Anybody heard of this guy?
David Rohde, a New York Times reporter who was kidnapped by the Taliban, escaped Friday night and made his way to freedom after more than seven months of captivity in the mountains of Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Mr. Rohde, along with a local reporter, Tahir Ludin, and their driver, Asadullah Mangal, was abducted outside Kabul, Afghanistan, on Nov. 10 while he was researching a book. Mr. Rohde was part of The Timess reporting team that won a Pulitzer Prize this spring for coverage of Afghanistan and Pakistan last year.
Mr. Rohde told his wife, Kristen Mulvihill, that Mr. Ludin joined him in climbing over the wall of a compound where they were being held in the North Waziristan region of Pakistan. They made their way to a nearby Pakistani Frontier Corps base and on Saturday they were flown to the American military base in Bagram, Afghanistan. They just walked over the wall of the compound, Ms. Mulvihill said.
The driver, Mr. Mangal, did not escape with the other two men. The initial report was that Mr. Rohde was in good health, while Mr. Ludin injured his foot in the escape.
Until now, the kidnapping has been kept quiet by The Times and other media organizations out of concern for the mens safety. Hell of a job suppressing the news MSM.
Rest at link.
Posted by: ed ||
06/20/2009
19:54 ||
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Um, 'we' have... it was reported on the 'Burg here.
#3
I wonder if the media lords would have been so fastidious about withholding damaging information if the victim had been an American soldier or, say, a missionary?
(yes, I am joking but it isn't funny.)
#1
Note that the terrorist whose freedom was demanded in return for the five hostages was in fact released. The beasts have apparently responded by delivering mutilated bodies.
This kind of sadistic taunting is an Iranian terrorist trademark, familiar enough from the actions of their other proxies, Hezbollah. If the worst is confirmed, the very least that should happen is for the released terrorist to be hunted down to the ends of the Earth and slaughtered like a pig.
In future, any terrorist whose freedom is demanded for a hostage should, himself, be executed if the hostages are killed. It's draconian, I know, but these savages revel in their cruelty and this is the only way to deal with them.
President Obama on Saturday called on the Iranian government to "stop all violent and unjust actions against its own people" amid calls for the White House to go further in showing support for the Iranian people after the country's disputed elections.
Republicans, in particular, have pressed Obama to speak out more forcefully, as protesters and authorities clashed Saturday in Tehran during a government crackdown.
"The universal rights to assembly and free speech must be respected and the United States stands with all who seek to exercise those rights," Obama said in a written statement.
Obama also referred back to his speech this month to the Muslim world, saying "suppressing ideas never succeeds in making them go away. The Iranian people will ultimately judge the actions of their own government. If the Iranian government seeks the respect of the international community, it must respect the dignity of its own people and govern through consent, not coercion."
And Obama cited the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s, famous quote: "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice."
"I believe that," Obama said. "The international community believes that. And right now, we are bearing witness to the Iranian peoples' belief in that truth, and we will continue to bear witness."
Republicans, who have pushed Obama to speak out more forcefully against Tehran's crackdown on protesters, said the president's statement was long overdue, coming a day after Congress passed a resolution condemning the crackdown on protesters.
"The Obama administration took a first step today," California Rep. Darrell Issa told FOX News. "Obviously, Congress was well ahead of the president. I think the president is playing catch-up."
Issa said the president, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other Obama officials should make a series of additional statements to demonstrate when the United States stands.
"You have to support these people whose aspirations are only freedom," he said.
Before Obama's statement, Republicans had called on him to send a clear message
#2
pretty obviously only US allies get the official Stink-Eye. Better to pretend to be an Anti-
America Rogue Regime, so all your goals are memorialized as "legitimate" and "inviolable".
A big steaming glass of "I told you so" (smells like shit) to the 52% who voted for this empty suit
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/20/2009 20:32
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Holbrooke Tries to Convince Refugees That U.S. Is on Their Side
SHAIKH SHAHZAID CAMP, Pakistan -- U.S. envoy Richard C. Holbrooke, red-faced and sweaty, sat on the dirt floor of a stifling tent as Aslam Khan, a 38-year-old laborer, spoke haltingly of his family's panicked flight from a Pakistani army offensive against Taliban forces in their mountain village, three hours north of here.
Holbrooke asked some questions about the Taliban but got few answers. "Are these all your children?" he asked with a smile. Yes, Khan said, he had nine.
"Your daughter is beautiful," Holbrooke continued, nodding toward a young woman who sat quietly at the edge of the family. Her head was covered in a royal-blue scarf that revealed only her stunningly dark eyes.
"That's not my daughter," Khan said abruptly. After an awkward silence, the woman explained that she was a Pakistani police officer. It was unclear whether she was there to protect Holbrooke from the refugees, or to monitor what they told him.
Nice going, Dick. That's just amazing diplomacy, telling a rural Pashtun tribal leader that you'd like to take his daughter out to the back seat of your Hummvee. Yeah yeah, it wasn't his daughter, but if that was his daughter you would have happily dishonored the man and his family. Brilliant, simply brilliant.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/20/2009
15:07 ||
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Jake Holbrooke: How much for the little girl? How much for the women?
Father: What? Jake Holbrooke: Your women. I want to buy your women. The little girl, your daughters... sell them to me. Sell me your children.
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/20/2009 16:06
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#2
Looking for love in all the wrong places.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
06/20/2009 18:37
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DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan A new Islamic militia leader has emerged in Pakistan to openly challenge al Qaida-affiliated warlord Baitullah Mehsud for the first time from within his own tribe, marking the start of a bloody confrontation in the wild Waziristan region that could have profound consequences for both Pakistan and the West.
In his first interview with a Western news organization, Qari Zainuddin told McClatchy this week that he'd wipe out Mehsud and rescue Pakistan from a reign of terror that has pushed the nuclear-armed U.S. ally toward collapse. Zainuddin charged that Mehsud, who is the leader of the Pakistani Taliban, had betrayed both his Muslim religion and the Mehsud tribe of his native South Waziristan, which borders Afghanistan.
"To fight our own country is wrong," said Zainuddin, in an interview given in a hideout on the edge of South Waziristan, surrounded by masked Kalashnikov-totting followers. "Islam doesn't give permission to fight against a Muslim country. This is where we differ. What we're seeing these days, these bombings in mosques, in markets, in hospitals; these are not allowed in Islam. We don't agree with them."
But victory will not mean any lessening of efforts to expel Westerners from neighboring Afghanistan, Zainuddin said. He pledged to send his forces into Afghanistan once Mehsud is vanquished.
"The whole Muslim world should come together because all infidels have come together against Islam. Whether it is Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, Chechnya, Muslims must protect ourselves," said Zainuddin, who has the title of "Qari" or someone who has memorized the entire Koran. "The problem is that we cannot go to Afghanistan these days because we have had to deal with Baitullah."
Zainuddin, who described himself as "real" Taliban , reportedly has gathered as many as 3,000 armed followers and is being secretly backed by the Pakistan state against Mehsud's, who has a $5 million U.S. bounty on his head as a "key al Qaida facilitator." Osama bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al Zawahiri, are thought likely to be hiding in the South Waziristan region controlled by the Mehsud tribe.
A cult of throat-slitting and suicide bombing marks Mehsud's grim rule. His group has staged spectacular terrorist attacks across Pakistan and has an extremist network that spans the tribal borderland that runs along the Afghan border and reaches deep into the country. On Saturday, Mehsud's commanders claimed responsibility for last week's devastating bombing of a luxury hotel in the north west city of Peshawar and the assassination of a prominent anti-Taliban cleric in the eastern city of Lahore.
Many believe that Mehsud can be defeated only by a member of his own clan. Zainuddin is a Mehsud and also he used to be part of Mehsud's network, giving him an intimate knowledge of its working and its members, a knowledge that the Pakistan army lacks.
Around a dozen Mehsud tribal chiefs, in separate meetings, told McClatchy that they supported Zainuddin but were afraid to speak publicly. Their fears were compounded by a deep suspicion of the Pakistani state and especially the army, which has made clandestine deals with Mehsud in the past.
"Not since the time of Alexander the Great have the Mehsud people suffered such slavery," said one tribal chief who asked not to be identified to protect himself. "We want to stand with Zainuddin but we don't trust the government. Three times in the past, they have made deals with Baitullah Mehsud. Generals have gone and eaten dinner with him. We are scared that the generals will make up with him again."
Zainuddin's private militia includes relatives of Mehsud's victims as well of some of Mehsud's own men who, Zainuddin said, are deserting. A powerful armed faction, known as the Turkistan group, which lives on the edge of South Waziristan around the town of Jandola, has already backed Zainuddin and currently provides much of his muscle, according to local tribesmen.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/20/2009
14:03 ||
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BAGHDAD (AFP) In a bazaar in Baghdad's predominantly Shiite district of Kadhimiyah, one tailor bluntly expresses hope that the turmoil now besetting Iran will lead Iraq's neighbour to stop interfering in his country.
"Iran constantly meddles in our affairs; I hope that change means they will stop intervening," 43-year-old Salah Aziz told AFP.
Like many Iraqi Shiites, Aziz backs the Iranian protesters who have turned out onto the streets in massive demonstrations over the past week to contest the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. His views mirror the distrust many here have for Tehran, even as the two countries with strong Shiite majorities have strengthened ties in recent years, nearly three decades after the start of a war that left a million dead.
Those improved relations, sparked by a number of Iraqi Shiite political leaders who lived in Iranian exile during the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein, have given Tehran greater sway with Baghdad.
"Iranians have reason to protest," Aziz said, sipping coffee with friends during a break from work. "But I think Ahmadinejad will stay in power. He has the support of (Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali) Khamenei."
Nearby, mobile telephone seller Qais Zahar criticised Iranian political leaders, and particularly Khamenei, for imposing their vision of society on ordinary citizens. "Religious leaders should not intervene in politics and in people's day-to-day lives," the 27-year-old said. "I support the protesters. If the regime fell, that would be a good thing for Iran, and for Iraq."
Though the two countries have Shiite majorities, religion's place in society is viewed in wildly different ways. In Iran, power resides with the clerics while, in Iraq religious leaders only provide counsel to politicians and generally do not participate in politics.
It is a difference best illustrated by the differing roles taken on by Khamenei and Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, Iraqi Shiites' spiritual guide. While Khamenei is deeply involved in the day-to-day running of Iran and is the ultimate political arbitor, Sistani lives a cloistered life that is focused on religious matters.
In the shrine city of Najaf, south of Baghdad, there is a large population of Iranian residents and tourists from the Islamic republic, and Iraqi Mohannad Hassan also hopes for change. "I think if Ahmadinejad wins this struggle, it would have a negative effect on Iraq, because Iranian intervention would continue," the 24-year-old said.
Ali Saleh, a civil servant there, echoed those views, saying that "if Iran's leaders focused on their own problems, they would not get involved in other countries and would end their interference."
In Iraq's other holy city of Karbala, a police officer who declined to give his name for fear of being reprimanded, also spoke of his hope of an end to Iran's influence on Iraq. "We don't interfere in Iranian affairs. We expect the same from them," he said.
However, support for reform in Iran is not universal. Sheikh Abbas al-Daobul, an imam in Karbala, spoke of his concern that any change in Tehran could have a negative impact on Iran. "Ahmadinejad in power is better than any other regime when it comes to its relations with Iraq," he said.
But for many Iraqis, who have only recently witnessed the emergence of democracy at home, their neighbours also should have the right to be "free".
"Here, we are free," said Aziz in Baghdad. "Freedom to vote, to speak, to criticise. When I cast my ballot, it is taken into account. Why should Iranians not have this?"
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/20/2009
13:51 ||
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Even as Ayatollah Khamenei blasted the United States for fomenting unrest in a defiant Friday prayer address in Tehran, President Obama has kept silent, focusing instead on domestic policy.
Newsmax has learned that the Obama administration also has zeroed out funding for pro-democracy programs inside Iran from the State Department budget for fiscal 2010, just as protests in Iran are ramping up.
Funding for pro-democracy programs began in 2004, when Congress earmarked $1.5 million of the State Department budget for educational, humanitarian, and non-governmental organizations and individuals inside Iran to support the advancement of democracy and human rights in Iran. The funding ramped up dramatically two years later, when Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice requested $75 million for pro-democracy programs. More than half of the $66.1 million Congress finally appropriated went to expand U.S. government-funded Persian language broadcasting services at Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
But no money has been earmarked for such programs in the administrations fiscal 2010 foreign operations budget request. Congressional sources told Newsmax they doubted that a Democrat-controlled Congress would add it when the budget comes before a committee next week.
Controversy has surrounded the programs from the start, with pro-regime lobbying groups, such as the National Iranian-American Council urging the State Department to cancel the funding.
And although Bush administration officials told pro-democracy activists they wanted to fund projects inside Iran (as called for in the original legislative language), State Department desk officers intervened to block funding for any projects other than cultural exchanges and think tanks and studies, insiders told Newsmax.
One key opponent of the funding, who weighed in at meetings to block specific grant requests aimed at helping pro-democracy groups inside Iran, was Suzanne Maloney, who is now at the Brookings Institution. Speaking at a Washington forum that the National Iranian-American Council sponsored Wednesday, Maloney applauded President Obamas do-nothing policy. The best thing we can do for Iranian democracy is sit back and let Iranians fight it out for themselves, she said, echoing the presidents own words from a brief press statement the day before.
What a weasel. Wonder if her post-government job at the Brookings Institute is Iranian-funded?
Program supporters say the efforts of people such as Maloney inside the State Department to blunt the original intent have made the funding virtually meaningless.
The State Department never did a lot with all the funding we gave them, so Im not sure that zeroing it out is a huge loss, an aide to a key congressional supporter of the funding told Newsmax.
That sounds true. Just another example of how the State Department has its agenda no matter what the White House says.
"Of the total $67 million that was appropriated, $42.7 million has been obligated, and $20.8 disbursed, according to a just-released report from the Congressional Research Service.
Kenneth Katzman, the analyst who wrote the research service's Iran report, told Newsmax that the programs suffered from finding few participants inside Iran who were willing to be seen as taking U.S. government money. These programs reached a limited number of people in Iran and that would indicate that their effectiveness was limited.
When reporters asked White House spokesman Robert Gibbs on Thursday about the presidents hands-off approach, Gibbs said there was no debate in the White House over how to address the events in Iran. Everybody is on the same page. Theres no difference of opinion. I think the only thing I might take the only thing I would take some exception to is the notion that the president has been hands-off.
The next question from the press was about Fathers Day.
Earlier, the White House and the State Department dismissed Iranian government claims that it was interfering in the election.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reinforced the administrations hands-off policy in a statement to reporters on Wednesday. It is for the Iranians to determine how they resolve this internal protest concerning the outcome of the recent election, she said.
They won't believe you. You might as well get on the side of the people ...
At the same time, Clinton defended the phone call by a 27-year old State Department staffer to the CEO of Twitter, urging him to delay scheduled maintenance work to ensure that the social networking service remained available for use by Iranians without interruption.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/20/2009
13:47 ||
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Biden predicted that Obama would make an extremely unpopular foreign policy decision...
ISLAMABAD: The budget documents and the figures available in Economic Survey of Pakistan for 2008-09, revealed that Pakistan has now trapped into vicious circle of debt repayments as debt liabilities have been exceeding the estimates of total foreign receipts.
In the fiscal year 2009-10, the government is expecting a supply of $2.5 billion dollars as loans from donor countries and multilateral agencies, whereas the total allocation for debt repayments and servicing of foreign debt in 2009-10 stands at $2.53 billion dollars. Hence, the government is raising debt to pay debt and the relief impact of the expected foreign loan is difficult to see.
As on June 2009, Pakistans external debt liabilities were $50.1 billion, whereas the domestic debt liabilities were estimated at $46.97 billion and the total floating debt, which consists of short term domestic borrowing instruments such as Treasury bills, was estimated at $24 billion dollars. The total outstanding debt is therefore $119.9 billion dollars; roughly 57.6 per cent of the total Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The Prime Minister Advisor on Finance Shaukat Tarin in a post budget press conference gave the break up of the $2.5 billion dollars which the government has been expecting in next fiscal year. According to Tarin, the government has been expecting one billion dollars from USA under the Kerry Lugar bill support, $840 million from International Monitory Fund (IMF), $800 million from World Bank (WB), $600 million from Asian Development Bank (ADB) and $23 million from Islamic Development Bank (IDB).
The government also has commitments of $2 billion for FY-1009-10 from the Friends of Democratic Pakistan (FODP) which will raise the estimates of foreign receipts to $4.5 billion. However, the government itself is unsure about the realisation of $2 billion pledges from FODP. The advisor to the PM on Finance is on record as saying that the government will pursue an additional $4 billion loan from the IMF in case payments fail to come through.
The government has already entered into an IMF program and signed a loan agreement of $7.6 billion dollars, out of which the country has received the first tranche of $3.1 billion in November 2008, second tranche of $847 million in March while the third tranche of $840 million is expected in the last week of June this year.
Interestingly, the IMF first loan tranche of $3.1 billion and during the same timeframe, the government has paid $3.65 billion on account of debt repayments; $550 million more than the IMF loan.
As on June, governments total domestic debt was estimated at $46.97 billion and 28.7 per cent of GDP. For FY-2009-10, the government has allocated $7.79 billion for servicing of domestic debt whereas the federal share of allocation for Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) is $5.48 billion. Hence, the allocation for debt servicing is $2.3 billion more then the federal share of development budget. In FY-2008-09, the government has paid $7.2 billion dollars on account of domestic debt servicing where the total expenditure on development was $2.7 billion. It became obvious that the debt servicing is badly affecting expenditures on development.
Pakistan is under obligation to pay back loans from a wide variety of banks and other agencies. According to the Economic Survey, the share of the Paris club in the total external debt as of May stood at 27.2 per cent, Multilaterals 43.5 per cent, under bilateral agreements with donor countries 3.9 per cent, short-term loans 4.3 per cent, private non-guaranteed 6.6 per cent, IMF 8.4 per cent, while foreign exchange liabilities were 4.3 per cent.
The recently signed agreement by the Economic Affairs Division concludes that the terms and conditions of foreign loans from multilaterals have become more stringent. In recent agreement signed between Pakistan and the World Bank the maturity period of external debt decreased from 31.6 years in 1970 to 19.7 years, while the grace period declined from 11.9 years to 5.6 years. The interest rate increased from 2.8 per cent to 6.0 per cent, while the extent of grant element decreased from 59.2 per cent to 29.7 per cent.
It is shocking to note that with a debt burden of 56 per cent of GDP, the country has no established borrowing policy. To finance a project what a government department needs is a borrower. If a borrower is agreed to finance a project, the department goes to EAD and inks a loan agreement irrespective of judging the importance and productivity of project. This has given rise to numerous allegations of malfeasance, which are under the scrutiny of the Planning Commission. Although, there has been a separate full fledged Debt Office in the Finance Division header by a Director General since 2001, the department has not been able to present a comprehensive debt policy.
Keeping in view these statistics, Pakistani citizens per head debt is about 55.2 per cent of the per capita Gross National Income (GNI).
Pakistans debt is about five times more than total average annual exports earnings, six times its budgetary revenues and sixteen times more than foreign investment inflow.
With total population of 165 million, each Pakistani at end March 2009 owed about $591 in public debt (domestic and external debt).
Posted by: john frum ||
06/20/2009
13:04 ||
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And how much of this is money borrowed to buy arms?
Posted by: john frum ||
06/20/2009 13:20
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That portion that hasn't already been skimmed off ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/20/2009 13:40
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While it was the mainstream centre-right that actually won the electionNicolas Sarkozys UMP took 28.5 per cent of the French vote, Italian PM Silvio Berlusconis People of Freedom Party captured 35 per cent, and Angela Merkels Christian Democratic Union took 38 per centfew traditional parties saw their vote increase. And the left and centre-left vote all but collapsed in many countries. In France, the opposition Socialists took just 17 per cent of the ballots, Germanys Social Democrats turned in their lowest result ever at 21 per cent, and Britains ruling Labour Party captured only 15.3 per cent, its worst showing since the Second World War.
The colliding trendsthe rise of the far right and the lefts vanishing actunderline a fundamental shift in European politics, says Grabbe. In a way, its the legacy of 1989 [the collapse of the Soviet Bloc] catching up with the left, she says. They dont have a narrative of how to get out of a crisis like this. They dont have a clear ideology to offer. And faced with a choice between the discredited theories of the socialist past, and the rapacious reality of the free-market present, the majority of voters seem to have thrown up their hands in disgust.
Going forward, the biggest question is whether the anger and apathy will spill over to national elections. (Germany, Portugal and the U.K. will all go to the polls within a year.) Despite the fact that the European Parliament now has the power to amend or abolish two-thirds of the EUs laws, voters in many countries continue to view it as a less important institution than their own legislatures. Its not treated very seriously, says John Curtice, a professor of politics at Glasgows University of Strathclyde. People use it as an opportunity to protest against the government or support smaller parties.
#1
The European Parliament is an interesting, if failing experiment, in creating a government that is nothing *but* bureaucracy. Its prerogative is the avoidance of conflict of any kind, at all cost. As such, all it can perform are acts that are stagnant at best, and decrepit at worst.
As a rudderless ship, it waits in neutral for any authoritarian to take control.
#2
thebiggest question is whether the anger and apathy will spill over to national elections.
Anger and apathy tend to be mutually exclusive, especially when voting is involved. Had the journalist written "anger or apathy," the statement would make a great deal more sense. But so few news organizations pay their journalists to produce sense as well as elegant prose.
#1
Good thing that Nobama has promised to close Gitmo and release all of the terrorists man-made disaster causers.
Yes, I know this guy was released under Bush. I still maintain that we should enforce the Geneva Convention and try these mooks by a court martial and execute them. If they have any intelligence value, the court martial can be delayed until they have been wrung dry. We don't have to torture them, but using enhanced interrogation techniques like sleep deprivation, etc. is not a problem. They do not have the right to only give their name, rank and serial number.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
06/20/2009 12:38
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Saragossa Sea has become an ocean dump with floating islands of plastic and oil. Sounds like a good place to release the mooks.
Technically Opinion, but is SO appropriate here.
President Obama has largely drawn praise for his tepid response to the mass uprisings in Iran challenging the reelection of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. In general, Obama has offered three justifications for his tentativeness -- and they have strangely been accepted by his supporters, who almost immediately evolved in lockstep from liberal Wilsonians to hardcore realists.
Here are Obama's three justifications:
1. Given the historical record of U.S. intervention in Iran, we do not wish either to perpetuate that shameful record, or to hang on the necks of the dissidents the smelly albatross of U.S. support.
2. We don't know which side will emerge triumphant. Supporting losers in the street will only antagonize the Ahmadinejad regime and render Obama's ongoing diplomatic overtures null and void.
3. There is not much difference anyway between the agendas of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and those of his challengers, led by Mir-Hossein Mousavi Khameneh. No matter who wins, Iran will still have an overtly anti-American government bent on acquiring nuclear weapons. Why then incur further hostility for a response that would bring no advantage anyway?
There are a number of things wrong with all this -- well aside from the strange spectacle of seeing once-fervent liberal critics of old-style Kissingerian realism suddenly espousing Barack Obama's kinder, gentler version of it.
1. The coup that unseated Mohammad Mossadeq was in 1953 -- nearly six decades ago. Its details are still controversial: the proportional degree of CIA intervention compared to that of the British, the role of fundamentalist clerics in the opposition, the degree to which Mossadeq himself entertained authoritarian measures, and so on. What Kermit Roosevelt Jr. did or did not do as the CIA officer in charge, what were the actual intentions of the Mossadeq government in the Soviet-American Cold War rivalry -- all of that is all now in the distant past.
Blaming America for undermining Mossadeq but not blaming it for later undermining the Shah is about as logical as claiming we must hold the current generations of Japanese accountable for Pearl Harbor, or that German actions in World War II permanently warped the American psyche, or that the Chinese Communists' butchering thousands of Americans in Korea must be held against current generations of Chinese. At some point, all nations, big and small, need to get a life and move on. Of course, when one rushes in and blabbers out apologies without context, then one becomes a prisoner of those past actions -- we are to be sorry about Iran then and so must be sorry ever after.
Iran, remember, has no such reluctance about meddling. It endorsed Bush in the 2004 presidential race -- to the delight of the Kerry campaign. For six years, it has tried to murder Americans in Iraq and destabilize the Iraqi democracy. It has killed Americans in Lebanon and Saudi Arabia, and done its best to thwart democratic government in Afghanistan, Lebanon, and Iraq. How odd that Iranian theocrats have no worries about violently overthrowing democracy abroad, while we are terrified of supporting democracy by words alone.
Criticizing the Ahmadinejad government for its election fraud and its response to peaceful demonstrations is not synonymous with crudely egging on street demonstrations. Reagan found a way to voice support for the Polish resistance to Soviet thuggery. Kennedy made sure that the Berliners knew that we believed they were right and the Soviet-sponsored East German Communists wrong.
In contrast, Ford's calculated snub of Solzhenitsyn brought no gratitude from the Soviets, but plenty of shame to America. The elder Bush's allegiance to Gorbachev over Yeltsin was finally embarrassing, and was rendered obsolete almost before it was embraced. To the extent that George W. Bush spoke out against autocracy in the Gulf and Egypt, he was to be praised, and some liberalization followed; but to the extent that he grew quiet in his second term, we were branded as hypocrites for supporting freedom in Iraq but not elsewhere in the Arab world.
Support for the reformers can be framed in terms of shared criticism of what we and they oppose, rather than clumsy cheering for their own agenda.
2. Voicing careful and wise support for the challenge to Ahmadinejad's thuggery can influence events. That's why the European Union is well ahead of us in its condemnation of the Iranian election fraud and subsequent crackdown.
Ahmadinejad is going to blame the U.S. whatever it does. He rightly sized up the new administration and realized there is now an American government that will apologize for the CIA's actions in 1953, but not ask Iran to apologize for its deplorable record in Iraq from 2003 to 2009. So it is a one-way street with Iran, and it's better to be damned for voicing criticism than for being afraid to voice criticism.
The Iranian theocrats are realists par excellence; they do not give a damn about ideals or morality, and will deal with us in the future on their perception of their own self-interest: whether or not we "meddle" now, if they find it useful to talk in the future, they will; if they find it of no value to talk in the future, they won't.
3. Obama's third assumption makes even less sense than the first two. Mousavi may be a past supporter of Khomeinism, as are ostensibly all Iranian politicians. But he is not on a moral or even a practical par with Ahmadinejad. He has already voiced criticism of Holocaust denial, and has called for freer expression and communication, and for liberalization of Iranian theocratic law. In other words, he is a type of multicultural "other" who is a rational opponent of U.S. policy, but whom Obama actually could court.
Furthermore, the crowds seem already to have transcended Mousavi, seeing in him more a tool than a totem, hoping that his election would lead to far more liberalization than even he intended. One of the reasons Gorbachev was welcomed by Reagan was that he began to initiate change that would soon render Gorbachev himself obsolete. The same may well be true with Mousavi.
In conclusion, we are seeing a new multicultural realism in American foreign policy -- the result of a number of currents in our popular culture. We do not judge the authoritarian "other" in the same way in which we judge authoritarian conservatives abroad who ape Westernism.
There is also a weird sort of multicultural fantasy about cleric-ruled Iran, fueled by the non-Western dress of its elites, the constant evocation of 1953 (ironically by fundamentalists whose forefathers approved of Mossadeq's removal), and its serial Hollywood-like denunciation of America. Ahmadinejad brilliantly ties into the Che effect, which makes his blood-curdling remarks about Israel's end about as disturbing to American public opinion as the fact that Che himself was a cold-blooded killer who executed the innocent with his own hands. Add it all up and we get a reprise of Bill Clinton at Davos in 2005 gushing on about Iranian democracy and its progressives, as if a rigged plebiscite overseen by a group of unshaven dictators in Nehru-like coats is somehow neat.
Iraq explains a lot -- and provides the greatest irony of all. We wish not to meddle in Iran in order to encourage real democracy there, but we accept Iranian meddling intended to destroy Iraqi democracy. We reach out to the Shiite thug Ahmadinejad in Iran, but not to the Shiite moderate Maliki in Iraq. We feel so guilty about promoting Iraqi democracy that we won't aid its budding counterpart in nearby Iran. We are so wedded to the canard that the removal of Saddam removed the counterweight to Iran and empowered the clerics that we cannot see the existence of Iraqi democracy as a great catalyst to the democratic forces in Iran, undermining the theocracy more with words than Iran could undermine the Iraqi democracy with guns.
Then, of course, there is Obama and his quest for a global messianic rather than an American presidential role. So far it pays to be Hamas and the Palestine Authority rather than Israel, Chavez rather than Uribe, Ahmadinejad rather than Maliki, Putin rather than an Eastern European elected prime minister, a Turkish Islamist rather than a Greek elected prime minister. The former all gain attention by their hostility, the latter earn neglect by their moderation and generally pro-American views. Praising Islam abroad is a lot more catchy than praising democracy -- one boldly inspires Bush's critics, the other sheepishly dovetails with Bush's agenda. All that, in varying degrees, also explains the troubling neglect of the Iranians in the street.
One mystery remains: Does Obama do this because the squeaky problem gets the attention, or does he really empathize with the tired anti-colonial, anti-imperialist, and anti-capitalist refrain of those who used to be considered hostile?
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/20/2009
11:32 ||
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#1
Any thoughtful analysis of Barry's intentions on Iraq or nearly anything else must be based upon one overiding premise. He has no long game or long term goals per se, other than the callaping of America and reshaping her into a helpless, governmentally dependent, socialist utopia.
Iranian police have used water cannon, batons and tear gas to disperse protests over the presidential election, witnesses in Tehran say. Police earlier warned protesters not to gather, but several thousand made their way to the central rally site.
A BBC correspondent at Enghelab Square said there was a huge security operation, including military police, anti-riot police and Basij militia.
There were also reports of a bombing at the shrine of Ayatollah Khomeini. Two Iranian news agencies reported that the suicide bomber died and two people were injured in the bombing near the shrine of Ayatollah Khomeini, leader of the 1979 revolution. There was no evidence to support the report, the BBC's Jon Leyne says from Tehran.
The country's supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei had warned protesters a day earlier not to continue their rallies, but correspondents say the warning appears to have made some protesters more determined. It was unclear if political leaders had backed their supporters continuing to march.
Other developments included:
People using the micro-blogging site Twitter said smoke lay over Enghelab Square, and protesters were throwing stones
One witness told AFP news agency that he saw police beating people trying to reach the rally site
About 3,000 protesters were reportedly gathered at Enghelab Square, according to Associated Press news agency. They chanted "Death to the dictator" and "Death to dictatorship"
Witnesses told AP that up to 60 people were seriously beaten by police, with some being dragged away by fellow protesters
There were between 1,000-2,000 protesters in front of Tehran University, near Enghelab Square, AFP quoted witnesses as saying
The campus was cordoned off by riot police, AP reported
Helicopters and sirens could be heard over central Tehran, and black smoke seen, AP reported
These reports could not be independently confirmed, and foreign news organisations - including the BBC - have been subjected to strict controls which prevent reporters from leaving their offices.
The BBC's Jon Leyne, who is also in Tehran, says the impression was that the police had broken up very large crowds into smaller groups to prevent them assembling.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/20/2009
11:12 ||
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Seems like the police have things under control. They have a highly effective police state.
I would think this post election protest will fizzle unless Mousavi pushes his supporters to more actively defy the police roadblocks, etc. than what we've seen today.
He also conveys a rumor that Mousavi is ready to be a martyr, FWIW.
Still, anecdotal since the Iranian police state is pretty good at tamping down civil disobedience and blocking comms. So we are going on 2nd hand rumor while and so are the protestors.
#3
Ok. I've found a bunch of feeds. Seems like the typical internet echo chamber effect, but this might actually make it seem bigger than it is for the participants.
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A suicide truck bomb killed at least 34 people leaving a mosque on Saturday, hours after Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki urged Iraqis not to lose faith if a U.S. military pullback resulted in more insurgent attacks.
"Don't lose heart if a breach of security occurs here or there," Maliki told leaders from the ethnic Turkmen community, reiterating a warning that insurgents were likely to try to take advantage of the U.S. pullback to launch more attacks.
Hours after Maliki spoke, a suicide bomber detonated a truck filled with explosives as worshippers left a Shi'ite Muslim mosque near the northern city of Kirkuk, a city contested by Arabs, Turkmen and Kurds and which sits over vast oil reserves. Thirty-four people were killed, including women and children and about 150 civilians were wounded as dozens of clay homes in the area were flattened. Many people were feared trapped under the rubble, and the death toll was expected to rise.
There was chaos at Kirkuk's main Azadi Hospital, where ambulance sirens wailed as workers rushed blood-splattered civilians, including several children, into the wards.
Outside, security officials brandished assault rifles to stop traffic as pick-up trucks raced through the gates carrying more victims of the blast at the al-Rasul Mosque.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/20/2009
11:09 ||
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Jeffersonville attorney Larry Wilder was found asleep by police in his neighbor's overturned city garbage can Wednesday morning, after neighbors called police when they woke to find their trash strewn on the ground and a man inside the receptacle. [Insert lawyer joke here]
No arrest was made as a result of the incident. "There was no crime committed," Deeringer said.
Although police records describe Wilder as "10-47" -- police code for intoxicated -- upon officers' arrival, no breath alcohol or sobriety test was administered. It's an officer's discretion on what actions to take in such situations, the chief said. Typically, if someone is that close to their home, they would just be escorted to their residence. [Insert lawyer joke here]
Police records show that officers arrived on the scene just before 7 a.m. Wednesday. A neighbor, Roberta Embry, said her husband found Wilder inside the can when walking out of the house that morning. [Insert lawyer joke here]
Posted by: Mike ||
06/20/2009
11:04 ||
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Posted by: European Conservative ||
06/20/2009 15:58
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#7
No, it's not stale pizza, it smells like an drunken attorney. Everyone! Hold your noses and start gnawing at him! This is our can and neighborhood. We maggots have right too!
"...Mein Gott, there's a fire in the Reichstag!!!!"
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
06/20/2009
09:57 ||
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Now the Iraqis can play the game on the Iranian leadership they've played for years on Iraq. If explosives can move one way across a border, it can move the other way as well.
FIA authorities are grappling with the alarming possibility of a large part of the Rs 15 billion laundered through the forex firm of minister Raziq having been dispensed to the volatile tribal areas during the past seven months. The billions were transferred from the 21 secret bank accounts in nine private banks of Lahore by the three employees of Malik Exchange owned by the Minister of State, Abdul Raziq.
The Minister of State for Kashmir and Northern Areas, Abdul Raziq was elected Senator as an independent and himself belongs to the Fata and was rewarded with a ministerial slot for lending his support to the PPP government at the Centre.
Talking to The News, DG FIA Tariq Khosa mincing no words said, This not only a national issue as there are international dimension of this forex scam too. Khosa said the outward diversion of these billions from the accounts of three employees of Malik Exchange is worrisome for me. Its a matter of further inquiry at this stage if this money was also being sent to Afghanistan.
However, to a question, the DG FIA said that at this stage he was not sure whether these billions were being used to finance terrorism in those areas through Hundi and Hawal business based in Lahore, as he believed only further inquiry would help the investigators answer this scary question.
What was earlier being viewed by investigators as just another massive illegal fund transfer operation is now being investigated as a serious national security threat after it was revealed that billions of rupees were being quietly transferred from the 21 secret bank accounts to the tribal areas where the forces are fighting a full blown war against the militants.
In private conservations with this correspondent, official sources told that out of a colossal Rs20 billions transactions from the accounts during last seven months, about 80 percent of the amounts were found to have been sent to the troubled tribal areas. Sources in FIA Lahore Circle said the investigators are not precluding the very real possibility of billions of rupees having been sent to Afghanistan and other troubled areas of the country.
Meanwhile, Malik Exchange did not produce its three employees -- Imtiaz Khan, Iqbal Afridi and Fayaaz Khan in the banking court on Friday -- against whose names 21 secret bank accounts have been traced. They were supposed to appear in the court to get their pre arrest bails confirmed. These employees were said to have not been produced in the court fearing that their bails might be cancelled in the light of evidence already available with the FIA team. The court has allowed them five days to appear before the judge on June 25 for the confirmation of bails. FIA pleas to get their bails cancelled after they did not appear in the court in person to get their pre arrests confirmed, were, however, rejected by the court. The court was told that these three employees were presently in the NWFP and they could not come to appear in the court because of the law and order situation.
I cant make any comment on the conduct of the court, said DG FIA Tariq Khosa when approached for comment about the court proceedings in Lahore after the court decided to give five days to the accused to appear before the judge to either get their bails confirmed or cancelled.
He said these three employees had shown themselves as the owners of oil, car or property dealers, builders, constructors to get their corporate bank accounts opened with these nine banks. He said over Rs15-20 billions were found to be credited in these 21 secret accounts. He said now for him the most worrisome thing was the direction of this money.
The Minister, Senator Abdul Razik, has already denied his forex companys involvement in any illegal activities or transactions as being alleged by FIA team. However, this correspondent tried to talk to him on the fresh revelation about the role of his forex firm employees in money laundering to tribal areas or even Fata, but he refused to take the telephone call.
A close aide of the minister, however, said the allegation of the money being sent to the tribal areas was totally without foundation. He said those levelling this allegation has vested interests against the minister. He said Malik Exchange was ready for a full-fledged probe in its affairs as it conducted its business within the norms of law.
A senior FIA official said that there was a possibility that the Malik Exchange did not know the purpose of these amounts being transferred through its employees in the tribal areas as they were just doing business and only interested in earning their profit from such doubtful transactions through fake bank accounts.
The sources said 80 percent amounts so far sent from these secret bank accounts of three employees of the Malik Exchange had been sent to Parachanar, Hangu and other troubled areas of the country. While only 5 percent amounts were distributed within Lahore and rest of the 15 percent was sent to different areas of Kashmir.
To a question, the sources said if this was the genuine money transfer from abroad by relatives of the people living in these tribal areas, then why were they not using the money exchange dealers of Peshawar or even Islamabad, which were nearer to them instead of Lahore.
Posted by: john frum ||
06/20/2009
09:18 ||
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The anti-Israeli spin in this article deserves fisking, but the inside dirt makes it Rantburg-worthy.
Despite efforts to put a good face on the latest meeting in Amman of Fatah's Executive Committee, the movement's highest decision-making body, the rift between Fatah leader and Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas and Abbas's opponents remains unresolved. The two camps are deeply divided over the largely moribund political process with Israel, relations with Hamas as well as political and organisational reforms within Fatah. And the two camps continue to be divided over the convening of the movement's long overdue Sixth Congress. Fatah's last congress was held in Algiers in 1989.
This week, Fatah's Executive Committee made a fresh effort to restore unity to the mainstream Palestine Liberation Organisation faction and overcome differences hindering the convening of the pivotal congress that is supposed to see the election of a new Fatah leadership. However, instead of seeing harmony prevail over discord, the meeting witnessed a sharp exchange of words between Abbas and Mohamed Jihad, an influential member of the committee and key opponent of the PA's modus vivendi with Israel. The heated acrimony led to the suspension of the meeting, leaving the main contentious problems unresolved.
Some Fatah leaders, like Abbas Zaki and Nabil Shaath, sought to give a positive glow to the Amman meeting, claiming the movement's top leaders had reached a general understanding concerning the time and location of the Sixth Congress. Zaki said Executive Committee members unanimously agreed to hold the congress either in the West Bank (Bethlehem) or in the Gaza Strip on 4 August -- the latter in case Fatah and Hamas reconcile by then. The proposed date coincides with Yasser Arafat's birthday. However, Zaki's remarks to the press left numerous ifs and buts unanswered, such as who could guarantee that Israel would allow non-conformist Fatah leaders like Farouk Kadoumi and Mohamed Jihad to enter the West Bank, and what would happen if Fatah and Hamas didn't reach an agreement by then?
More to the point, Jihad denied during a television interview that there was concrete agreement on the main contentious issues, calling Zaki's claims that an understanding was reached a "false rumour". Jihad had repeatedly confronted Abbas with these and other questions. Abbas reportedly undertook to get Israel to allow "opposition leaders" within Fatah to enter the West Bank and participate in the conference undisturbed, saying he personally would guarantee their safety and security.
However, Jihad scolded Abbas, saying, "How could you trust these murderers, who murdered Yasser Arafat and Abu Ali Mustafa [former Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine leader]. We don't trust them. Besides, what sort of conference is that which would be held under the canopy of the Israeli occupation? Have we lost our ability to think rationally? Have we lost our dignity?" These words, however, failed to have any bearing on Abbas who insisted that the congress be held in "the homeland", saying, "either the conference is held [there], or not at all."
Eventually, sharp differences prevailed, and the three-day meeting in Amman ended -- or more correctly was terminated -- without issuing a formal statement, apart from remarks to the press made by Zaki and Shaath. Fatah spokespersons have been describing internal differences within the movement as "personal in nature". However, it is clear that the main contention between Abbas and the opposition, which is mostly based abroad and led by the likes of Kadoumi, has more to do with PA strategy to end the Israeli occupation than with procedural matters pertaining to the time and location of the repeatedly postponed congress.
Abbas believes the only way to save "what can be saved" is open-ended peace talks with Israel under the US, European and Arab umbrella. This approach, Abbas says privately, requires the cessation of all forms of Palestinian resistance to the Israeli occupation. Indeed, Abbas has been successfully turning this approach into facts on the ground, as PA security forces, which operate in close coordination with Israel, effectively dissolved Fatah's guerrilla group, known as the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, all over the West Bank. Moreover, the US-trained PA security forces have been hounding and killing Hamas resistance activists, as happened recently in Qalqilya in the northern West Bank. These draconian measures are taking place as the PA security apparatus continues to arrest and torture hundreds of Hamas supporters and sympathisers in the hope that Israel will cede more control in the West Bank to the PA.
This week, PA security personnel tortured to death Haitham Amr, a 28-year-old Hamas supporter from the Hebron surroundings. Amr is the fourth Hamas supporter to die of torture in PA custody. Normally, the PA resorts to covering up such deaths by concocting mendacious narratives of the circumstances surrounding the death of such victims. Kadoumi and his allies, however, are convinced that no matter how much the PA and Fatah cheapen themselves before Israel, and how subserviently they behave vis-à-vis the Israeli army, Israel will still treat them with contempt and refuse to give them any concession of substance in return. Indeed, the rejectionist speech by Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Sunday seemed to vindicate the views of Kadoumi and his allies while weakening the stature of Abbas.
This particular factor, namely Israeli intransigence and adamant refusals to come to terms with fundamental Palestinian rights pertaining to such central issues as Jerusalem, the refugees and Jewish colonies, is frustrating and embarrassing the Ramallah-based Palestinian leadership that put all its bets on the peace process with Israel. Some believe this is why Abbas is insisting on holding the Sixth Congress in the occupied territories, knowing that Israel will block entry to outside oppositional forces, for convening Fatah's full congress under the present political circumstances would call into question his political survival.
Moreover, Abbas has fears that Marwan Barghouti -- the popular but imprisoned Fatah figure -- may be elected the movement's leader if the present "frustrating circumstances" pertaining to the paralysis of the peace process with Israel and the rift with Hamas continue. With progress in sight on neither front, Abbas's political woes appear set to only grow.
The federal agent, a black-haired, middle-aged Virginian, stared at me for a while before asking, Have you ever considered becoming an informant for the F.B.I.?
We were in a large conference room on the second floor of the old U.S. Mission in Berlin. He sat at the end of a long, blond-wood conference table, scribbling on a legal pad and sipping coffee from a plastic foam cup. To his left was his partner, a taciturn man in his early 30s. Windows partly concealed by blue drapes looked out over Clayallee, a wide boulevard running through the Western part of the city.
No, I said. I havent.
We can make it worth your while, said the second man.
Youd be serving your country, added the Virginian.
No, thanks, I said.
The F.B.I.s offer came in October of last year, at the end of a three-hour conversation a private debrief in the nearly deserted building that had been a center of intrigue in cold war Berlin. (Most U.S. Foreign Service staff members had moved across town to the newly opened embassy near the Brandenburg Gate.) Now the building was the location for another intrigue, involving the murder of a U.S. citizen in Bethlehem and a boastful confession that one of his killers made to me in 2002, when I was Newsweeks Jerusalem bureau chief. That man was Jihad Jaara, a former Bethlehem commander of the Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades, the armed group linked to the political party Fatah. Jaara called himself a freedom fighter battling the enemies of the Palestinian people. Israel considered him a prolific killer, responsible for the murders of Israeli settlers, soldiers and accused Palestinian collaborators.
Under ordinary circumstances, Jaara would have been a prime target for assassination or arrest by the Israel Defense Forces. But Jaara has been living in exile for seven years, guarded by police, in a secret location on the outskirts of Dublin, protected by a multilateral agreement made to end the 39-day siege of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem in the spring of 2002. For several years, U.S. investigators pursued legal avenues to get Jaara, gathering evidence against him around the world. They first approached me in 2005, and now they were reaching out again.
[Iran Press TV Latest] Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad calls for constructive engagement with the world, vowing continued 'servitude' to the people, 'justice and progress'.
"Without engaging the world, it is impossible to develop the country and the correct development will inevitably influence others, as without improving the world, it will be impossible to establish the good life*," the president told a group of students today, reports IRNA.
Referring to the protests at the disputed June 12 presidential election, which saw him return to office for a second four-year term with an overwhelming 63 percent of the votes, he blamed the "enemies," for the rallies.
"Today, the enemies are distressed because of the maximum and startling participation of the people in the elections, and with 'Divine Favor', the will of the Iranian nation and the Islamic revolution shall bloom in the world more quickly," he explained.
Turning his attention to the West, Ahmadinejad said, "However much the West opposes the Islamic Republic of Iran, the will of the Iranian nation for resistance against the bullies will be increased manifold."
He went on to dismiss the West's model of democracy. "In the democracy of the West, the exalted values and the people are ignored,... (whereas) the aspiration and origins of the Islamic Revolution are different from those of other revolutions. Because, in the Islamic Republic that rose from the revolution, the object is the realization of Divine aspirations and the commands of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), and, consequently, the perfection of humanity," the president stipulated.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2009
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#1
"However much the West opposes the Islamic Republic of Iran"
Yes, President AhmedNeedsJihad, there are a few still in the West that abhor a despotic facsist.
Posted by: jack salami ||
06/20/2009 19:26
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[Geo News] At least thirty children were found chained from a train, bound to Karachi from Lahore, here on Friday, Geo news reported. According to sources, the offense came to be known when a child, in a bid to flee, jumped from the train near Samasatta area who was later identified as Noshad aged 9 a resident of Lodhran. Noshad revealed that children aged under 10 were held captive in a compartment while children aged over 20 were separately detained in another compartment of train. He told that their parents sent them to fetch brick mold when three persons made them unconscious meanwhile, sources said they were being kidnapped for beggary. General Manager Railways said police have commenced checking at different railway stations while this attempt of children's abduction seems to be an inside job of railway employees.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2009
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"chained from train"? What the hell is that supposed to mean?
[The News (Pak)] Central Secretary General of the Jamaat-e-Islami Liaqat Baloch on Thursday called for an immediate end to the ongoing military operation in Malakand and parts of the tribal belt with stress on resolution of the issues through peaceful means. Except that they've tried that before and the Talibs are incapable of keeping to their agreements, no matter how shamefully the government surrenders to them...
"As long as the military operation is prolonged, things would get complicated. The best way for the government is that it should accept its mistakes and start taking decisions in the right direction. 'Nother words, the government should surrender some more...
"The operation should be immediately wrapped up and parliament should be allowed to play a responsible role. Thought everybody was on board with the need to bring the turbans under control? Everybody but JI and Nawaz and Sami and Fazl and a few others...
"The resolution adopted by the joint session of parliament should be implemented to overcome the dreadful situation," Baloch said, while addressing a news conference here. The JI leader said the government should also restore the confidence of the people and allow the national political forces to play their role to calm down the situation. He said the political and religious forces should join hands. ... and let the dead past moulder...
This article starring:
LIAQAT BALOCH
Jamaat-e-Islami
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2009
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Iran's supreme leader sought Friday to end the deepening crisis over disputed elections with one decisive speech declaring the vote will almost certainly stand and sternly warning opposition leaders to end street protests or be held responsible for any "bloodshed and chaos" to come. Long article w/ lots of details.
Posted by: ed ||
06/20/2009
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[Geo News] At least three security men were killed, when the extremists attacked on a motorcade of the security forces in Bajaur Agency area of Charming. The security forces returned the attack and killed at least 20 extremists.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2009
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#1
Charming. Swat. You all are making this stuff up, right?
Lawyers in Quetta staged protests and announced a complete boycott of court proceedings on Saturday after unidentified gunmen killed a Qazi court judge and his stenographer early on Friday morning.
Qazi Mohammad Ziaul Haq, the judge of Dasht Qazi court, and his stenographer, Abdul Khaliq Dad, were headed for Haq's residence when they were killed in the vicinity of Saryab Grid Station.
Police and law enforcement personnel cordoned off the area and have begun investigations. No group has so far accepted responsibility for the killing.
Following the murders, hundreds of lawyers, including Balochistan High Court Chief Justice Amanullah Khan Yasinzai, rushed to the hospital. The lawyers protested against the killings and chanted slogans against the government for failing to protect civilians' lives.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2009
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[Maghrebia] The victory of the newly created Authenticity and Modernity (PAM) party in the June 12th local elections continues to make waves in Morocco, drawing a mixture of reactions ranging from surprise to indignation.
While the PAM's leadership attributed their victory to views and methods that were attractive to voters, more established political parties accused the authorities of pulling the strings of the party, which was founded in June 2008 by a childhood friend of the King.
"This party used any means at its disposal to earn its position, starting with the number of its candidates. It fielded candidates who have no political scruples whatsoever," Ismail Alaoui, secretary-general of the Party of Progress and Socialism (PPS) said.
Alaoui believes it unlikely that the PAM will have any major impact on the political arena and has likened it to "the Constitutional Union (CU) when it was first formed and the National Rally of Independents (RNI) of the 1970s".
The Socialist Union of People's Forces (USFP) also cast doubt on the PAM's success. Hassan Tarik, who works at the party's headquarters, said that the PAM, which was founded by the ruling élite, will not fool the Moroccan public.
Driss Lachguer, who also works at the USFP's central office, agreed, arguing that it is illogical for a newly created party to come first ahead of the other parties.
Political science professor Mohamed Kanzidi said that it was too early to judge the true position of the PAM, noting that it fared particularly well in rural areas, while the Justice and Development Party (PJD) won in the cities. He also noted that it had won over several members with election experience.
Responding to a question on the reasons for PAM's victory, Interior Minister Chakib Benmoussa pointed to the composition of the party, which has candidates who took part in the 2003 election and won 10% of the vote and 9% of seats.
"It was also the largest party in terms of the number of candidates it fielded," Benmoussa said on June 13th.
The PAM's central office played down the criticisms levelled at it. The party's secretary-general, Mohamed Cheikh Biadilah, said that it was the failure of the other parties that has driven them to react in this way towards his party.
"It's a cultural thing. Moroccans always tend to pin the blame on others instead of taking responsibility themselves," he said at a press conference held on Wednesday 17 June to announce the party's achievements.
The PAM leader said that his party's views won voters over because they focused on the future. He also attributed the victory to party policies that targeted the local needs of each region.
Meanwhile, some politicians saw the PAM victory as a breath of fresh air.
Popular Movement MP Fatima Mustaghfir said that the PAM took on a test and passed it with flying colours after the disappointment of the partial elections. "Moroccans are hoping for change. The PAM's win is a message from voters to the parties", she said.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2009
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#1
is a PAM party like a Crisco party?
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/20/2009 9:43
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Excuse me whilst I rinse my mind's eye with bleach.
[Bangla Daily Star] The Rajshahi police last night released three of the 18 people including children held as suspected militants of Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) during a raid in Tikapara area in the morning.
In an email sent to the press, M Mahfuzur Rahman, assistant commissioner (headquarters) of Rajshahi Metropolitan Police (RMP), said the held persons were released on undertaking, as police did not find any militant link with them. "We will take lawful action when any militant link is found against them as our investigation is on", reads the mail.
"We arrested those people for their suspicious activities and based on the information that they were absconding JMB activists who are now under a new outfit "Ahle Sunnah Al Jamaat", said RMP Commissioner Nawsher Ali.
However, the released during a day long interrogation revealed a new network of so called Islamic group styled Kalema-e Jamaat that has around 600 adherents across the country, the RMP chief told The Daily Star.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2009
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Polish forces recently carried out their first major offensive in Afghanistan, captured 29 Taliban fighters, the daily Wyborcza reported Friday. Some 800 Poles supported by the Afghan army took part in the nearly week-long operation "Eagle's feather," in what was the biggest Polish offensive since they joined the NATO-led campaign.
The operation seized weapons including machine guns and explosives, and destroyed antennas in southeast Afghanistan used by Taliban to communicate with Pakistani supporters, the daily said.
Three Polish soldiers were injured and four combat vehicles were damaged in a mine explosion during the fighting.
Poland's mission of 1,600 was recently boosted after the president in April approved an additional 400 soldiers to the war-torn nation.
The country said it would keep the NATO mission a priority despite budget cuts that has ended Polish missions in Chad, Lebanon and the Golan Heights.
Posted by: ed ||
06/20/2009
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Thank you, Poland.
They are trying to earn their way into a proper missile defense system. I hope it works for them.
[Iran Press TV Latest] Somalia has invited international military to the country to fight against insurgency which recently took its toll on government staffers. On Friday, Somali parliament speaker called on the Muslim world and the international community to help quell the wayward trend through military options, a Press TV correspondent reported.
Speaking at a press conference in the presidential palace in the capital, Mogadishu, the official, Sheikh Aden Mohamed Nur regretted the country's incapacity to confront the insurgents without international assistance.
The comments were reportedly triggered by a Thursday suicide blast, which killed Somali Security Minister Omar Hashi Aden and former Somali ambassador to Ethiopia Abdulkarim Ibrahim Lakanyo alongside 20 others. The attack, north of Mogadishu, was apparently conducted by the notorious al-Shabaab insurgents.
Al-Shabaab fighters, who broke their promise of non-violence to the government, have embarked on making conquests across the country and confronting pro-government militias. Kenya and Ethiopia have so far voiced inclination to rise up to the militancy.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2009
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#1
"Ummmm no. We're busy. Washing our hair that week"
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/20/2009 9:28
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[Geo News] Two militants of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Swat arrested in Risalpur. According to sources, the arrested were shifted to an unknown place for interrogation.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2009
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Posted by: Frank G ||
06/20/2009
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#1
Excellent. Much more compelling than "Senator" Boxer
Posted by: regular joe ||
06/20/2009 8:06
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#2
Bush asked that he be addressed as President, not sir.
Army protocol manual says Senators be addressed as such, not sir and especially not ma'am.
Many women take Boxer's side, finding the general and all who side with him to be chauvinist pr*cks who don't want to give women respect for their accomplishments.
I think virtually all big time politicians are pr*cks, whether ma'ams or sirs, and deserve no respect. Hence, use the full title just like when you dress down your misbehavin' child you use first, middle and last name, or at least I did.
#3
While I personally think this little tiff is much ado about nothing; I am struck by the portion of Ms. Boxer's comment ... "I worked so hard to get that title" ... What "real" work did she perform to get the title? Like most politicians, she seems to care more about the appearance of governing / leading than actually doing something positive for her country.
#5
After 27 years of military service, this is all beyond me. We are trained to say sir or Maam. This is not a chavaunist act, it is an act of respect. Boxer and her supporters are just platforming their disgust for the military in a manner that most Americans do not understand in the military. This is a culture of respect, Boxer know damn well that he would answer like that. Now she gets fifteen mimutes on MSM and smears the military its a win win for her.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
06/20/2009 18:04
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#6
Boxer is as dumb as a bag of hammers. Her condescending tone is classic Boxer. She loathes the military. She has a real chance of being ousted if the CA GOP runs someone with a brain, as I believe the CA Donk party has possibly trashed themselves with the economic downfall and tax issues. BTW - don't blame San Diego, we vote military
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/20/2009 18:25
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#7
interesting that foremost on her mind is not the issue at handle but her status...of course that's why she is one of the three Axis of Sheville of California...the others Pelosi and Feinstein.
Posted by: jack salami ||
06/20/2009 19:21
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#8
At this period in time being called Maam would be a step up from being called a Senator
As U.S. forces prepare to leave Iraqs cities, soldiers south of Baghdad are focused on training Iraqi police, rather than the Iraqi army, to take over security.
Maj. Erik Krivda, operations officer for the 172nd Infantry Brigade, said this week that, with the Iraqi army already well-trained and changing its focus to external threats, police training has become the primary mission for his forces. "Our first focus is the police, then the border agencies and lastly the Iraqi army," he said in an interview at Forward Operating Base Kalsu, where the brigade headquarters is based in Babil province.
Posted by: ed ||
06/20/2009
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[ADN Kronos] Supporters of reformist candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi have reportedly claimed that pro-government Arab militias attacked protesters in Tehran following last week's presidential elections. According to witnesses quoted by pan-Arab daily al-Sharq al-Awsat, undercover security agents gave the militias orders in Farsi while one of them translated the phrases in Arabic.
Witnesses claim that only after hearing the orders in Arabic would the militias begin attacking the demonstrators in an attempt to disperse them.
The witnesses claim Arab involvement the murder of at least eight protesters allegedly by pro-government Basij militias.
Unrest has grown in Iran since hardline presidential incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the winner in last Friday's election - a vote the opposition claims was rigged.
According to official Iranian media, Ahmadinejad received 62.3 percent of the vote, or 24.5 million votes, compared to Mousavi's 33.7 percent or 13.2 million votes.
Tens of thousands of people were reported to have taken to the streets of the Iranian capital Tehran following the election results.
Figures on the number of people killed in the unrest are impossible to verify as the Iranian government has imposed a ban on foreign media coverage.
However, rights group Iran Human Rights quoting 'reliable sources in Tehran' as saying earlier this week that least 32 people had died in clashes with security forces since the opposition protests began last Saturday.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2009
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This is a slashdot story they picked up from The Daily KOS. As to whether it's true, your guess is as good as mine.
David Hume writes:
"electronicmaji is reporting on the Daily Kos that the individual known as ProtesterHelp (also to be found on twitter) was attacked in Ohio for providing network security for Twitterers in Iran, setting up private networks to provide secure proxies, calling for media networks to remove the Iranians Twitterers information from their broadcast, and providing counter-intelligence services (including Basiji and Army Locations) within the Twitter community. ProtesterHelp was allegedly attacked by a group of men while walking to class in Ohio. The men, who appeared to ProtesterHelp to be either Iranian or Lebanese, drove up besides him and threw rocks at him while shouting, 'Mousavi Fraud.' ProtesterHelp further reported that his personal information has been leaked, and is currently being spread both online and inside of Iran amongst the government." Follow the link to go to the slashdot thread; the original item has links to all the original articles on daily kos and twitter etc. I'm typing this on a netbook which isn't very conducive to posting.
#4
By the way, there is a legal, low risk, way of doing this if you have the minor IT skills to do it and a broadband connection:
Think about Tor. Tor is an cryptographically secured, crypto-anonymous relay of connected networks and nodes (computers) put up by individuals.
Put up a Tor Network relay and open exit ports for IM and Twitter- they will get used.
This provides the Iranians with the ability to post and twitter, without their secret police being able to trace them, so long as they can find an entry point to Tor, of which there are many more than before.
If you know Tor well, it would be help more to open up a bridge relay - the people who are blocked in Iran can access the internet via that. This provides them with an "on ramp" for Tor.
Even if you don't like running stuff like Tor, think about doing it for the duration of the potential uprising in Iran, and take it down when things are done.
Imagine being able to help foment the Chinese insurrection and help it grow to where even a Tienanmen Square was not enough to stop it. That's the opportunity you have now.
FYI: The Obama administration is sitting on its thumbs right now, but individual citizens are not. Its the techies that have risen to the occasion and provided the outlets the Iranians need. Individuals doing things of their own accord that promote liberty, governments be damned. And lots of them. Maybe there is hope for the west.
#5
Thanks OldSpook - I've been looking for a way to help. I already have a TOR client, just need to install and configure the TOR server software and update the firewall.
I've seen quite a bit of commentary that we now have 'open source' intel gathering and analysis, of which Rantburg could be considered an example.
Kind of neat to see an example of open source operations in supporting Iranian protestors. The CIA, VOA etc. should have a plan to destablize Iran and empower civilized people there (regardless of whether they are a majority and 'won' the sham of an election, btw). It is in our national interest. For whatever reason, our official government agencies have not had much success in Iran. But individuals taking the initiative this way can potentially be more effective with fewer resources.
Not sure what will happen to Iran, but glad people are taking matters into their own hands. It's our last best hope to deviate from a path to inevitable military conflict with a corrupt, genocidal theocracy.
#7
OK, I've got TOR relay up. Only problem was I was running an old web server that caused bind failures for TOR. Once I shut it down, everything worked.
If you'd like to set-up a relay, get TOR here and follow the installation instructions. You'll need to set port forwarding on your router for ports 443 and 9030.
From the larger J-Post article, broken out separately.
Speaking on Sky News, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he wants to have a good relationship with Iran in the future.
Good grief ...
"But that depends on Iran being able to show to the world that its elections have been conducted fairly and that there is no unfair suppression of rights and individuals in that country," Brown said.
... elections conducted fairly? Is he serious? The 'elections' were a complete fraud. Millions of Iranians know that, Gordo, why don't you?
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/20/2009
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#1
About time for some free and fair elections in Britain, Gordo. Then you're gonna be looking for another job.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
06/20/2009 17:52
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A bonhomie that is contrived, praise that is mostly hollow and gestures that are excessive and exaggerated are the usual features of India-Pakistan summits. To an outsider observing the leaders of India and Pakistan together it would appear that the two countries are firm friends rather than enemies. But for a change none of this was evident when Mr Zardari met Dr Manmohan Singh in Yekaterinburg. And, notwithstanding the grin Mr Zardari sported, it was noticeable that all Dr Singh could muster up was a rueful smile as they shook hands for the benefit of the press.
Dr Singh's demeanour was not surprising. Pakistan has made little progress in apprehending those involved in organising, funding and planning the Mumbai attack and the Indian prime minister is not prepared to let matters rest. The release by a Pakistani court of the Lashkar-e-Taiba chief, for want of evidence, added salt to India's wounds.
One can sympathise with India. Having convinced herself that the Pakistani establishment was somehow involved in the Mumbai mayhem, India wants her pound of flesh. The problem is that even if elements of the Pakistani establishment were involved, to expect a mea culpa from Pakistan is being naive. Intelligence agencies everywhere, including RAW and the ISI, never admit wrongdoing even if they were to be caught with their hands in the till. That is standard operating procedure for intelligence organisations the world over.
We need to move on. Of course, that is not to say that Pakistan must sit on its hands till the memory of the Mumbai outrage subsides in India. The terrorists who almost succeeded in precipitating war, possibly a nuclear conflict, must be brought to book and, if guilty, hanged, drawn and quartered. But the longer India refuses to engage constructively with Pakistan the greater the opportunity she will provide to those who wish to add further grist to the mills of hate.
One is disappointed therefore that Dr Singh, possibly the steadiest hand on the helm that India has had, has made constructive engagement between the two countries hostage to Mumbai. It is as short-sighted and self-defeating a stance as Pakistan's decades-long insistence that unless the Kashmir dispute was resolved to its satisfaction India and Pakistan would remain at daggers drawn.
Dr Singh's statement that Pakistan must not allow its territory to be used for attacking India was uncalled for and understandably not well-received in Pakistan. If the truth be told it was not only tasteless to have made it in the presence of a roomful of journalists while greeting Mr Zardari but also needless considering the difficulties Pakistan is confronting in preventing terror attacks against itself, what to speak of India. Dr Singh does not need to trumpet publically what can be communicated privately. He should resist the temptation to play to the gallery, unless he wishes to revert to the kind of invective and name calling that have sadly depicted relations and which he has sensibly thus far avoided. Besides, how does it help?
Mr Zardari in his meeting with the Indian prime minister apparently asked for more time (since denied) to deal with the terrorists. But while more time may help Pakistan in uncovering the Mumbai attack it will not ensure that such an attack won't recur. That will depend on how Pakistan fares in her ongoing battle against the extremists who are now present in every major city in Pakistan. A battle that India is complicating by retaining the bulk of her forces in a threatening mode on Pakistan's eastern borders. In fact the more time that elapses in settling disputes between the two countries, all of which barring Kashmir, are easily resolved given the will and a mite of common sense, the wider the chasm that separates the two countries will grow the more intractable the disputes will become.
Dr Singh and Mr Zardari are, if truth be told, on the same side when it comes to opposing terrorism and establishing peace in the subcontinent; and the sooner they act in unison, helping rather than carping at the other, the quicker and more effectively will those opposed to India-Pakistan amity be thwarted.
There are many in India who feel that at the moment India has the upper hand and should, nay must, drive a hard bargain with Pakistan. Others go further and actually advocate an activist role for India in the 'impending' break-up of Pakistan. Indian meddling in Balochistan suggests to some that the Indian establishment concurs with the latter view. Yes, India seems well placed to compound Pakistan's difficulties but India is neither so influential to decisively affect events nor the situation in Balochistan so dire that it cannot be reclaimed. Hence for India to believe that until a terrorist-racked, bleeding Pakistan eats crow and delivers up the Mumbai killers there is absolutely no need for the Indian premier to relent is wishful thinking. And, ironically, it is a mistake that those Pakistanis whose lives and livelihoods depend on continued tension between India and Pakistan are banking on India to commit. For India to adopt such a policy would therefore sow the seeds of a graver and more dangerous confrontation than exists at the moment.
Dr Singh would do better to drive not so much a hard as a fair bargain; and strive for a just rather than a one-sided peace. He has a choice; he can remain, and be forgotten, as a transactional leader or aspire to become a transformational one.
If the chance for peace that exists today is squandered, as it was on at least one earlier occasion, it is unlikely that another opportunity will arise for another generation. Faced by a hostile India, Pakistan will likely revert to the path on which it had been launched by a number of military dictators with, in due course, the current febrile democracy giving way to authoritarian government, militarism and eventually a national security state that will depend as its raison d'etre on continued confrontation or worse with the eternal enemy India.
Surely that is a prospect that India neither relishes nor desires for the subcontinent. And surely to avoid that prospect taking a chance at forging peace, even if it amounts to bucking the establishment at home, is worth the effort. Dr Singh and the Congress have an opportunity to rewrite the sad saga of relations that has plagued our lands and if they decide to rise to this challenge then among the people and the present government in Pakistan they will find willing partners.
Posted by: john frum ||
06/20/2009
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[Beirut Daily Star: Region] A powerful car bomb exploded Friday near the Basque city of Bilbao, killing a policeman in an attack blamed on the separatist group ETA. In what appeared to be the first ETA killing since December, the bomb went off in a parking lot in Arrigorriaga. Amateur video footage obtained by AP Television News showed flames shooting out of the vehicle.
The victim was a member of the Spanish National Police, said the Basque interior minister, Rodolfo Ares.
Basque President Patxi Lopez, a Socialist handling his first bombing since taking power in May, blamed ETA and vowed to crush the group.
"We are going to do away with them," he said. "They have shown us the path to pain. We are going to show them the path to jail." Spanish news reports said the bomb was attached to the underside of the car and went off when the officer started the engine. This is a technique often used by ETA. Ares said he could not yet confirm the details of the attack.
The officer was identified as Eduardo Antonio Pueyes Garcia, 49, a married father of two. The newspaper El Pais said he was a senior officer with a unit assigned to fighting ETA.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2009
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[Straits Times] SEPARATIST militants shot and killed three Muslim men in Thailand's south as violence intensified in the troubled region, police said on Friday.
An unknown number of militants shot dead a 29-year-old man on Thursday night as he returned home from evening prayers at a mosque in Yala province, before dumping his body on a village road, they said.
In the same province, separatists shot two Muslim males while they ate dinner - a 21-year-old who died at the scene and a 16-year-old who died later at a local hospital.
The incidents come amid a spike in unrest in Thailand's three southernmost provinces bordering Malaysia, where more than 3,700 people have died in a five-year insurgency against the rule of the central government.
Thai security forces late on Thursday sealed off a village in Yala and shot dead four separatist militants.
Insurgents in the Muslim-majority region have targeted both security forces and civilians - Buddhist and Muslim alike.
Thailand's government is struggling to curb the recent surge in violence, which included a bloody attack on a mosque in which gunmen shot dead 11 people during evening prayers last week.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on Sunday raised the possibility of making the south a special administrative zone as a political solution to the unrest but he ruled out granting any form of autonomy.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2009
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[Iran Press TV Latest] Fifty-seven Iranian elites and lawyers have signed a letter calling for an end to the violence and use of force against post-election protesters.
The petitioners cite a number of acts of violence, which they say have been perpetrated against the protesters, including "firing at defenseless people and killing a number of them, widespread arrests of young people without notifying their relatives, violating universities premises and attacking students, illegal entries into private residences, destruction of public property, interventions by unknown and un-uniformed forces under the pretext of restoring order and the imposition of widespread and unjustifiable restrictions on telecommunications services."
The petitioners, among whom are a number of clerics, are mainly academics from the prestigious Tehran, Shahid Beheshti and the Allameh Tabataba'i Universities, as well as a number of attorneys-at-law, express their sympathies with the families of those killed and call on the bodies "empowered by the constitution to safeguard the citizens' rights and liberties to process the public's demands in a peaceful way."
"The blocking of legal channels for the enforcement and the restoration of the rights of the people is not the way to solve the problems. The justice-seeking cries of the people must be heard and their rightful demands obeyed," they said.
Iranians went to the polls on June 12, in unprecedented numbers to elect a new president. However, when the results were announced the next day, giving almost a 2-to-1 lead to the incumbent president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad over the runner-up Mir-Hossein Mousavi, he and many of his supporters rejected the Interior Ministry figures as a "charade", and took to the streets in rallies to register their dissatisfaction and demand for annulment of the election.
Although Mousavi has called on his followers to remain peaceful and avoid provocations, violence has erupted in several places resulting in a number of casualties.
Mousavi and the other two losing candidates have reported more than 600 "irregularities" to the supervisory body, the Guardian Council, and the council has convened a meeting scheduled for Saturday to discuss the complaints with them.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2009
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#1
Elites: what would we do without them.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
06/20/2009 6:26
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A bomb blast ripped through a bus station in Balochistan's Dera Murad Jamali district on Friday, injuring around 17 people, a police official said. "It was an improvised explosive device which ripped through the bus station injuring at least 17 people, one of them seriously," police official Naseebullah Khoso told AFP. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the incident. The country has been hit by a string of Taliban-related bombings blasts, as fears grow that extremists are exacting revenge for a military offensive against them in Swat and Malakand.
[ADN Kronos] Pakistan's interior minister Rehman Malik said that neighbouring Afghanistan was being used as a base to support militancy in Pakistan and stir unrest. "Afghanistan should stop the use of its soil against Pakistan. Supply of arms and ammunition across the border must be halted," said Malik on Thursday during an interview with local TV. Every once in a while these goobers say something so astoundingly hypocritical it takes the very breath away...
The minister said peace and stability in Afghanistan was in the interest of Pakistan and it would lead to peace in the region. He termed the fight against terrorism in Pakistan a war of the whole world and said the international community should cooperate in the war, otherwise the menace could affect the whole world. "The world must realise that we are fighting against a common enemy." Maybe we should send troops, huh?
"No, just cash. And not the small bills, either. The wad of small bills ruins the drape of my suits."
Pakistan's security forces have, for over seven weeks, been engaged in a fierce military campaign against the Taliban and other Islamist insurgents in areas neighbouring Afghanistan such as the North West Frontier Province.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2009
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[ADN Kronos] A Syrian government representative on Friday reiterated that the site bombed by Israel in 2007 is not a nuclear facility and said Damascus would cooperate with the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.
"Al-Kiber military facility that was attacked by Israel back in 2007 is by no means used in nuclear activities," said Syria's representative at the IAEA, Ibrahim Othman during a media conference.
Othman, however, said that Israel should undergo an IAEA investigation to ensure the region was free of nuclear weapons.
Israel neither acknowledges nor denies having nuclear weapons. However it is believed that Israel's nuclear arsenal contains between 80 and 200 weapons.
According to Othman, the Syrian Research Centre's nuclear plant is not capable of enriching uranium as it only has a capability of 30 kilowatts. He also said the plant is used for neutron activation and other research that are not related to nuclear energy.
In line with Syria's 2006 agreement with the IAEA, the plant was being supervised by the agency, Othman added.
Syria has reaffirmed several times that the plant bombed by Israel at al-Kibar in the country's eastern desert was a traditional plant, and denied that it was a nuclear facility under construction.
Last year, the IAEA said a "significant" number of particles of man-made uranium had been found at the facility. It also said it had found more man-made uranium at the site and Syria would need to explain how it got there.
An Israeli intelligence operation penetrated the suspected Syrian nuclear programme, which photographs appearing to show it had been undertaken with North Korean assistance delivered by sea.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2009
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#1
"We will work with the IAEA, as long as nobody more effective than El-Baradei is in charge"
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/20/2009 9:39
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[ADN Kronos] The Pakistani government flagged the possibility of allowing refugees to return to their homes in the volatile northwest while fighter jets bombed at least three Taliban militant camps along the Afghan border on Friday. Senior officials said jet fighters flattened training facilities in the South Waziristan tribal region killing or injuring several people.
Meanwhile the death toll from a suspected US missile strike in the area on Thursday has risen to 13, according to media reports.
The Taliban also reportedly opened fire on troops elsewhere in the mountainous area, starting an exchange of fire that was still going on hours later, officials said.
The operation in South Waziristan is seen as a potential turning point in the fight against militancy in Pakistan. It could also help curb Taliban attacks on Western forces in Afghanistan.
The rugged northwest area is the stronghold of Pakistan Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud, who the government has vowed to eliminate.
Friday's bombing runs were launched in response to reports of dozens of militants in the South Waziristan's Zor Sorvakai, Madijan and Katkai areas, widely considered Mehsud strongholds.
On Thursday up to three suspected US drone aircraft are reported to have dropped four missiles on a training school for Islamist extremists in the lawless South Waziristan tribal zone near the Afghan border.
The rugged northwest area is the stronghold of Pakistan Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud.
Despite the violence in South Waziristan, the Pakistani government says refugees from the troubled Swat region would be able to begin returning home on Saturday.
Pakistani defence minister, Chaudry Ahmed Mukhtar, said the government's military operation in the Swat Valley had almost ended and those who had been displaced due to the fighting would be able to start returning to their homes on Saturday.
UNHCR says there are two million displaced people as a result of the Pakistani government's offensive against the Taliban in Swat.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2009
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[Al Arabiya Latest] Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei dismissed the country's worst unrest in decades as "enemy" interference and warned that protests and riots would not be tolerated in his first speech Friday since the disputed elections that saw Mahmoud Ahmadinejad win a second four-year term.
After a week of protests, Khamenei denied accusations that the elections were rigged and labelled Ahmadinejad the "absolute" winner of 24.5 million out of 40 million votes and said the 11 million-vote margin shows the result was accurate.
Tens of thousands of people gathered at Tehran University where Khamenei warned that "street protests are not acceptable" and urged those who want to pursue complaints to do so from within the system. "It would be wrong to think that turning out on the street would be a way to force officials to accept your demands," he warned, adding protests "challenge democracy," in light of the worst mass protests in the Islamic Republic since the 1979 revolution.
Khamenei accused "agents" of the West and Zionism of operating inside Iran and said they were the ones who started the riots in which cars were burned and property damaged as well as killing eight people.
Hours after Khamenei's speech, the United Kingdom summoned its Iranian ambassador to complain about the speech in which the leader labeled Britain "the most evil" of Iran's enemies and European Union leaders called on the republic to allow peaceful protests.
Zionist meddling
" The Zionist controlled media is trying to show you that there is a fight between those who support the state and those who do not support the state "
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
The crowd chanted "Death to Israel" and "Death to America" as the leader accused Western and Zionist governements of sowing discord and using their media to make the elections look like a national failure. "The Zionist controlled media is trying to show you that there is a fight between those who support the state and those who do not support the state," Khamenei told the crowd.
"All the candidates support the state," the leader said, despite the fact there was no sign of reformist candidates Mir Hossien Mousavi or Mehdi Karroubi or former premier Mohammad Khatami. The only candidate present was Ahmedinejad's conservative rival Mohsen Rezai.
The leader also addressed Ahmadinejad's' recent scathing remarks of former president and current chairman of the Assembly of Experts, Hashemi Rafsanjani, and said he has not been accused of financial corruption, a reference to the incumbent's accusations during electoral debates that Rafsanjani was involved in corruption and fraud.
With regards to U.S. criticism of the heavy-handed police tactics being used on protestors, Khamenei sarcastically noted Iran did not need human rights advice from those are not even concerned about human rights.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2009
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#1
those who voted for this clown to absolve for sins committed some generations ago didn't realized that with it came the inability to criticize this man for even the most egregious blunders. Example, he's praised for not meddling in Iran's affairs, but if he would have utter praise for the democratic movement, he would have been praised for that too.
Posted by: jack salami ||
06/20/2009 12:50
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[Straits Times] SHOP mannequins displaying underwear will have to take cover under a regulation passed by authorities in Vietnam's commercial capital. The models must no longer be visible from shop fronts under the rule controlling various forms of advertising in southern Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, the Phap Luat Ho Chi Minh City newspaper said on its
'No one wears underwear in public places, and it runs counter to Vietnamese traditional custom.'
website. 'Putting the mannequin somewhere that people in the streets cannot see it is OK,' the report quoted local official Le Quang Vinh as saying. 'No one wears underwear in public places, and it runs counter to Vietnamese traditional custom.'
Underwear mannequins are widespread at shops in Ho Chi Minh City and elsewhere in Vietnam.
If the mannequins are removed from the shop windows, how will the illiterates know where to buy pretty underthings?
Look for the mannequins wearing underburqas ...
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2009
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An Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement could be reached "within the year," but only if all sides agree to peaceful negotiations, Quartet Middle East envoy Tony Blair said in an interview to be broadcast Friday.
And there's the rub, Tony ...
The former British prime minister said there was a "great sense of hope and expectation" in the Middle East after US President Barack Obama's recent outreach speech to the Islamic world delivered in Cairo. "If President Obama gets the right partner, on the Israeli side but also on the Palestinian side, his determination to do this I have no doubt about at all," he told interviewer David Frost.
"I have no doubt at all of his sincerity or his determination," he said on Frost Over The World, on Al Jazeera's English-language channel. "So if everyone would commit themselves to a peaceful political negotiation to a two-state solution, you could have this deal within the year. But people have got to be prepared to commit to it."
"I think the Obama speech was really a huge event... I think this was a very big moment, a vital moment, for the region and for the wider world," Blair continued." I think there is a great sense of hope and expectation."
"The important thing is to understand that President Obama doesn't need cheerleaders, he needs partners," he stressed. "He needs people who are going to help him achieve what he wants."
Blair said Sunday's speech by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, in which he endorsed a demilitarized Palestinian state, was a "step forward," but said he recognized the criticism. "From the outside they're going to be skeptical, some cynical, some worried: 'Well what does this really mean?' and 'Are we going to be able to make progress on a basis that is acceptable to the Palestinian people?'," he said.
"And that's obviously still to be decided.
"So my view is, yes in that sense it is a step forward and now we've got to wait and see what actually happens."
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/20/2009
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#1
He's right, but not for the reason he said. If the Ayatollah falls in Iran...
#3
Obviously complicated by acute idealization and impulsive projection. I recommend six months in Windemere and the Lake District, moderate alcohol, long walks, leisure reading, no phone calls or media, no exceptions.
[Iran Press TV Latest] Pakistan's former prime minister Nawaz Sharif has opposed a planned fresh military offensive against militant strongholds in North Waziristan. But then, we know which side he's on...
Addressing his party members on Friday, the leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) insisted that opening any new fronts against the Taliban-linked terrorists requires political consultation. "Government should take all sections of society including political forces, religious scholars and media on board prior to opening new fronts," Press TV's correspondent in Pakistan quoted Sharif as saying. They don't want to go attacking Talibs that haven't yet gone rogue...
The two-time premier said that the government first needed to diagnose the roots of terrorism and extremism in the country before thinking of a solution. Ask any muezzin...
"Extremism can't be eradicated until people are given peace of mind that can be achieved only by resolving their burning issues," he said. On the other hand, killing guys with turbans is a good start...
"Government needs to address the root causes of major problems and crisis confronting the people and forcing them to adopt extremist methods." ... but every time somebody sez "secular state" everybody in sight comes down with the vapors...
The remarks comes two days after Islamabad announced a decision to launch a military operation against notorious warlord Baitullah Mehsud in the country's troubled northwest Wazirstan region. Mehsud's Tehrik-e-Taliban has been behind dozens of terror attacks and bombings against civilians and security forces across Pakistan, claiming scores of lives. The army is already engaged in fighting against militants in violence-stricken Swat valley, also in the northwest, and claims to have killed more than 1,500 pro-Taliban fighters since it launched its operations on April 26. But there are several other groups of "Taliban" who haven't gone rogue yet, so now they have to pick their targets carefully...
This article starring:
BAITULLAH MEHSUD
TTP
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2009
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A U.S. warplane failed to follow all operational rules in a complex battle in Afghanistan last month that killed an estimated 26 civilians and 78 Taliban fighters, the U.S. military concluded in a report released Friday.
The deaths last month raised the stakes in a growing battle for the good will of Afghan civilians, whose allegiance Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said is crucial if the United States is going to win the faltering war in Afghanistan.
"The inability to discern the presence of civilians and assess the potential collateral damage of those strikes is inconsistent with the U.S. government's objective of providing security and safety for the Afghan people," the report prepared by U.S. Central Command said.
Three U.S. airstrikes conducted after dark near the close of the chaotic fight in the western Farah Province probably accounted for the civilian deaths, the report said. It contained only mild criticism of the B-1 bomber crew involved, however, and the nation's top military official has already said there is no reason to punish any U.S. personnel.
The report contains no surprises -- U.S. officials had already given rough estimates of the number of deaths -- but provides a vivid narrative of a firefight that also killed five Afghan national police officers. Two U.S. personnel and seven Afghan security officers were wounded.
Local Afghan officials have said as many as 140 people were killed.
The report recommends refining the current rules for operations with the potential to kill civilians and ensuring that training matches the rules.
Other recommendations include improving the military's ability to get its side of the story in front of Afghans faster, something commanders say is frustratingly difficult. The U.S. should be "first with the truth," the report said.
The report promised a follow-up in four months on how well new tactical rules are working.
Posted by: ed ||
06/20/2009
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The air strike was lawful and did follow all the rules. There are additional guidelines above and beyond the laws of war set out by CENTCOM to prevent civilian casualties, and those were not strictly adhered to.
But the summary was pretty clear.
The report was far more clear in what it didn't say;
The US followed the rules of war while the Taliban did not.
And that did not get reported in this article.
The actual report, if you care to read it, is here
#3
My shock when I went into Dillard's the other day -- saw these same shoes --- high spike heels, elongated toes..... and these are pics from last year's fashion show in Iran.
Protest Babes?
Seen on any runway anywhere in the world -- bring on the Protest Babes!
#4
They've obviously got some great looking sheilas in Iran. Imagine how great the fashion shows could be if they were free to chose any clothes to wear.
Ps. I know this is about much more than fashion but you do what you can with what you're given at the time.
[Maghrebia] Tunisia on Thursday (June 18th) noted "with satisfaction" the decision to close Guantanamo but rejected media reports that 10 Tunisian prisoners should go to European nations rather than face alleged human rights violations in their native county, Tunisia Online reported. In a statement, the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights noted that two Guantanamo detainees repatriated to Tunisia in 2007 had their sentences reduced. They are now "detained under normal conditions and receive regular visits from their families and lawyers", the ministry said.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2009
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EU and US leaders on Friday condemned Iran's threat of crackdown on reformist protesters.
US President Barack Obama said he was very concerned by the "tenor and tone" of comment's by Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In a television interview taped Friday with CBS News' Harry Smith, Obama said that Iran's government should "recognize that the world is watching." He said that "how they approach and deal with people who are, through peaceful means, trying to be heard" will signal "what Iran is and is not."
That's just plain dumb: the Mad Mullahs have spent the last thirty years making it perfectly clear what the Islamic Republic is and is not. There is no doubt at all in that regard. Obama is talking like a man who would prefer to deal with Short Round than with the people of Iran.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy said he hoped Iran's leaders "don't do anything irreversible" that could further endanger the country's stability. "We support the Iranian people, and today the Iranian people are on the street," he said.
Better. That's unequivocal.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's speech "was rather disappointing," and she reiterated international calls for an official investigation into allegations of vote rigging.
And that's mush. It's not 'disappointing', it's flat-out unacceptable.
The 27 EU leaders were unanimous in condemning violence against Iran's opposition protesters, as hundreds of thousands there have rallied in recent days for a recount of presidential ballots.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives voted 405-1 to condemn Iran's crackdown on demonstrators and the government's interference with Internet and cell phone communications. The policy statement expresses support for "all Iranian citizens who embrace the values of freedom, human rights, civil liberties and rule of law" and affirms "the importance of democratic and fair elections."
It also condemns "the ongoing violence" by the government and pro-government militias against demonstrators, as well as government "suppression of independent electronic communications through interference with the Internet and cell phones."
Rep. Howard Berman, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and co-sponsor of the resolution, said "it is not for us to decide who should run Iran, much less determine the real winner of the June 12 election.
"But we must reaffirm our strong belief that the Iranian people have a fundamental right to express their views about the future of their country freely and without intimidation," added Berman, a Democrat.
The resolution was initiated by Republicans as a veiled criticism of Obama, who has been reluctant to speak out against Teheran's handling of disputed elections that left hard-liner President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in power. Rep. Mike Pence, who co-sponsored the resolution, said he disagrees with the administration that it must not meddle in Iran's affairs. "When Ronald Reagan went before the Brandenburg Gate, he did not say "Mr. (Mikhail) Gorbachev, that wall is none of our business," said Pence, a Republican, of President Reagan's famous exhortation to the Soviet leader to "tear down that wall."
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/20/2009
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Iran's supreme leader said Friday that the country's disputed presidential vote had not been rigged, sternly warning protesters of a crackdown if they continue massive demonstrations demanding a new election. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei sided with hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and offered no concessions to the opposition. He effectively closed any chance for a new vote by calling the June 12 election an "absolute victory."
The speech created a stark choice for candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi and his supporters: Drop their demands for a new vote or take to the streets again in blatant defiance of the man endowed with virtually limitless powers under Iran's constitution.
If they drop their demands and go home, they'll be hunted down by the Basiji and the secret police.
They'll be dragged from their homes in the dead of night and taken to detention facilities. They'll either be put on ice for a long, long time or they'll just be murdered. That is the choice: do you go home and wait to be arrested, or do you go down fighting?
Pro-Mousavi Web sites had no immediate reaction to Khamenei's warning and no announcement of any changes in a protest planned for 4 p.m. Saturday.
Khamenei accused foreign media and Western countries of trying to create a political rift and stir up chaos in Iran. Iranian leaders often blame foreign "enemies" for plots against the country, but Khamenei's comments suggest Iran could remain cool to expanding dialogue with the West and the offer of opening talks with Washington.
"Some of our enemies in different parts of the world intended to depict this absolute victory, this definitive victory, as a doubtful victory," he said. "It is your victory. They cannot manipulate it."
Well, it's your victory ...
In one part of his speech, Khamenei slammed "Zionist radio," referring to the Israel Broadcast Authority's Persian language station, for "planting doubts" in the hearts of Iranians.
Later, when Khamenei said the United Kingdom's government was the "most treacherous" and described it as "evil," the crowd responded with chants of "Death to the UK, Israel and America."
The usual crowd, bussed in from the usual places ...
Khamenei said the 11 million votes that separated Ahmadinejad from his top opponent, Mousavi, were proof that fraud did not occur. "If the difference was 100,000 or 500,000 or 1 million, well, one may say fraud could have happened. But how can one rig 11 million votes?"
Ahmadinejad watched the sermon from the front row. The Times reported earlier that Khamenei instructed Mousavi to stand next him when he makes his speech or face deportation from Iran; it was not clear whether the report was accurate, but Mousavi was not to be seen during Khamenei's address.
So far, the government has not stopped the protests with force despite an official ban on them. But Khamenei opened the door for harsher measures. "It must be determined at the ballot box what the people want and what they don't want, not in the streets," he said. "I call on all to put an end to this method. ... If they don't, they will be held responsible for the chaos and the consequences."
Khamenei said Iran would not see a second revolution like those that transformed the countries of the former Soviet Union.
I'm pretty sure he's studied those carefully. The Rose Revolution. The Orange Revolution. The Cedar Revolution. The 1989 and 1991 revolutions. He's not stupid and both he and Short Round began planning four years ago to keep this from happening.
He remained staunch in his defense of Ahmadinejad, saying his views were closer to the president's than to those of former President Hashemi Rafsanjani, a powerful patron of Mousavi.
Khamenei said the street protests would not have any impact. "Some may imagine that street action will create political leverage against the system and force the authorities to give in to threats. No, this is wrong," he said.
The supreme leader left open a small window for a legal challenge to the vote. He reiterated that he has ordered the Guardian Council, an unelected body of 12 clerics and Islamic law experts close to the supreme leader, to investigate voter fraud claims. The Council has said it was prepared to conduct a limited recount of ballots at sites where candidates claim irregularities.
Which of course won't matter ...
He stressed that the four candidates were part of the country's Islamic system and reminded listeners that Mousavi was prime minister of Iran when Khamenei was president in the 1980s. "All of them belong to the system. It was a competition within the ruling system," he said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/20/2009
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"I won."
Posted by: ed ||
06/20/2009 0:42
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"Some of our enemies in different parts of the world intended to depict this absolute victory, this definitive victory, as a doubtful victory," he said. "It is your victory. They cannot manipulate it."
ACORN has spoken! The so called "Tea Parties" will serve no useful purpose. We have infiltrated your ranks. If you try to assemble peacefully, our infiltrators will initiate violence firing off rounds of bullet, molotov bombs, etc, and we will then kill you. Are there any questions?
#3
Well, it was fun for a while. I feel for those who were brave enough to speak up and are now "detained". I feel for their families. They have made a great sacrifice. But at least the man behind the curtain has been revealed. He's not a holy man. He's just another lying, murdering, power mad dictator and now everybody knows it.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
06/20/2009 13:57
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Iranian reformist Mir Hossein Mousavi was given an ultimatum by the Islamic Republic's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a call to support the reelected regime of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the London Times reported Friday morning.
Khamenei made it clear to Mousavi that if he failed to report to Friday prayers at Teheran University, during which he planned to deliver a sermon calling for national unity, the oppostion leader would be exiled. According the report, Khamenei made the demand while meeting with the representatives of candidates of the national elections that Mousavi had claimed were rigged.
Exiled where? Britain? Pakistain? Or a six-foot plot in a remote desert in Sistan-va-Balochistan?
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/20/2009
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[Jerusalem Post Middle East] Through its contacts with Hamas, The International Committee of the Red Cross Thingy is attempting to establish "regular and unconditional" family contact for captive IDF soldier St.-Sgt. Gilad Schalit.
Since his abduction just outside the Gaza Strip in June 2006, the ICRCT has tried to deliver messages to Schalit from his family, but these efforts have not succeeded, Yael Segev-Eytan, spokeswoman for the ICRCT in Israel, told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday.
"It is Hamas's legal obligation under international humanitarian law to allow him regular contact with his family," she said. "We will use every means at our disposal to get in contact with [Schalit], but it is ultimately up to [Hamas] to implement the law and open the door for us to free Gilad."
All requests for contact and information on the status of the captive tank gunner have been refused by Hamas. The ICRCT has been in contact with Hamas officials located in both Gaza and Damascus.
On Tuesday, former US president Jimmy Carter gave Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh a letter from Schalit's parents to be passed along to him. Carter successfully arranged for the delivery of a letter from Schalit to his parents in June 2008.
While it would be a positive step for a letter to reach Schalit, 22, there was no way of knowing whether he received Tuesday's letter, Segev-Eytan said. The ICRCT hopes to gain regular access to Schalit, to assess his physical and psychological health.
"Hamas stated right after his capture that Gilad has been treated humanly," she said. "But we cannot confirm that unless we see it with our own eyes."
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2009
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#1
Hamas stated right after his capture that Gilad has been treated humanly,
Yeah right - up to the time they beat him to death.
How many years has it been since St-Sgt Schalit was captured? And the ICRCT is only now asking to see him? Why weren't they screaming right from the beginning, just like they did with the illegal combatants at Gitmo?
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
06/20/2009 0:16
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"It is Hamas's legal obligation under international humanitarian law
I recommend Jimmy Carter and Barry undertake this effort on behalf of the family. I may have missed it in the State Run Media.... surely Carter or Barry have discussed the fate of Sgt Schalit, correct? [snark off]
Fortunately "international law" has no jurisdiction among the heavenly hosts.
A grenade hurled at a bus carrying Indian tourists missed its target and killed a vegetable seller on Friday in Indian-held Kashmir (IHK), police said. "Initial investigations reveal that the bus carrying tourists was the actual target (of militants)," a police official said, requesting not to be named. He said a vegetable seller was killed on the spot after the device exploded in front of his roadside shop. The explosion, which also hurt another bystander, caused panic in Srinagar's Dalgate, situated on the shores of Lake Dal -- a tourist attraction.
More policemen have been patrolling the area after the blast, as panic-struck tourists had rushed to their hotels and houseboats. The explosion took place in the midst of a two-month-long Hindu pilgrimage, which started this week. Militants have attacked the procession in the past. Twenty people were injured in IHK on Friday when police used batons and teargas to break up renewed protests over the alleged rape and murder of two Muslim women by soldiers, police said.
Posted by: Fred ||
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By Dr Shabir Choudhry
Dr Nazir Gilani is among a few Kashmiris who regularly write on Kashmir and human rights abuse. He, at times, comes out with new phrases, which provide a new dimension to debates. In response to my article, 'Another own goal', he made an interesting remark:
'India is not an occupier in Kashmir. She is there as the consequence of a provisional agreement with the Government of Kashmir. The jurisprudence of this provisional agreement is accepted by the Government of Pakistan in all her bilateral agreements with the Government of India, namely, Tashkent Accord and Shimla Accord'.
This observation gave a new dimension to the debate and requires further consideration. The Indian army came to Jammu and Kashmir not as army of invasion; rather they came on request of the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir. On 22 October 1947 some parts of the State were invaded by unruly tribal warriors, killing and pillaging on their way to Srinagar, the Maharaja's forces were not able to defend the State territory. The Maharaja had two choices: either let these tribesmen run over the country and destroy everything or seek help from India -- he chose the later.
The Maharaja could not have got help from the government of Pakistan as they betrayed his trust; and despite the Standstill Agreement with the Maharaja, they stopped all the necessary supplies to the State and managed the tribal invasion to punish the Maharaja for not yielding to the demands of the Pakistani rulers who wanted State's accession to Pakistan.
The Maharaja requested help from India, and signed an accession treaty on 26th October 1947, which was 'provisionally' accepted by the government of India. In line with the request of the Maharaja the Indian forces landed in Srinagar on 27th October 1947. Their primary purpose was to save the State from the invaders; and protect 'life', 'liberty' and 'property'.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: john frum ||
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The Taliban government in Afghanistan was un-Islamic and the Taliban are not affiliated with the Darul Uloom Deoband, a private TV channel quoted Darul Uloom Deoband Rector Maulvi Salim Qasmi on Friday. It only looked like they were...
According to the channel, the grandson of Maulvi Mohammad Qasim Nanotawi told British radio that the Taliban had less knowledge and more ignorance. "They [Taliban] have no affiliation with the Deoband school." He said that blowing up barbershops, educational institutions and shrines was un-Islamic. To a question about Maulana Fazlur Rehman, chief of his own faction of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, Qasmi said, "Maulana is more a politician than a scholar." No! Reeeeally?
[Iran Press TV Latest] Militants have blown up a pipeline in Pakistan's troubled Balochistan province where a separate blast left one person killed and 18 others injured. The incident happened on Friday when gunmen detonated a bomb at a key gas pipeline in Dera Bugti area in Balochistan, disrupting gas supplies to some areas in the southwestern province.
In a separate incident, a man was killed and over 18 others were injured when a parked explosive-laden motorcycle detonated, ripping through a busy bus stand in Dera Murad Jamali, also in Balochistan.
The blast caused panic in the city. Hospital authorities and medics in the nearby Civil Hospital said some of the wounded were in critical condition.
So far no group has claimed the responsibility for the blasts in the gas-rich Balochistan, where tribal groups have been struggling with the Islamabad government since 2004 -- when they too up arms for more political autonomy.
Meanwhile, a leader of Baloch Republican Party (BRP) identified as Murid Bugti was gunned down on Friday along with his brother in Sikrind area. The BRP spokesman Sher Muhammad Bugti confirmed the news, blaming the murder on security forces.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2009
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A 27-year-old Mesa man apparently tried to kill himself Tuesday by rigging a sword to his steering wheel and ramming his car through a block wall, police said.
Nathan Ryans car ended up at the bottom of a swimming pool in the 1300 block of North Dakota Street in Chandler, and he went to the hospital with wounds that were not a threat to his life, said Sgt. Joe Favazzo, Chandler police spokesman.
The handle of the 24-inch sword was positioned against the instrument panel with the blade sticking through the steering wheel. It was tied into place with a T-shirt. Ryan then drove his car through the block wall, but the airbag deployed and bent the sword.
The choice of the home seems to be random, Favazzo said. For whatever reason, he chose that wall at that time and made it happen as best he could, Favazzo said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/20/2009
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A sword tied to the steering wheel with a tshirt.
Fighter jets bombed Taliban hideouts in South Waziristan on Friday, targeting two compounds, three madrassas and a suspected training camp under the command of Baitullah Mehsud, reported the AFP news agency as -- according to military sources -- security forces clashed with followers of Baitullah in the region.
The military sources also said Friday's operation "should be read as the formal launch of an offensive against Baitullah".
"Fighter jets on Friday started bombing suspected Taliban hideouts," an intelligence official in Wana was quoted as saying.
The AP news agency quoted intelligence officials as saying that several Taliban had been killed or wounded in the bombings. According to the agency, the bombings were launched in response to reports of Taliban's presence in Zor Sorvakai, Madijan and Katkai areas, said the intelligence officials, adding that troop deployment in several areas was complete, and soldiers were moving towards strategic areas where "large numbers of Taliban were ... entrenched". One of them said the military was blocking roads the Taliban could use to flee.
Meanwhile, the army clashed with Taliban while conducting an operation to clear the road linking Tanai and Sarwaki.
Other ground troops were moving into position around Baitullah's strongholds, reported AP.
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[Iran Press TV Latest] Defeated presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi seconds Mir-Hossein Mousavi's calls on Iran's Guardian Council to nullify the June 12 election and called for a re-run.
"We expect that you [the Guardian Council] accept the will of the nation by nullifying the election and holding a re-run," Karroubi, the leader of the National Confidence Party (Hezb-e Etemad-e Melli), said in an open letter to the council on Friday.
The letter was posted on his party's website and is expected to be circulated in his newspaper's Saturday edition.
Opposition rallies have been held on a daily basis in Iran, since the announcement of presidential election results last Friday, in which incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was re-elected with almost two thirds of votes.
His main rival, Mousavi, rejected the result as fraudulent and demanded a re-run.
Karroubi said 'the absolute majority of Iranians' have objected to the election results, adding that anything other than the nullification of the election results by the Guardian Council would be 'a grave mistake'.
The Guardian Council, the body tasked with supervising the electoral process, says it has received 646 complaints from the three presidential candidates -- Karroubi, Mousavi and Mohsen Rezaei.
The council has invited the three defeated candidates to discuss their objections on Saturday.
Despite Mousavi's insistence on peaceful nature of protests, violence flared in early stages of demonstrations which started in the weekend. At least eight people were killed in Tehran and many others sustained injuries.
The 72-year-old cleric sharply criticized the government for 'adding fuel to the fire of the nation's wrath' by trying to suppress 'peaceful gatherings' of the people.
"The government has described the people's protest as a protest against the system and has created an atmosphere of fear through censoring the media, cutting mobile phones and text message services," Karroubi said.
On Friday, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, called for an end to street protests, assuring the public that the Islamic Republic has 'by no means' betrayed the vote of the nation.
The Leader, however, maintained that the Guardian Council will look into the complaints of the candidates who are unhappy with the election results.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2009
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The Iranian Intelligence Ministry on Thursday claimed to have foiled an Israeli-linked terror plot to plant bombs in mosques and other crowded places in Teheran during last week's presidential election. State broadcaster IRIB quoted a ministry statement as saying several terrorist groups had been discovered, adding they were "in contact with Iran's foreign enemies, including the Zionist entity."
They don't even bother being subtle, do they ...
"Members of one of the uncovered networks were planning to plant bombs on election day at various crowded Teheran spots, including dozens of polling booths the Ershad and Al-Nabi mosques," the statement continued.
State television said there was also a plot to plant bombs in 20 polling stations in Teheran.
The television channel showed four of the suspects whose faces had been blurred by broadcasters.
One said that Americans in Iraq had asked them for information about the situation in Iran and had taught them how to make bombs.
Nope, not subtle at all, it's all the fault of the Juice and the Crusaders ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/20/2009
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Troublesome for these mullahs for sure. The same mullahs who have a hard-on for ballistic nuclear capability....
There have been some video games which display such explicit violence or sexuality that they have been decried as being too inappropriate for anyone to play. But there has never been a video game produced that is more despicable than XBox 360's "Rendition: Guantanamo," in which the game is "won" by killing American soldiers.
The game is seen through the perspective of a detainee in Guantanamo. The premise of the video game's story is that the facility was sold by the U.S. Government to an agency called Freedom Corp. Before the prisoner is tortured and has scientific experiments performed on him, he escapes and attempts to kill as many of his captors as possible. Points are accumulated for each soldier who is murdered.
T-Enterprise, a Scottish company who created Rendition: Guantanamo, has as their motto, "Seduce By Technology." They are known for producing video games that appeal to the global left, although none have been as blatantly anti-American as their latest venture. To make the scene of the game authentic, T-Enterprise solicited the counsel of terrorist Moazzam Begg, who was a prisoner in Guantanamo from 2003 through 2005. The Telegraph quoted Begg as stating, "The software firm approached me with this idea about making a game based on my experience in Guantanamo."
Originally from Birmingham, England, Moazzam Begg was arrested several times in the United Kingdom due to activities associated with radical Islam. He moved to the Middle East in 2001, and was captured by the C.I.A. in 2003, who stated that he was training with Al Qaeda in Pakistan. The book Inside Gitmo, written by Colonel Gordon Cucullu, states that Moazzam Begg told the FBI that he "felt that jihad was an appropriate way to deal with those who harmed Muslims." Begg signed a statement for the FBI admitting that he trained at Al Qaeda facilities and was ready to fight with the Taliban and Al Qaeda against their enemies including the United States. In addition, U.S. military intelligence documents state that Begg recruited Al Qaeda members, and provided money and other support to terrorist training camps.
Upon his release from Guantanamo, Begg has written articles and been on television shows and documentaries, relating his supposed horrific experience in Gitmo. As the owner of XBox, Microsoft did not create Rendition: Guantanamo. However, Microsoft must be more aware of what type of video game is being created by their developers such as T-Enterprise, who spent one year and two months creating Rendition.
If Microsoft was eager to use an escaping prisoner scenario for an XBox game, there are many examples from history that they could have applied. A U.S. soldier could be escaping a Vietcong prisoner of war camp. Or perhaps an American World War II era soldier could be breaking free from a German or Japanese prison. In each of these scenarios, the crimes committed by the captors against our soldiers are well documented, contrary to the alleged abuses in Gitmo. Certainly no one would be offended by an American soldier escaping from and even killing Nazis.
In a statement on their website, T-Enterprise stated, "It [Rendition] was never designed to be 'propaganda' or 'a recruiting tool for terrorism.' Neither was it designed to glamorize terrorism as has been reported." However, the video game is blatantly expressing sympathy with terrorists by portraying them as innocent victims who undergo agonizing scientific procedures. In addition, Begg has a financial interest in Rendition: Guantanamo, although he stated that he has not received any money yet from T-Enterprise. Judging from his association and support of Al Qaeda in the past, it is easy to predict that if he received any compensation from Rendition video game sales, that money would have been used to propagate terrorism.
What will it take for Microsoft to pay more attention to what is being produced for XBox? On the morning of June 3, 2009, it was announced that Rendition: Guantanamo will not be distributed. Video games already tend to push the edge, but Rendition is so blatantly antagonistic to American values and culture that somebody at Microsoft should have taken notice. If a person or division at Microsoft did know about Rendition and did nothing, there should be consequences.
For those who wish to express their opinion on the video game they created, the contact information for T-Enterprise is below.
Key points from the Friday prayers address by Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei:
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Dismisses charges of voting rigging in the June 12 presidential election and sides with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who official results showed was the landslide winner. This effectively closes the door on chances for a recount or new election. Khamenei says that the ruling establishment will still examine the claims of fraud.
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Warns supporters of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi to end their street protests and holds them responsible for chaos and consequences if they don't. This suggests harsher crackdowns by authorities.
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Insists that Mousavi and other candidates in the race are loyal to Iran's Islamic system and do not seek its overthrow. Mousavi, a former prime minister, has never called for a fight to dismantle the ruling structure, but he has openly defied Khamenei by staging street marches.
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Blames foreign media and Western countries specifically naming Britiain and the U.S. of trying to create political rifts and encourage chaos in Iran. Iranian leaders often blame foreign "enemies" for plots against the country, but Khamenei's comments suggest Iran could remain cool to expanding dialogue with the West and the offer of opening talks with Washington.
Posted by: ed ||
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From the larger J-Post article, broken out separately.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has appeared to take the growing opposition more seriously in recent days, backtracking Thursday on his dismissal of the protesters as "dust" and sore losers.
The crowds in Teheran and elsewhere have been able to organize despite a government clampdown on the Internet and cell phones. The government has blocked certain Web sites, such as BBC Farsi, Facebook, Twitter and several pro-Mousavi sites that are vital conduits for Iranians to tell the world about protests and violence.
"I was only addressing those who rioted, set fires and attack people. I said they are nothing," Ahmadinejad said in a previously taped video shown Thursday on state TV. "Every single Iranian is valuable. Government is a service to all."
Posted by: Steve White ||
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One interesting fact of government is that a government is not a country, and if the people refuse to obey the government, it quickly runs out of steam.
Egypt's official news agency says the country has signed a 10-year consulting agreement with Australia's WorleyParsons (WOR.AX) to help build its first nuclear reactor. Thursday's report quotes Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif as saying the 900 million Egyptian pound ($161 million) agreement is a step toward Egypt entering an era of peacefully using nuclear technology.
Egypt's Electricity Ministry said last month it dropped US construction giant Bechtel as a consultant for the project without giving reasons. But local reports suggested the deal stalled over operation terms.
The entire project is expected to cost between $1.5 billion and $1.8 billion. It is part of plans to diversify Egypt's energy resources and preserve the country's oil and gas.
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Posted by: ed ||
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They are standing up to be counted, unlike other NATO countries we could mention. And in the end they will have a force, however small, that is properly equipped, well trained, and battle hardened. Not at all a bad thing when one is a small country next to a large one with ambitions.
[Kyodo: Korea] A Singapore government agency warned Friday it will take appropriate action if a North Korean ship reportedly being pursued by the U.S. Navy in international waters and heading toward Singapore is carrying weapons of mass destruction. ""Singapore takes seriously the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, their means of delivery and related materials,"" a Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore spokesperson said told Kyodo News.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2009
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Force a detour off the coast of Somalia, and let the pirates there do what comes naturally.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/20/2009 11:00
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An east-west transit of the Singapore Strait is thru Singapore waters. The Lombok Strait (Indonesia) is the main alternate route to the Indian Ocean.
[Al Arabiya Latest] President Barack Obama's "reassertion" of U.S. leadership in the Middle East offers a rare opportunity to get peace between Israel and the Palestinians, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said.
He said if Israel took "serious steps" toward peace with the Palestinians, the Arab world would do the same.
In an editorial in The Wall Street Journal on Friday, Mubarak said Obama was willing to take a lead in achieving peace and the Arab world would reciprocate. "A historic settlement is within reach, one that would give the Palestinians their state and freedom from occupation while granting Israel recognition and security to live in peace," wrote Mubarak.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Exactly. All the Israelis have to do is grant the Palestinians EVERYTHING they demand, including going back to 1967 borders, the "right of return", and anything else the Palestinians can think of, and there will be peace.
At least until the Palestinians can think of something else they want, like 40 acres and a mule, or compensation for all the pain, suffering and humiliation the Israelis supposedly heaped on them since 1948.
Of course, if the Israelis were kind enough to dig their own graves, and lie down in them, and then die, there would definitely be peace. Maybe Jimmy Carter could suggest that. It should be worth another Nobel Peace Prize.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
06/20/2009 1:15
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A top counter-terrorist police officer has been killed in Spain's northern city of Bilbao after Eta rebels attached a bomb to his car.
Chief-Inspector Eduardo Pueyes Garcia, 49, died instantly, after he turned on the ignition of his private car near to his home on the edge of Bilbao.
Police said the anti-terror chief was about to drive to work at the National Police regional headquarters in the heart of Spain's troubled Basque Country.
The officer had been a leading member of the force's anti-terrorist squad for the past seven years.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack but such bombings have regularly been carried out by Basque guerrillas Eta.
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[Maghrebia] The Swiss hostage held by al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb is still alive, AFP quoted a Malian negotiator as saying on Thursday (June 18th) on condition of anonymity. Three weeks after the execution of British hostage Edwin Dyer, a group led by Algerian terrorist Mohamed Abou Zeid is still holding Werner Greitner "north of Taoudenni" near Mali's border with Algeria, the source, who helped negotiate the release of Greitner's wife and a German woman in April, told AFP. Zeid is reportedly ready to open negotiations for Greitner's release.
The Malian army is currently conducting a major counter-terrorism operation in the "Sahel-Sahara band" of Northern Mali and the border region with Algeria, Niger and Mauritania.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2009
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In what is perceived in Jerusalem as a mistaken effort to give Hamas room to maneuver, the EU's 27 foreign ministers, in a statement issued Monday, did not call, as in the past, for Hamas to forswear terrorism, recognize Israel or accept previous PLO agreements with Israel.
Government sources in Jerusalem said France led the efforts to keep what has become known as the Quartet's three conditions on Hamas from being included in the European Council's conclusions on the Middle East peace process.
Because we all know that holding the Paleos to conditions is a lost cause ...
Instead, the statement said the foreign ministers expressed "continued encouragement for inter-Palestinian reconciliation behind [Palestinian Authority] President Mahmoud Abbas and support for the mediation efforts by Egypt and the Arab League."
The foreign ministers called "on all Palestinians to find common ground, based on nonviolence, in order to facilitate reconstruction in Gaza and the organization of elections."
The move to keep the three conditions out of the resolutions comes amid mounting concern in Jerusalem that Europe is slowly moving away from the three conditions on Hamas, which have been adopted both by the Quartet and the UN Security Council.
Because the Euros wouldn't necessarily mind doing business with Hamas ...
"Damascus is so pretty this time of year. And Meshaal is so civilized, unlike those dreadful Israeli barbarians. Really knows his tea."
According to diplomatic sources, the French were trying to give Hamas "a way out," and felt that if the conditions were not always mentioned every statement, it might give the Islamist organization a chance to soften its positions and perhaps give a boost to Egyptian-brokered talks between Fatah and Hamas.
The European foreign ministers issued another statement regarding Israel on Tuesday, this one following the EU Association meeting the day before with Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, in which they essentially said the decision from last year to upgrade ties with Israel would remain in place, but that no steps toward implementing it would be taken at this point.
In December, the EU's foreign ministers approved a significant upgrade in the union's relationship with Israel, including a political upgrade that would include ad hoc summit meetings between Israel's prime minister and all EU heads of government, something that has never taken place before. It also called for Israel's foreign minister to meet with all 27 EU foreign ministers three times a year, the inclusion of Israel in EU peacekeeping forces and for an EU commitment to help Israel better integrate into UN agencies. The upgrade would also enable Israeli participation in a wide variety of EU programs that are currently closed to it.
But, as one senior European diplomatic official said on Tuesday, the upgrade remained in the "in-box," and would not move forward until the EU was satisfied with Israeli progress on the peace process - something not currently the case.
The upgrade was essentially frozen during Operation Cast Lead, and has stayed in that state ever since.
Nevertheless, one senior Israeli diplomatic official noted that the EU foreign ministers did not decide to scrap the upgrade decision, as was being advocated by Belgium and Luxembourg, but rather to drag their feet in its implementation. The Arab countries have for months been lobbying against the upgrade.
"Despite efforts of some countries to cancel what was already agreed upon, their efforts did not succeed," the official said. "Europe repeated its commitment to the upgrade, and we will continue to work toward implementing it, hopefully in the near future."
Posted by: Steve White ||
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The request crackled over the radio in the police station in this remote Afghan valley: four officers needed to accompany U.S. Marines on an overnight patrol.
The appeal was met with little enthusiasm. Though one officer ran for his Kalashnikov, another said he felt sick; his colleague said he was recovering from a long shift the previous day. With rain falling outside, the rest cast their eyes downward to avoid the glare of their commander.
"Come on, you told me you wanted to be warriors," said the unit's trainer, an American working for a U.S. security company contracted by Washington to build up the force. "If you want to be in the Afghan National Police, then you follow orders from your commander. If not, you quit."
Securing the help of Afghan security forces is crucial to President Barack Obama's hopes of reversing Taliban gains in Afghanistan eight years after the U.S.-led invasion that ousted the hardline regime. American withdrawal is almost unthinkable unless it leaves behind a police and army strong enough to stop the Kabul government from falling in its wake.
While the Marines did eventually secure four officers to accompany them on their night patrol this week, the police force in Golestan offers a window into problems facing police units around the country as they are increasingly expected to join in the fight against the Taliban.
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[Beirut Daily Star: Region] Kenya will not sit by and allow the situation in neighboring Somalia to deteriorate further because it is a threat to regional stability, the country's foreign minister said on Friday.
Hardline Islamist insurgents stepped up an offensive against Somalia's government last month and on Thursday killed the Horn of Africa country's security minister and at least 30 other people in a suicide car bomb attack.
Kenya and other countries in the region, as well as Western nations, fear that if the chaos continues, groups with links to Al-Qaeda will become entrenched and threaten the stability of neighboring countries.
"We will not sit by and watch the situation in Somalia deteriorate beyond where it is. We have a duty as a government to protect our strategic interests including our security," said Foreign Minister Moses Wetangula.
"Kenya will do exactly that to ensure the unfolding developments in Somalia do not in any way undermine or affect our peace and security as a country," he told a news conference.
Asked about any specific action, Wetangula said an international partnership was dealing with the issue of the insurgency and instability in Somalia and it would be inappropriate to discuss details.
Wetangula's comments echoed a joint statement issued on Thursday by the European Union, the African Union, the Inter Governmental Agency on Development, the League of Arab States and the United Nations. "These extremists, both Somali and foreigners, are continuing their indiscriminate violence. They are a threat not only to the country, but to the IGAD region and the international community," the bodies said.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2009
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[Al Arabiya Latest] Britain summoned Iran's ambassador Friday as Western powers continued to condemn Tehran leadership over the handling of election results following a major speech by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iran's ambassador to London was summoned to the Foreign Office, a British spokesman said, in a new sign of the diplomatic strains caused by the disputed election which Iranian authorities say returned Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to a second term as president.
" Today, top diplomats of several Western countries who talked to us so far within diplomatic formalities are showing their real face and most of all, the British government "
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
The Foreign Office spokesman did not say why the ambassador, Rasoul Movahedian, was summoned, but the action came after Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei singled out Britain for criticism in a speech.
"Today, top diplomats of several Western countries who talked to us so far within diplomatic formalities are showing their real face and most of all, the British government," Khamenei said in a speech in Tehran.
On Tuesday the Iranian government summoned the British and Czech ambassadors to protest against the British and EU reactions to deadly post-election unrest in Tehran.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said his government would carry on criticizing Iran and that "the whole world is watching" the events in Tehran.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Useful review of the relationship between the two men.
Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Teheran for a large-scale peaceful protest Thursday on behalf of Iranian opposition leader, Mir Hossein Mousavi.
But for this occasion, the people were wearing black to honor the "martyrs" killed in the post-election violence. In 1979, all those who "died at the hands of the dictator [the Shah]" were called martyrs and mourned in a similar way. Revolutionary symbolism continues to thrive at such rallies, as protesters Photoshop the reelected president's face onto a Pahlavi military uniform.
Mousavi's "green team" has spread rumors, through pamphlets, about Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameini and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's cunning preparations to "rig the people's vote." According to the unsigned pamphlets, Akbar Hashemi Rafjansani's reputation was destroyed in the weeks leading up to the election, in order to derail the reformist's demand for a limitation on the years the supreme leader can serve and to redistribute power among the parliament.
Former terror squad revolutionaries like Mousavi are now viewed as "liberals" and "the people's servants." Unfortunately, the reformists have fooled the vulnerable Iranians by wearing their "liberal" turbans at the rallies.
The legitimacy of the Revolution is now called into question by two of the men who helped create it. Mousavi and Rafsanjani have joined forces against their ruling system. The dynamic duo is again ready for revolutionary action; the boys are up to their old tricks.
In the holy city of Qom, after the "landslide" results were published last Saturday, they quickly began to gain support from other senior dissident clerics willing to speak up against the elections.
Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri declared that "no sound mind" would accept the results. "A government that is based on intervening in (people's) votes has no political or religious legitimacy," said Montazeri, who had once been set to succeed Khomeini as supreme leader but was ousted because of criticisms of the revolution.
The protests are now being carefully nurtured by influential clerics in the establishment. Their rhetoric against the system's "irregularities" has brought into the streets not only the Iranian youth, but also the revolutionary children of 1979. First-generation and second-generation recruits.
Even though the hardliners have the military capability to suppress the demonstrations, the reformists have built a loyal following. Once again, members of the old Revolutionary Guards are using people as human shields for their own political agenda and protection.
Refusing to be cornered by Khameini and his reelected watchdog, Mousavi and Rafsanjani are giving "old school" a new meaning by taking the Iranian people back 30 years, to when they wanted to be freed from the "dictator." Luckily for Mousavi and Rafsanjani, a significant portion of the population hate Ahmadinejad even more.
The "reformists" have been waiting for this moment since Ali Khameini transformed the parliament into a 70-percent conservative majority in 2004. Rafsanjani and Khatami remained silent while Mousavi was getting in touch with his artistic side.
Khameini and Ahmadinejad might win this battle, as the "reformists" are fully aware, but some members of the parliament who bear witness to their colleagues' arrests and disappearances might not wait around to be the regime's victims. Khatami, Mousavi and Rafsanjani have remained dormant over the years and finally decided to "protect the people's votes" - after Rafsanjani was forced to resign, Khatami's brother was arrested, and Mousavi at one point was nowhere to be found.
This trio is riding the wave as long as they can, and will do or say anything to keep up the hype among supporters.
Posted by: Steve White ||
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[ADN Kronos] The United States is alleged to have stepped up secret talks with the Taliban in a bid to resolve the escalating conflict in Afghanistan, an Italian magazine claimed on Friday. But don't tell nobody, okay? They're secret.
The latest edition of Panorama said that the Obama administration had given "new life" to a strategy begun by the previous Bush administration last September to negotiate with "moderate" Taliban leaders.
Despite the imminent arrival of 21,000 new US troops in Afghanistan, the US state department and the monarchy of Saudi Arabia are reported to be working together to improve dialogue with the Afghan Taliban.
Panorama said since late last year it was an open secret that western officials and representatives of Taliban leader Mullah Omar had met.
"You should not think of these as peace talks like the Paris peace talks between (former US secretary of state) Henry Kissinger and North Vietnam," said Ettore Sequi, European Union special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan. "There are channels of communication that exist with the fragmented Taliban groups. The main question is: can we fight for years excluding that portion of these groups who are part of the fabric of the country?"
The popular weekly magazine recounted details of a meeting involving representatives of Mullah Omar and founder of the Hezb-i-Islami (or Islamic party), Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, senior Afghan officials and the Muslim Brotherhood as well as Saudi "facilitators".
US businessmen, diplomats and European and Arab intelligence services were also involved.
Arsala Rahmani, a former Afghan prime minister, now supports reconciliation and asked King Abdullah to invite former allies of Mullah Omar to meet for talks.
In November the Taliban met again in the Pakistani cities of Quetta and Karachi deciding to continue negotiations.
According to Panorama, the Taliban is demanding a ceasefire, the withdrawal of foreign troops from their bases and evacuation within 18 months as well as the creation of a provisional government and a Muslim peacekeeping force. All these demands are unacceptable to the international community but the negotiators are reportedly working on an alternative 'roadmap' to resolve the conflict in Afghanistan.
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
"These demands are not open to negotiation or discussion. The Taliban must act, and act immediately. They will hand over the terrorists, or they will share in their fate."
George W. Bush, Statement To Joint Session Of Congress September 20th 2001
Assuming this is true, why should any potential sponsor of terrorist attacks on the US or other Western nations fear any form of retribution even if he does not put any effort in obscuring his links to the actual terrorists.
The same people who are assuring us that we could "live with a nuclear Iran" are doing their very best to weaken any shred of credible deterrence.
In a sane world the Western response would be just "Nuts!".
Senior representatives of the Egyptian regime are "extremely worried" about the growing popularity of General Intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman and reports that he may succeed President Hosni Mubarak.
So the intel chief of a thugocracy is looking to keep the country from going to Sonny-boy ...
A steel-cage truncheon match!
Definitely pay-for-view. Who's the undercard?
Mubarak, who has long been grooming his son, Jamal, to succeed him, is currently under pressure from many Egyptians to prefer Suleiman, according to a report in Thursday's London-based pan-Arab daily Al-Quds al-Arabi.
Jamal Mubarak is also said to be concerned about Suleiman's growing popularity and the demands to name him the next president, the paper said in an exclusive dispatch from Cairo.
It quoted informed sources in the Egyptian capital as saying that the talk about Suleiman's rising stardom could backfire, resulting perhaps in the intelligence chief's ouster from his post.
"General Suleiman is highly appreciated among ordinary Egyptians," the sources said. "But the Egyptian regime is known for getting rid of anyone who gains popular admiration."
Mubarak's supporters are particularly "shocked" about the pro-Suleiman campaign that has been launched on the Internet by young Egyptians. One of the drives is being held under the motto: "Neither Jamal nor the Muslim Brotherhood." Some Egyptian bloggers and chatters have also joined the pro-Suleiman camp by publishing numerous articles explaining why he is the most suitable candidate to succeed Mubarak.
Surveys conducted by Suleiman supporters showed that Egyptians prefer him over Mubarak's son as the next president, the sources told the paper. "About 12 million Egyptians are following all the news published about Suleiman on the Internet, as opposed to only a few thousand who have displayed interest in other prominent Egyptian officials," the sources added.
Jamal and his supporters have thus far succeeded in preventing the emergence of a powerful candidate to succeed Mubarak, they said, noting that several former government officials whose names had been mentioned as leading candidates have found themselves "sitting at home" doing nothing.
Posted by: Steve White ||
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How old is General Intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman versus Mubarek fil? In a society that respects age as well as achievement, coupled with reports that Jamal Mubarak is uninterested in inheriting the "presidency", the current president has a two strikes against achieving his life's dream of establishing a dynasty.
It's only just starting; if the protesters back down the prisons will fill.
International human rights organizations said Wednesday that many prominent activists and politicians had been arrested in Iran in response to protests over the country's disputed presidential election.
Hadi Ghaemi, director of the New York-based International Campaign for Human Rights, said he had spoken with family members and colleagues of people who have been arrested or disappeared and was told that there were at least 200 across the country.
The Associated Press could not independently confirm the rights groups' reports due to government restrictions on reporting inside the country. The Iranian government has said that it has arrested a relatively small number of people responsible for violence and other crimes.
They won't be talking about it in coming days, either ...
Ghaemi said one of the latest to be arrested was Ebrahim Yazdi, who was foreign minister after Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's 1979 revolution and is now leader of the banned but tolerated Freedom Movement of Iran. Ghaemi said Yazdi was arrested in the intensive care unit of Pars Hospital in Teheran.
Yazdi's son-in-law, Mehdi Noorbaksh, who lives in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, confirmed that his 78-year-old father-in-law was detained while undergoing treatment at the hospital. Noorbaksh told The Associated Press that Yazdi was arrested around 3 p.m. Wednesday and taken to Evin Prison, just outside the Iranian capital.
Iranian analyst Saeed Leilaz was arrested Wednesday by plainclothes security officers at his home, said his wife, Sepehrnaz Panahi. Ghaemi also said that Mohammad-Reza Jalaipour, another noted Iranian analyst, was detained.
The BBC's Farsi-language news site said Jalaipour is a student at Oxford and was arrested at the airport upon trying to leave Iran with his wife, Fatemeh Shams. A plainclothes officer did not give a reason for the arrest, Shams told the BBC.
Moussavi supporter Hamid-Reza Jalaipour is the detained man's father and said he asked everyone he could what had happened to his son, in an interview with BBC's Farsi channel. "Is it a crime to support Mousavi? That's my only question now," Jalaipour told BBC. "Man, they have fallen to attacking people's wives and children."
Amnesty International said that 17 political activists were detained and taken to "unspecified locations" Monday night after they staged a peaceful protest in a square in Tabriz, north-western Iran. Amnesty said Ghaffari Farzadi, a leading member of the Iran Freedom Movement and a lecturer at Tabriz University, was also arrested, according to witnesses they spoke to at the university.
Amnesty said a crackdown on about 3,000 protesters in the north-western city of Oroumiye led to the deaths of two people and the detention of hundreds. In the southern city of Shiraz, tear gas was used in a university library where security forces beat students and detained about 100 people, the group said. And in the northern town of Babol, armed paramilitaries and plain-clothed officials surrounded Babol University and targeted students in dormitories, witnesses told Amnesty.
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The U.S. military is tracking a flagged North Korean ship suspected of proliferating weapons material in violation of a U.N. Security Council resolution passed last Friday, FOX News has learned. The ship, Kang Nam, left a port in North Korea Wednesday and appears to be heading toward Singapore, according to a senior U.S. military source. The vessel, which the military has been tracking since its departure, could be carrying weaponry, missile parts or nuclear materials.
According to Josh Stanton, there are several ships with the same name, of different tonnages. Plus the Norks have the charming habit of renaming their ships and switching registries at the drop of a hat.
"It is believed to be 'of interest,'" a senior U.S. official told FOX News.
This is the first suspected "proliferator" that the U.S. and its allies have tracked from North Korea since the United Nations authorized the world's navies to enforce compliance with a variety of U.N. sanctions aimed at punishing North Korea for its recent nuclear test.
The ship is currently along the coast of China and being monitored around-the-clock by air.
Not sure where the USS John McCain fits into this right now.
The apparent violation raises the question of how the United States and its allies will respond, particularly since the U.N. resolution does not have a lot of teeth to it. The resolution would not allow the United States to board the ship forcibly. Rather, U.S. military would have to request permission to board -- a request North Korea is unlikely to grant.
If there is cause to pursue the ship, sources told FOX News the U.S. military would instead likely follow the slow-moving vessel until it goes into port to refuel. At that point, sources said, the U.S. military could request that the host country not provide fuel to the ship.
One U.S. official said that the U.S. military could be waiting for the ship to distance itself from China before confronting it, to avoid agitating the Chinese.
Out of radar contact sight, out of mind ...
The Kang Nam is known to be a ship that has been involved in proliferation activities in the past -- it is "a repeat offender," according to one military source. The ship was detained in October 2006 by authorities in Hong Kong after the North Koreans tested their first nuclear device and the U.N. imposed a subsequent round of sanctions.
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs stayed mum on the suspect ship at Thursday's press briefing, commenting generally on the nature of the U.N. resolution.
"There are some specific actions that have to be taken by countries who are near these ships, whose water these ships are in, ports that they might be destined for that are all part of this process," Gibbs said. "The White House feels comfortable and confident that we have an understanding of what this resolution does."
Posted by: Steve White ||
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One round into the wheelhouse, another into the engine room, a third into the radio room. Follow up with a dozen well-placed rounds at the water line. No more worries about "proliferation". "President" "we won" doesn't have the courage to do anything like that. North Korea is going to rub our noses into the dirt until we stand up to them, then they'll piss and moan about "US aggression".
It's a good thing I'm not president, or half the world would be glowing.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
06/20/2009 23:31
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[ADN Kronos] The militant cleric Sufi Mohammed has been arrested and transferred to a secret 'safehouse' in Peshawar, together with his wife, an unnamed official told Adnkronos International. Tomorrow we'll likely have a story saying he wasn't arrested, never happened, nope...
Mohammed brokered a controversial peace deal earlier this year between the government and militants in the troubled northwest Swat valley. He took the interesting position that it was his job to negotiate the agreement, but that somebody else was responsible for enforcing it. He didn't say who.
The arrests were made recently and the government was aiming to keep them secret until it decides on role for Mohammed, according to the source, who is close to developments in surrounding North West Frontier Province. "This could be the beginning of a new round of a dialogue as the military operation so far failed to get the government any place," the source told AKI, speaking on condition of anonymity. Toldja they'd surrender as soon as they'd beaten the Talibs in the field.
The government in April launched a military offensive against militants in the Swat valley and surrounding areas, who are fighting to impose hardline Islamic or Sharia law there under the peace accord they signed in February. That was after they broke the agreement that Sufi wasn't responsible for enforcing...
Mohammed is the head of militant group Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi and is the father-in-law of the Taliban leader in Swat, Maulana Fazlullah. Mohammed has been calling for an end to the military operation and has threatened to abandon the Swat peace deal. It looks like the Swat peace deal has pretty thoroughly flown that coop...
Over 3.5 million people have been taken refuge in camps since the operation started in Swat and the government is poised to open up a new front in South Waziristan bordering Afghanistan, which is likely to bring a new wave of refugees. All thanks to Sufi Mohammad...
South Waziristan is the stronghold of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud and the military operation there is seen as a potential turning point in the fight against militancy in Pakistan. A rival of Mehsud, Qari Turkestan Bhitaini, has confirmed CIA and Pakistani government reports he was behind the assassination in December, 2007, of former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto. The Mighty Pak Army doesn't appear to be out to kill Qari, and the government doesn't appear to be too concerned about him imposing his writ on the locals...
Bhitaini said he can supply the addresses of the suicide bombers who were sent by Baitullah to kill Bhutto. " Baitullah Mehsud is an American, Indian and Jewish Agent. That makes sense. Not a lot of sense, but sense. Kind of. In an Islamic sort of way...
He receives dollars from the Indian embassy in Afghanistan to attack the Indian security forces They pay him to attack them... In Pakistain that passes for subtlety...
and has continued to defy the directives of the commander of faithful Mullah Mohammad Omar (Afghan Taliban leader) to go to Afghanistan along with his fighters and fight against the infidel NATO forces," Bhitaini said in an interview with Pakistan's Express TV Channel. We actually had that report yesterday. Must-see viewing.
Although Bhitni and fellow warlord and Mehsud rival Qari Zain Mehsud are seen as key to government strategy in South Waziristan, their combined force does not exceed 3,000 fighters. Two prominent Mehsud rivals, Hafiz Gul Bahadur, Taliban chief in the neighbouring North Waziristan tribal area, and Mullah Nazir, local Taliban chief in South Waziristan's main town of Wana have decided to remain neutral in the conflict. Such actions make sense only if the government of Pakistain regards them as resources...
A top Taliban commander in the region and Pashtun warlord, Sirajuddin Haqqani, is also likely remain neutral. Haqqani, who leads Taliban militants in the Afghan provinces of Paktika and Khost, is considered to be very close to Pakistani security forces. But make sure you don't use Afghanistan as a base for attacks on Pakistain.
This article starring:
Baitullah Mehsud
TTP
Hafiz Gul Bahadu
TTP
MAULANA FAZLULLAH
TTP
Mullah Nazir
TTP
Qari Turkestan Bhitaini
TTP
Qari Zain Mehsud
TTP
Sirajuddin Haqqani
Taliban
Sufi Mohammed
TNSM
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[Kyodo: Korea] Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Michele Flournoy will travel to China, Japan and South Korea next week for talks on next steps on North Korea"s nuclear and missile threats, a senior Pentagon official said Friday. Flournoy will first visit Beijing on Tuesday and Wednesday for high-level bilateral defense dialogue. She will then proceed to Tokyo on Thursday and to Seoul the following day.
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[Geo News] Militants attacked a convoy of security forces in Chaharmang area in which two security men were killed and three others injured, sources said Friday.
Posted by: Fred ||
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Several armed militants entered the compound of Kandahar University in south Afghanistan Friday and after beheading a student took away another.
"The gruesome incident occurred at 11:00 a.m. local time when several unknown armed militants entered the compound while students were enjoying weekly holiday (Friday) in the garden of university and horribly beheaded Mushtaq Ahmad and took away another," Ahmad Shah a student of the university told Xinhua.
The terrified Shah added that Mushtaq was a student of grade fourth of medical faculty of Kandahar university. This is the first time that militants attack higher educational institutions in the country. Is this a new fad in islamic warfare?
Meanwhile, a university student in the capital of neighboring Kandahar province was found dead with his throat cut Friday morning in a side room of a mosque where he had gone to study. Sadullah Khan, a police official in Kandahar City, said they were investigating the death of the third-year medical student, but did not yet have any information on who might have been responsible for the killing.
Posted by: ed ||
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#1
They're targeting medical students, it seems. Guess they expect any REAL student to study at a madrassa.
I am getting extremely fed up with "islam" and all its bloody extremes. This is a cancer in the human organism that needs to be excised and cast out. Any "religion" that has as a major portion of its tenets the execution of "non-believers" is no religion, but a blood cult. Destroy it before it destroys the rest of us.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
06/20/2009 15:53
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[Al Arabiya Latest] Militants blew up two boys' schools and a college in Bajaur tribal area in northwest Pakistan, an official said Friday, as an offensive against the Taliban rumbled on in nearby districts.
"Several locally-made bombs planted inside the school buildings went off late in the night," local government official Adalat Khan told AFP, adding that both schools were "completely demolished."
"They also bombed a boys' degree college in Mamond town."
Gul Rehman, a Bajaur education officer, said 44 schools had been bombed or set on fire in the past year in the district troubled by Taliban attacks.
Elsewhere in Bajaur on Friday, a roadside bomb exploded and wounded a tribal policeman while he was on patrol, an official said. Bajaur lies just to the west of Dir and Swat districts, where the military is locked in a nearly two-month-long offensive against Taliban insurgents.
Militants in Swat have destroyed nearly 200 schools, mostly for girls, in the valley during a two-year campaign to enforce sharia, Islamic law.
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Amnesty International on Friday condemned Iran's threat of crackdown on reformist protesters. In a statement on Friday, the London-based human rights organization said Khamenei's speech "indicates the authorities' readiness to launch violent crackdowns if people continue to protest which may cause a widespread loss of life."
"We are extremely disturbed at statements made by Ayatollah Khamenei which seem to give the green light to security forces to violently handle protesters exercising their right to demonstrate and express their views," said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, deputy director of Amnesty's Middle East program. "If large numbers of people take to the street in protests in the next couple of days, we fear that they will face arbitrary arrest and excessive use of force, as has happened in recent days, particularly as permission for a demonstration to be held in Teheran on Saturday has been denied."
Amnesty said that instead of warning security forces, including the volunteer Basij militia, to act with restraint and in accordance with the law, Khamenei threatened the Iranian people by saying that if they continued to take to the streets, the consequences would lie with them.
"For a Head of State to put the onus of security on peaceful demonstrators and not on the security forces is a gross dereliction of duty and a license for abuse," Sahraoui added.
Posted by: Steve White ||
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"If large numbers of people take to the street in protests in the next couple of days, we fear that they will face arbitrary arrest and excessive use of force, as has happened in recent days, particularly as permission for a demonstration to be held in Teheran on Saturday has been denied."
The 'real' message.... break local laws and our prediction is you'll suffer the consequences. There, we told ya so.
Two U.S.-led coalition soldiers were killed in Afghanistan on Friday when a bomb struck their convoy, as authorities said at least 25 militants and a policeman died in various military operations.
The bomb struck the soldiers on the outskirts of Afghanistan's southern city of Kandahar, the U.S. military said, without releasing the nationality of the soldiers. Other reports confirm the two are Americans.
There was no claim of responsibility for the attack but Taliban insurgents regularly use roadside bombs against the thousands of mostly Western troops helping the Afghan government defeat an extremist insurgency.
"There was an IED (improvised explosive device) attack on the convoy this morning and two coalition service members were killed," U.S. Chief Petty Officer Brian Naranjo told AFP. "It was a roadside bomb."
Also on Friday, Afghan and international troops came under attack in the southwestern province of Farah and returned fire, killing a "militant leader", the U.S. military said in a statement.
It identified the man as Haji Ghulam Jan, "a logistics expert and IED facilitator with connections to multiple Taliban commanders and foreign forces." Some locals said the man was a civilian but Afghan authorities also said he was a militant.
The military also reported that its troops had killed more insurgents, including another bomb maker, in a separate fight in the southern province of Zabul.
Troops also fought with rebels in the southern province of Uruzgan on Thursday, killing 16 Taliban, said Mohammed Nabi Uruzgani, the provincial intelligence chief. A policeman was also killed, he said.
Elsewhere Thursday, Afghan military forces killed seven Taliban militants in the volatile province of Kandahar, a stronghold of the militia waging an insurgency that has seen record attacks this year. "Military forces killed seven of the opposition in Zahri district and they left their bodies on the ground," Afghan national army corps commander Gen. Shir Mohammad Zazai said.
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan A new Islamic militia leader has emerged in Pakistan to openly challenge al Qaida-affiliated warlord Baitullah Mehsud for the first time from within his own tribe, marking the start of a bloody confrontation in the wild Waziristan region that could have profound consequences for both Pakistan and the West.
Even as Ayatollah Khamenei blasted the United States for fomenting unrest in a defiant Friday prayer address in Tehran, President Obama has kept silent, focusing instead on domestic policy.
Jeffersonville attorney Larry Wilder was found asleep by police in his neighbor's overturned city garbage can Wednesday morning, after neighbors called police when they woke to find their trash strewn on the ground and a man inside the receptacle.
The federal agent, a black-haired, middle-aged Virginian, stared at me for a while before asking, Have you ever considered becoming an informant for the F.B.I.? 
[The News (Pak)] Central Secretary General of the Jamaat-e-Islami 
[Geo News] At least three security men were killed, when the extremists attacked on a motorcade of the security forces in Bajaur Agency area of Charming. The security forces returned the attack and killed at least 20 extremists.
Lawyers in Quetta staged protests and announced a complete boycott of court proceedings on Saturday after unidentified gunmen killed a Qazi court judge and his stenographer early on Friday morning.
[Bangla Daily Star] The Rajshahi police last night released three of the 18 people including children held as suspected militants of Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) during a raid in Tikapara area in the morning. 
[ADN Kronos] Pakistan's interior minister Rehman Malik said that neighbouring Afghanistan was being used as a base to support militancy in Pakistan and stir unrest. "Afghanistan should stop the use of its soil against Pakistan. Supply of arms and ammunition across the border must be halted," said Malik on Thursday during an interview with local TV.
[Straits Times] SHOP mannequins displaying underwear will have to take cover under a regulation passed by authorities in Vietnam's commercial capital. The models must no longer be visible from shop fronts under the rule controlling various forms of advertising in southern Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, the Phap Luat Ho Chi Minh City newspaper said on its 
An Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement could be reached "within the year," but only if all sides agree to peaceful negotiations, Quartet Middle East envoy Tony Blair said in an interview to be broadcast Friday.
[Iran Press TV Latest] Pakistan's former prime minister Nawaz Sharif has opposed a planned fresh military offensive against militant strongholds in North Waziristan. 
A U.S. warplane failed to follow all operational rules in a complex battle in Afghanistan last month that killed an estimated 26 civilians and 78 Taliban fighters, the U.S. military concluded in a report released Friday.
Iran's supreme leader said Friday that the country's disputed presidential vote had not been rigged, sternly warning protesters of a crackdown if they continue massive demonstrations demanding a new election. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei sided with hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and offered no concessions to the opposition. He effectively closed any chance for a new vote by calling the June 12 election an "absolute victory."
A grenade hurled at a bus carrying Indian tourists missed its target and killed a vegetable seller on Friday in Indian-held Kashmir (IHK), police said. "Initial investigations reveal that the bus carrying tourists was the actual target (of militants)," a police official said, requesting not to be named. He said a vegetable seller was killed on the spot after the device exploded in front of his roadside shop. The explosion, which also hurt another bystander, caused panic in Srinagar's Dalgate, situated on the shores of Lake Dal -- a tourist attraction.
The Taliban government in Afghanistan was un-Islamic and the Taliban are not affiliated with the 
Suicide attempt fails; car ends up in pool
Fighter jets bombed Taliban hideouts in South Waziristan on Friday, targeting two compounds, three madrassas and a suspected training camp under the command of Baitullah Mehsud, reported the AFP news agency as -- according to military sources -- security forces clashed with followers of Baitullah in the region. 
[Al Arabiya Latest] President Barack Obama's "reassertion" of U.S. leadership in the Middle East offers a rare opportunity to get peace between Israel and the Palestinians, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said.
[Maghrebia] The Swiss hostage held by al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb is still alive, AFP quoted a Malian negotiator as saying on Thursday (June 18th) on condition of anonymity. Three weeks after the execution of British hostage Edwin Dyer, a group led by Algerian terrorist Mohamed Abou Zeid is still holding Werner Greitner "north of Taoudenni" near Mali's border with Algeria, the source, who helped negotiate the release of Greitner's wife and a German woman in April, told AFP. Zeid is reportedly ready to open negotiations for Greitner's release.
[ADN Kronos] The United States is alleged to have stepped up secret talks with the Taliban in a bid to resolve the escalating conflict in Afghanistan, an Italian magazine claimed on Friday. 
[ADN Kronos] The militant cleric 
[Kyodo: Korea] Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Michele Flournoy will travel to China, Japan and South Korea next week for talks on next steps on North Korea"s nuclear and missile threats, a senior Pentagon official said Friday. Flournoy will first visit Beijing on Tuesday and Wednesday for high-level bilateral defense dialogue. She will then proceed to Tokyo on Thursday and to Seoul the following day.
Several armed militants entered the compound of Kandahar University in south Afghanistan Friday and after beheading a student took away another.
[Al Arabiya Latest] Militants blew up two boys' schools and a college in Bajaur tribal area in northwest Pakistan, an official said Friday, as an offensive against the Taliban rumbled on in nearby districts.
