous under the cover of darkness.
Prabhakaran curses himself often for asking the Tamil people to boycott the November 2005 presidential polls that brought Rajapaksa to power. Sometimes when those around him think that Prabhakaran is talking to himself he is not. Prabhakaran sometimes talks to Rajapaksa whom nobody can see except Prabhakaran. These are not good conversations. They make Prabhakaran angry. During every conversation with Rajapaksa, Prabhakaran walks with exaggerated slow steps away from Rajapaksa and suddenly whirls around, whips the revolver from his waist holster and fires at the imaginary Rajapaksa screaming, "Go ahead. Make my day." The first time that it happened they told Pottu Amman of the chief's disturbing behaviour. Pottu, looking for clues, had asked a technical question: "Does he whirl to the left or does he whirl to the right before shooting, and how is his aim?" They had been too surprised to notice.
They became worried again when Prabhakaran had pointed a gun at those who were refusing to dig trenches to defend the last positions and declared, "In this world there's two kinds of people, my friends. Those with loaded guns, and those who dig. You dig." Then Pottu, the intelligence chief, understood clearly what was going on. " I think he is beginning to think he is Clinton Eastwood." They asked Pottu, "Is that good or bad?" Pottu had given them no answer and lapsed into silence. Then he said: "It all depends.
It could be good. It could be bad. Or it could be ugly." Over the radio that Prabhakaran was now in the habit of listening came a song Undhan desathin kural, tholu doorathil ado, seviyil vizhatha...sonda veetuntrai va vendru azhaikuthuda thamizha.... (Do you not hear your country calling you from afar? It is calling you to come home Thamizha...) It was a poignant song with a funereal rhythm and the nadaswaram made it sound even sadder. Prabhakaran was silent as he heard the song. His gimlet eyes softened with a faraway look. Then came the commercial breaks and after that the headlines.
The announcer was saying in Chennai the political parties had called for a ceasefire.... Prabhakaran heard the headline and flew into an immense rage. He began muttering to himself and started to walk with exaggerated slowness away from the radio. Suddenly he whirled around whipped out the revolver and shot the radio.
In one smooth movement. He had whirled to the left and the radio was shattered.
In his hand the gun was smoking.
Politicians, he spat out the word. "These are politicians, Pottu, politicians. They will bury us all here. I should have been a politician.
There's no future in this business." It was suddenly dark. Over the wild wind came the sound of shells hurtling down.
There came a series of deafening explosions nearby. Somewhere a child began to cry in a whimper. The screams grew steadily louder as more voices joined in
Posted by: john frum ||
04/11/2009
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"I should have been a politician."
Indeed. but instead you and your followers chose the route of murder and terrorism to achieve your aims. You got the fate you deserve.
"There are two kinds of people in this world, my friend. Those with loaded guns, and those who dig [holes]. You dig."
-- Clint Eastwood, "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly"
which is almost as favorite as this:
"Owing to the neglect of our defences and the mishandling of the German problem in the last five years, we seem to be very near the bleak choice between War and Shame. My feeling is that we shall choose Shame, and then have War thrown in a little later, on even more adverse terms than at present."
-- Winston Churchill in a letter to Lord Moyne, 1938
A second US warship — this one bearing helicopters — arrived Friday off the Somali coast amid a tense standoff with pirates holding a US ship captain whose recent escape attempt failed, the Pentagon said. The guided-missile frigate USS Halyburton "is on site, in the vicinity" of the small lifeboat where pirates are holding Captain Richard Phillips hostage, said US Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman.
The Halyburton "brings helicopters" to the volatile scene, said Whitman, who declined to say if the warship was within view of the lifeboat adrift in the Indian Ocean.
The US destroyer on site, the USS Bainbridge, has been monitoring the lifeboat but has no helicopters, another US official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity. The amphibious assault ship USS Boxer was also in the region but further away than the other two vessels, he added.
Phillips jumped into the water during the night and tried to swim towards the USS Bainbridge, but pirates jumped in and recaptured him, the official told AFP. "The captain jumped off and tried to escape," the official told AFP, adding that he had no details about how the pirates managed to take him back. The incident lasted "around half an hour," the official said.
The Bainbridge, accompanied by a P-3 Orion surveillance plane, was preventing the pirates from moving their hostage to a larger ship.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/11/2009
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Wait a minute.....the second ship is called the Halyburton?
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/11/2009 0:26
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#7
Our sailors had better be careful not to let themselves be 'Cole-ed'; they're surrounded by potential suicide speedboats, they're distracted by a totally different situation, and they are handcuffed by their C-in-C. It's a formula for disaster.
#8
Obama is obviously a graduate of the "Jimmy Carter School of Hostage Negotiation".
Every enemy of ours around the world is watching this and realizing just how empty the suit is that sits in the Oval Office. The question is not "if" they will move against us or our interests...but simply "when"?
#9
Turn the scene about, to an on-land scenario. Four thugs hold a captive in a 7-11. SWAT surrounds them. In most juristictions, the idea would be to wait out the criminals.
In this case, being at sea adds a level of difficulty, as does the design of the lifeboat. It is an enclosed boat, not open topped.
Let's be patient. The best outcome is that Captain Phillips is freed unharmed.
#11
Darth Bolton was asked on Fox about this situation. I really like this guy.
Isn't it something that some nations are afraid to confront the problem because they might get sued by human rights groups for violating the rights of the Pirates? We are so screwed!
#12
The EUniks are totally wussified, when they are afraid of so-called human rights groups suing them for pirates' human rights. This is suicidal behavior. The moral core of Europe is rotted out.
We in the US are heading the same direction. Negotiations are for people or groups with some kind of mutual respect. It involves some trust, but some verification that the terms of the negotiated agreement will be respected and maintained.
In the case of the pirates, it is not appropriate to negotiate with them, because by doing so, we are legitimizing their existence as pirates and way of doing business.
So what is an appropriate response? We have short term goals and we have long term goals. Our short term goal is the rescue of Captain Phillips and to ensure his safety. There are a number of tactical ways to do that. Our long term goal is to put an end to piracy.
It is obvious that the Big O administration, like Carter, especially like former pres Clinton, sees piracy and terrorism as law enforcement issues. That means that we will always be on the defensive, which is to show weakness. The Navy is waiting for instructions from Washington. That is a recipe for disaster and weakness. What can I say? It is a doomed strategy.
My 2 cents solution is to:
1. take care of the tactical solution and perform the hostage rescue.
2. Perform a bombing run on the beach between the sea and the town of Eyl. A little demo of what we do bombing and strafing, just like what we do a the aerial bombing and gunnery ranges in Nevada.
3. Demand the unconditional and safe release of hostages in Eyl and ships offshore within 24 hours. Bring in warships to receive the hostages. Tow or get the hostage ships underway and away from Eyl.
3. If our demands are not met, bomb and strafe the town and everything in it to rubble, charred remains, and dust.
4. Take the same methods in 1 through 3 to the next town nearby.
You give the pirates a chance to do it right. If they do not comply, then they suffer the consequences. Problem is solved. The pirates have committed an act of war, and must suffer the consequences of the act.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
04/11/2009 13:19
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#13
HERE is a link to an article in some kind of language about piracy around Eyl. I was looking for a pic of the town and I found this site. Interesting pics.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
04/11/2009 13:47
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#15
I'm sure we have a Los Angeles class submarine in the area. Have it surface at about 25 knots directly undere the lifeboat. In the confusion, send a half-dozen marines into the lifeboat with close-in weapons. Problem solved.
The pirates we capture should be dropped on the beach in the nearest pirate harbor - from about 500 feet. I think that would be a sufficient message that we're not going to put up with this pirate behavior.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
04/11/2009 14:32
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#16
On this situation, I'm with all for using lotsa force against their fellow pirates, not trying to turn them like we do in the WoT.
Difference is, this aint religion, this is organized crime. Mobsters will understand if you send them their friends head with a note explaining to them that we don't want war, we just want to stay out of each others way.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
04/11/2009 14:39
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#17
We need to have a heart to heart, we-don't-want-a-fight, let's just go our separate ways, talk.
#18
heh, Snowy - I have the boxset of Firefly DVDs, and I'd forgotten that one
damn, I wish it was still on, or Serenity II
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/11/2009 15:02
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#19
While we're on the subject of Firefly, the photos stash needs a pic of Badger (a fence the protagonists sometimes deal with) for all the respectable businessmen types you always find on the fringes of places like the Gulf of Aden.
Unfortunately the scene I am looking for isn't on youtube.
#20
But was the Bainbridge authorized to throw him a line and haul him aboard by Barry?
Could you try not being stupid, for once?
The Bainbridge is several hundred yards off the lifeboat.
The captain jumps - at night. It's not like the pirates stood there dumbfounded.
Even if the Bainbridge had a boat in the water, it'd be several minutes before they could get there. As it was the pirates would've had him back long before the boat got there.
If they tried laying down covering fire, from several hundred yards off, at night, it's likely they'd have shot up the captain.
Not my intent to be critical or argumentative, but there is substantially more to this story than the brave skipper of the Maersk Alabama.
Yeah, not critical or argumentive. As for "more to this story", I'm waiting with bated breath for your analysis.
#21
Ouch. While not wanting to step into this fistfight, I would say a couple things. One - we all want the Captain back safe and sound. Two - the state of lawlessness around Somalia is ridiculous and the shipping companies are abetting it by paying enormous amounts of money as ransom, Dane geld as it were. Three - our President Empty Suit's law enforcement mentality is worth JACK SHIT when the other side is not an American citizen on our land.We end up feeding, lawyering-up, doctoring-up people who should be summarily shot on sight. The world's obsession with granting Human Rights to people who neither grant nor recognize the same is stupid and suicidal. Any Human Rights Activist should have to spend a year or two (at subsistence level) in Mogadishu, FATA, SWAT, Gaza, an unprotected house in Sderot, etc before they are allowed to say anything. Four - it is now open game on Americans everywhere - thanks O and Joe "gird your loins" Biden. Five - Our military is frustrated without leadership from the CinC. Look for a bleeding of enthusiasm among the world's best warriors. Wasn't that one of the Democrat Party planks, though? Mission accomplished.
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/11/2009 18:31
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#22
"An army of lions commanded by a deer will never be an army of lions." - Napoleon
#23
Patience is not necessarily the wrong approach here. But that lifeboat must not get close to shore (if the lifeboat has propulsion it should foul a heavy steel net with a cable back to the frigate) and other hostile vessels must not get close to it, or to our naval ships. And I do like the idea of messing with their communications - not jamming it, but badly degrading it for most of the time.
SEOUL -- North Korea's latest missile test raises a critical question. Why should anyone consider giving aid to this regime that has already squandered hundreds of billions of dollars on firing off missiles and producing nuclear warheads?
No good reason we know of, but then Rantburg readers already know this.
Here's an impoverished country, the single biggest recipient of aid from the World Food Program, where half the people are underfed, if not starving and diseased, hundreds of thousands consigned under unspeakable conditions to a vast prison system, and world leaders wonder whether to ply them with billions more.
It is not just that such thinking is ridiculous. It's that it has no chance of working. We've been disillusioned again and again. Remember the North-South Red Cross talks of 1972, the harbinger of exchanges of mail, of visits by long-lost relatives?
And what about the North-South agreement for a nuclear-free Korean peninsula, signed in 1991? No sooner was the world getting comfortable with that deal than North Korea withdrew from the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.
Then there was the Geneva framework of 1994 in which American diplomats masterminded an elaborate arrangement for bequeathing North Korea twin light-water nuclear reactors in return for the shutdown of its nuclear facilities.
All the while, North Korea was wheeling and dealing with A.Q. Khan, father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb, for an entirely separate program to fabricate nukes from enriched uranium.
It's mind-boggling to imagine that any one could have fallen for North Korea's promises again, but Christopher Hill, as President George W. Bush's nuclear envoy, fell for two more agreements in a year of talks after the North conducted an underground nuclear test on October 9, 2006.
No way, of course, would North Korea reveal all the details of its nuclear inventory, much less get rid of the six to 12 warheads it possesses. The latest evidence was Sunday's launch of a Taepodong-2 missile with a range of at least 2,000 miles.
The North Koreans went through an elaborate exercise of claiming the missile was a two-stage booster assembly from which a satellite would be lofted into orbit. They made the same claim in 1998 when they fired Taepodong-1 in much the same trajectory over northern Japan.
Then as now, North Korea announced the missile had lofted a satellite into space from which wafted paeans to Dear Leader Kim Jong Il and his late father, Kim Il Sung, "eternal president."
It's dubious if the attachment picked up by satellite imagery at the tip of the missile was a satellite. Far more likely, North Koreans were bamboozling the world in a shell game that would be funny if the implications were not so deadly.
There's plenty of evidence that North Koreans by now are good at manufacturing missiles. They export short-range Scuds and mid-range Rodongs, the products of Russian engineering. They also are well known to have made nuclear warheads. No one has ever heard or seen any signs of building satellites.
So we're left with one reason for Sunday's test: The satellite story was indeed a cover for the testing the Taepodong-2, which had fizzled in a previous attempt at launching it in July 2006.
Now what? President Barack Obama and South Korea's President Lee Myung Bak talk about "stern" countermeasures. Nobody imagines a military response. Most analysts expect resumption of talks.
When they do get to the table, our side should make one point clear: No more aid that you will only spend on missiles and nukes. That would be the sternest -- and most effective -- penalty anyone could inflict.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/11/2009
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Because Madeline Albright says so.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
04/11/2009 13:31
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Koreans are duplicitous, its perfectly acceptable in their culture to have a public face or side one shows to the world, and a private face or hidden side nobody knows. This is the mindset. Being duplicitous is not seen as lying per se. Koreans are also ruthless and stop at nothing to get what they want. I saw many women going after married men with children in the military and these same home wreckers would cry and kick and scream when the GI went back to his wife and kids. She would go ballistic calling him a liar, even though her behavior was gutterball dishonest too. Koreans are not to be trusted, and bat shit crazy too. If I offend anyone by telling what I observed, dial 1-800-Suck-IT.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
04/11/2009 23:17
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Thanks. Yea, some skeptics would tell me I should get out a psychology book and analyze why Koreans are they way they are to foster international understanding, handholding, all that. I just say, they are the way they are, and they cannot be trusted.
This is from my direct observation, so if I sound xenophobic its coming from the standpoint that even South Korea is still defined as a third world country by the U.N. due to their numerous human rights violations (doozies, like wholesale, flagrant human trafficking, forced prostitution of minors, ick) So I have no illusions about the Koreas, North or South, they have some way to go in the morality department.
Check the very cool Google Earth pic of the Nork missile launch at the link. That's the only useful thing you'll get from this article, which reads like a NYT intern wrote it over a liquid lunch.
For the second straight day, the United Nations Security Council yesterday failed to agree on a response to the North Korean rocket launch, but Mexican and Costa Rican ambassadors said China, which has urged restraint in response, may support a resolution affirming previous sanctions as a compromise.
While there was no official meeting of the 15 member nations, the five permanent members with veto power - the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, China and France - met separately with Japan, a non-standing member, to discuss the UN response. They reached no agreement and scheduled another meeting for today.
The United States and Japan believe the North Korean launch, regardless of the payload on its rocket, constitutes a violation of existing Security Council Resolution 1718 that bans the North from ballistic missile-related activities. They have been pushing for a strong response, while China and Russia have suggested a more muted one. A Security Council resolution requires unanimous support from the five permanent member nations.
Hillary Clinton, U.S. Secretary of State, reiterated the U.S. stance that a firm measure is necessary. We are actively involved in consultation with partners at the United Nations, members of the Security Council, she said. We know that working out the exact language is not easily done overnight, but we remain convinced that coming out with a strong position in the United Nations is the first and important step that we intend to take.
State Department spokesman Robert Wood also called for a strong, effective and coordinated response from the Security Council.
But when asked if the U.S. was pushing for a resolution, Wood said, We want the strongest possible response that we can get in the Security Council. Id just prefer to leave it at that.
Meanwhile, diplomats told Bloomberg that China may back a resolution that urges North Korea to comply with UN resolutions, as a compromise with the United States.
Boy howdy, that should do it.
Jorge Urbina, Costa Ricas ambassador to the UN, said China might accept a weak resolution or a strong statement. A statement is not legally binding.
Before the launch they [Chinese envoys] were not ready to accept a resolution, but now they could do so, Urbina was quoted as saying. They are just concerned that the process of the six-party talks is not endangered.
Ambassador Claude Heller of Mexico, which holds the presidency of the Security Council this month, also said Chinese representatives suggested privately that they might be willing to agree to a resolution that, without levying new penalties, merely warns Pyongyang to honor existing resolutions.
However, Liu Yutong, spokesman for Chinas mission to the UN, said China has never officially announced it would support a resolution of any kind. There needs to be further discussions, Liu said.
Meanwhile, Russia maintained that the international community should not overreact. The key thing is to make sure we do not confine ourselves to some kind of emotional knee-jerk reaction, said Vitaly Churkin, the Russian ambassador at the UN.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/11/2009
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GAZA - Egyptian mediators trying to break the deadlock in talks on a Palestinian government of national unity have told rival groups Fatah and Hamas to cooperate on reconstructing Gaza as a first step, officials said.
Palestinian groups have been talking in Cairo for months but have so far failed to agree on a unity government ahead of elections set for January 2010. The proposal to cooperate on Gaza was an attempt to break the impasse, an official said. It became clear that a deal between the two sides was near impossible, a senior Palestinian official involved in the talks told Reuters.
I think they should fight to the death ...
Egypts new plan is for a Fatah-Hamas committee answerable to the West Bank-based government of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Western-backed Prime Minister Salam Fayyad to oversee reconstruction work, while the Hamas administration in Gaza provides the headquarters and logistics.
Fatah welcomed the proposal as an introduction to a solution but Hamas said it would give legitimacy to Fayyads government, which the Islamist group has never accepted. Senior Fatah official Nabil Shaath, an Abbas aide, said the Egyptian leadership gave Abbas a written proposal during his visit to Cairo this week and that he was expected to respond before a new round of talks is set to start on April 26.
Both factions must provide Egypt with answers when they return for a new session of talks, said the official, who asked not to be named.
Talks have failed so far because of disagreement over the political agenda for the proposed unity government and the way it will handle the conflict with Israel.
Posted by: Steve White ||
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MOSCOW, April 10 (RIA Novosti) - Some 1,000 Bolivians have joined President Evo Morales in a hunger strike to demand that the country's congress pass an electoral law ratifying a date for general elections in December. Leaders of several labor and social groups have pledged to take part in the hunger strike.
The more the merrier! How much weight are they planning to gain?
In January Bolivians approved a new constitution allowing Morales to seek a second five-year term in December's elections, and giving more power to the country's indigenous majority. Morales, Bolivia's first indigenous president, was elected in 2005.
The new constitution came into effect on February 7. By law, the new presidential and parliamentary elections must be held on December 6. Opposition parties believe this will give Morales an unfair advantage in the upcoming elections, and have so far refused to enact the new election law.
Opposition parties delaying the enacting of the new law have demanded an updated voter registry, raised arguments over whether Bolivian expatriates should be able to vote, and contested the number of seats in Congress that should be assigned to indigenous groups.
The first round of debates ended on Thursday after 30 hours of heated arguments, which led to an overall acceptance of new electoral laws. Congress must now agree on all of its 84 points. Discussions are expected to continue on Friday. Morales is expected to receive the backing of the lower house where his supporters make up the majority, but may fail in the opposition-dominated upper house.
The opposition has called for Morales to end his hunger strike, calling his actions "a presidential diet meant to cover up a lie." The opposition believes the law in its present state is "dark and full of loopholes."
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/11/2009
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a bunch of blow and you don't even feel like eating
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/11/2009 15:24
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He could stand to lose a few kilos, and I don't mean the kind he usually champions.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Treasury Department said Friday that the budget deficit increased by $192.3 billion in March, and is near $1 trillion just halfway through the budget year, as costs of the financial bailout and recession mount. Last month's deficit, a record for March, was significantly higher than the $150 billion that economists expected.
The deficit already totals $956.8 billion for the first six months of the budget year, also a record for that period. The Obama administration projects the deficit for the entire year will hit $1.75 trillion. A deficit at that level would nearly quadruple the previous annual record of $454.8 billion set last year. The March deficit was nearly four times the size of the imbalance in the same month last year.
Nearly $300 billion provided to the nation's banks and other companies to cope with the most severe financial crisis in seven decades has pushed government spending higher. The Treasury report said that through the end of March, $293.4 billion had been provided to support companies through the $700 billion bailout fund Congress passed last October. That support has been provided primarily to banks, although insurance giant American International Group Inc. (AIG) and auto companies General Motors Corp. (GM) and Chrysler LLC also have received assistance.
Besides the bailout fund, Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE) received $46 billion last month, bringing the total assistance provided to the mortgage finance companies to $59.8 billion since October. The government took control of both last September after they had suffered billions of dollars in losses on mortgage loans.
Through the first six months of the budget year that began Oct. 1, tax revenues have totaled $989.8 billion, down 13.6 percent from the year-ago period. The government's receipts have been reduced sharply by the recession, which is shaping up to be the longest of the post World War II period. The downturn began in December 2007.
Government outlays totaled $1.95 trillion through March, 33.4 percent higher than the year-ago period. Besides higher payments for the financial rescue, the government is paying more in such areas as unemployment benefits and food stamps. The Treasury report showed benefit payments from the unemployment trust fund totaled $44.6 billion so far this budget year, up from $19.4 billion last year.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated last month that President Barack Obama's budget proposals would produce $9.3 trillion in deficits over the next decade, a figure $2.3 trillion higher than estimates made in February in the administration's first budget proposal. The CBO review projected Obama's budget would generate deficits averaging almost $1 trillion annually over the decade ending in 2019.
Do the math: $956 billion deficit for 6 months. Last year the 6 month deficit was about $225 billion. We're running (rough numbers here) $730 billion more. Minus $300 billion to the banks, that leaves $430 billion. Minus $30 billion for unemployment, etc., and $60 billion for Fannie and Freddie, that leaves $340 billion. Minus the drop in revenue, about $130, that leaves $210 billion spent in 6 months on who knows what. I'll bet there isn't a single person in government who can tell you that the extra spending went for anything useful.
Er, I was told there would be no math in this Administration?
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/11/2009
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Six more members of Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) yesterday confessed to their involvement in the February 25-26 Pilkhana carnage before magistrates. Metropolitan magistrates Rashedul Kabir and Dilara Alo Chandana recorded the confessional statements of the six.
Meanwhile, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrested 15 more BDR members in connection with the case yesterday. Senior Assistant Superintendent of Police Abdul Kahar Akand of CID said all the 15 BDR jawans were arrested at Pilkhana for their alleged involvement in the bloodbath.
With yesterday's arrest, the number of arrestees rose to 1028 while 31 of them made confessional statements. Besides, 190 BDR members so far have been placed on remand in connection with the Pilkhana carnage that left 75 people killed, including 57 Army personnel.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/11/2009
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The 35-member board will hold a meeting to look into the list of the candidates for the senior post in the first half of May.
The International Atomic Eneregy Agency has received nomination applications from Slovenia and Malaysia for the post of the IAEA director general, Mohammad Al-Baradei, whose term is due to expire next fall. The 35-member board will hold a meeting to look into the list of the candidates for the senior post in the first half of May.
Official sources at the IAEA headquarters told KUNA on Friday that the former envoy of Slovenia at the international agency, Ernst Petrich, 72, who had also headed the IAEA board between 2006 and 2007, was one of the nominees for the senior post.
Malaysia for its part had filed candidacy papers for the head of its nuclear authority, Noori Amli, the sources said, adding that the chaiperson of the IAEA Board of Governors, Tawoos Faroukhi, of Algeria, had received names of other candidates from the Argentines, Mexico, Spain and Hungary.
The candidates of South Africa and Japan failed, at an extraordinary session of the board in the end last month, in securing two thirds of the votes to occupy the post.
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
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Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
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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.
A site dedicated to the preservation of truth, justice and the American way. Where true American citizens can monitor and report all anti-obama activities taking place on the world wide web.
LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif has said the country cannot afford a confrontation among political parties at this point in time, a private TV channel reported on Friday. 
A criminal was killed in a shootout between his cohorts and Rab members at Dakkhin Keraniganj in the city early yesterday.
RAWALPINDI: The Pakistan Army Promotion Board on Friday ended promoting 75 officers to the rank of brigadier and 170 officers to that of colonel, defence sources have said. The decision to promote the officers was made at the end of the three-day 63rd Formation Commanders Conference at the General Headquarters (GHQ), which was chaired by Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Kayani. Sources said names of more than 1,000 officers were considered for promotion, and the board decided to elevate the best ones after analysing each candidate. 
Iranian Army commander General Atqollah Salehe said Friday the Islamic Republic planned to intensify production of modern fighters.
The recent meeting between a deputy of Richard Holbrooke, the United States special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, and an emissary of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, leader of Hezb-i-Islami Afghanistan (HIA), is by all accounts a landmark move in the United States' stated aim of involving militant groups in ending the conflict in Afghanistan. 
MOSCOW, April 10 (RIA Novosti) - Some 1,000 Bolivians have joined President Evo Morales in a hunger strike to demand that the country's congress pass an electoral law ratifying a date for general elections in December. Leaders of several labor and social groups have pledged to take part in the hunger strike.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Treasury Department said Friday that the budget deficit increased by $192.3 billion in March, and is near $1 trillion just halfway through the budget year, as costs of the financial bailout and recession mount. Last month's deficit, a record for March, was significantly higher than the $150 billion that economists expected.
Six more members of Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) yesterday confessed to their involvement in the February 25-26 Pilkhana carnage before magistrates. Metropolitan magistrates Rashedul Kabir and Dilara Alo Chandana recorded the confessional statements of the six.
