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Mousavi, Karroubi call Short Round govt ''illegitimate''
Today's Headlines
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Page 1: WoT Operations
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Page 4: Opinion
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Page 6: Politix
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Good morning
Posted by: Fred || 07/02/2009 08:56 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  WOW
Posted by: Jarong de Medici3580 || 07/02/2009 9:12 Comments || Top||

#2  Swedes & Finns bag a Taliban elder.

SWEDES? I didn't know the Swedes were helping.
Posted by: OldSpook || 07/02/2009 10:15 Comments || Top||


#4  Happy Birthday

Polly "Kiss my Grits" Holliday

Then

Now

Cheryl Jean Stoppelmoor aka Cheryl Ladd

Then

Now

Luci Baines Johnson

Then

Now
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 07/02/2009 11:09 Comments || Top||

#5  Gam-O-Rama

Martha MacVicar aka Martha Vickers, one of Mickey Rooney's many wives.(Number 3 of 8) He always married up.



A Jane Russell Moment

Sheer Delight

Stirring up trouble

Pile Driver

Daily Gam Shot (Coals to Newcastle)

Nightie Night

Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 07/02/2009 12:02 Comments || Top||

#6  That's the definition of hot in any generation. Not sure what she (or anyone) saw in Mickey.

Posted by: anymouse || 07/02/2009 21:23 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan
Marines exchange fire with Taliban in searing heat
NAWA, Afghanistan – U.S. Marines hiked through searing heat and took fire from small pockets of militants Thursday after landing in this Taliban-controlled southern region of tree-lined fields, mud homes and crisscrossing waterways in the first major operation under President Barack Obama's strategy to stabilize Afghanistan.

The southern offensive was launched shortly after 1 a.m. Thursday (4:30 p.m. EDT Wednesday, 2030 GMT), as thousands of Marines poured from helicopters and armored vehicles into Taliban-controlled villages along roughly 20 miles of the Helmand River in Helmand province, the world's largest opium poppy-producing area. The goal is to clear insurgents from the hotly contested region before the nation's Aug. 20 presidential election.

The Marines have not suffered any serious casualties and have seen only a sporadic resistance, said Lt. Abe Sipe, a spokesman for the unit.

"The enemy has chosen to withdraw rather than engage for the most part," Sipe said. "We had a couple of heat casualties, but not deemed serious in nature at this time."

Officials described the offensive as the largest and fastest-moving of the war's new phase and the biggest Marine assault since the one in Fallujah, Iraq, in 2004. It involves nearly 4,000 newly arrived Marines plus 650 Afghan forces. British forces last week led similar, but smaller, missions to clear out insurgents in Helmand and neighboring Kandahar province.

Pakistan's army said it had moved troops from elsewhere on its side of the Afghan border to the stretch opposite Helmand to try to stop any militants from fleeing the offensive. It gave no more details, but U.S. and Pakistani officials have expressed concern that stepped-up operations in southern Afghanistan could push the insurgents across the border.

Transport helicopters carried hundreds of Marines into the village of Nawa, some 20 miles south of the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah, in a region where no U.S. or other NATO troops have operated in large numbers.

The troops took many insurgents by surprise, dropping behind Taliban lines, said Capt. Drew Schoenmaker, from Greene, N.Y.

"We are kind of forging new ground here. We are going to a place nobody has been before," said Schoenmaker, 31, who commands Bravo Company of the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment.

Several hundred Marines took positions in a freshly plowed dirt field at 3 a.m. The soft, deep dirt proved challenging for troops weighed down with days' worth of water, food and gear, and many frequently stumbled.

At daybreak the Marines walked along tree lines, and at 6:15 a.m. the company took its first incoming fire, likely from an AK-47 along a tree-line. The next three hours brought repeated bursts of gunfire and volleys of rocket-propelled grenades, sending deep booms across the countryside.

A small force of Afghan soldiers accompanying the Camp Pendleton-based Marines got into several scraps with an insurgent force of about 20 fighters. The fire came from a mud-brick compound, and the Marines, the Afghan soldiers and their British advisers surrounded the compound on the east and the south.

Before the mission, Schoenmaker, the company commander, said he would practice "tactical patience" as a way to avoid civilian casualties — an issue newly arrived Gen. Stanley McChrystal has underscored in recent weeks. Though troops in many similar circumstances have called in airstrikes on such a militant-controlled compound, Schoenmaker did not.

"We made the decision to isolate the compound and not destroy it because we couldn't confirm if civilians were inside," he said. The militants were believed to have escaped out the back.

A Cobra helicopter circling overhead for most of the day fired rockets at a tree line nearby. Other troops walked through fields of corn and past mud-wall homes. Only a handful of villagers dared to venture outside.

Helmand's deadly heat, well over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, proved to be another enemy the Marines had to fight. Because soldiers were on foot, they had to carry all their own water and food. Forward observers and snipers spent the entire day under the cloudless sky.

"It's like when you open up the oven when you're cooking a pizza and you want to see if it's done. You get that blast of hot air. That's how it feels the whole time," said Lance Corp. Charlie Duggan Jr., 21, of Baldwinsville, N.Y.

The Marines trained for months in the heat of the Mojave desert for the deployment, and many appeared happy to be here.

At one point Thursday, some 50 Marines were relaxing in an abandoned and dilapidated mud brick compound, their dusty-brown uniforms stained with perspiration. Suddenly someone spotted an Afghan male who appeared to be watching them from a nearby road. The Marines quickly threw on their flak jackets and Kevlar helmets.

"It sucks but it's what you've been training for your whole life," Lt. Chris Wilson, 25, of Ramsey, N.J., said with a smile as he held a radio with an eight-foot antenna. Thursday was Wilson's first mission into a combat zone.
Posted by: tu3031 || 07/02/2009 13:10 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. - The Marine Corps says one Marine has been killed in fighting in southern Afghanistan during a major offensive against the Taliban.

Capt. William Pelletier said the Marine died Thursday during the fighting along the Helmand River valley. The victim wasn’t immediately identified.

Pelletier also said several others were injured or wounded but didn’t have numbers.
Posted by: tu3031 || 07/02/2009 14:49 Comments || Top||

#2  ...President Barack Obama's strategy to stabilize Afghanistan.

Barack Obama, Military Genius!

Is there anything The One can't do?

{/swoon mode}
Posted by: Parabellum || 07/02/2009 15:26 Comments || Top||

#3  ""We made the decision to isolate the compound and not destroy it because we couldn't confirm if civilians were inside," he said. The militants were believed to have escaped out the back."

Brings a whole new meaning to the world "isolate".
Posted by: crosspatch || 07/02/2009 20:30 Comments || Top||

#4  brings a Saudi meaning to the word "surround". I expect the hostages may have killed our ROE
Posted by: Frank G || 07/02/2009 20:35 Comments || Top||


Taliban Seize U.S. Soldier in Afghanistan
CBS broke the story.
A Taliban commander told CBS News' Sami Yousafzai Thursday that militants had captured one U.S. soldier and three Afghan nationals in Paktika province, near the Pakistani border.

A U.S. military spokesperson in Kabul confirms that one soldier has been missing in Afghanistan since June 30.

Cpt. Elizabeth Mathias told CBS News Thursday, "a U.S. serviceman has been missing in Afghanistan since 30th June, it's believed the service person is being held by insurgents."

The Taliban commander, who spoke to Yousafzai via satellite telephone from the region, said a group of militants cornered the American soldier and his Afghan counterparts near a U.S. military base and took them hostage.

He said the captives' fate would be decided by Taliban leaders, but that the Islamic extremist group would consider a prisoner swap.

"The case will be referred to Sirajuddin Haqqani (senior Taliban commander in Afghanistan) and other Taliban top leadership. They have to decide the future of the U.S. soldier, but we would not mind a prisoner exchange in this case," the commander told CBS News.
For high ranking ISI officer in custody.
AFP story here.
Posted by: ed || 07/02/2009 11:13 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Time to bring in the pissed off JSOC guys. The Talibon are about to learn a very hard lesson.
Posted by: 49 Pan || 07/02/2009 11:52 Comments || Top||

#2  Waiting for our Commander in Chief to demand answers to questions like:
Are you following the Geneva Conventions?
Did you read him his miranda rights?
Have you invited the Red Cross in to observe his treatment?
Has he been water-boarded and if so, how many times?

Nothing but silence from CIC -- about one of our own, and he has got to have known since Tuesday, the day he was captured. Should have had his statement to the public already written, so that as soon as the capture was announced--- well, nothing but silence from above.

I'm setting an extra plate for this soldier for my 4th of July celebration -- because it's folks like this soldier, who have given us our freedom.
Posted by: Sherry || 07/02/2009 12:04 Comments || Top||

#3  Nothing but silence from CIC -- about one of our own

May just be more than "one of his own" than we think!
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/02/2009 12:06 Comments || Top||

#4  Funny how it was urgent that the story break as soon as possible. From what I heard, it's most important to deny publicty, so as to minimize the value of the captive.

Oh, sorry, that's just the MSM covering for itself. US soldiers don't receive special treatment.
Posted by: gromky || 07/02/2009 12:09 Comments || Top||

#5  My best wishes go to the U.S. soldiers family lets hit then hard.




Posted by: Play4Keeps || 07/02/2009 14:39 Comments || Top||

#6  Pray for him, and for the men trying to find them, and that the damned idiot shit-fer-brains President Obama will not get in the way of the necessary operations.
Posted by: OldSpook || 07/02/2009 16:52 Comments || Top||

#7  Copy that OS. I would be willing to bet commanders do not wait for permission on this one. Saving one of their own is worth any career.
Posted by: 49 Pan || 07/02/2009 17:18 Comments || Top||

#8  I do hope that the Taliban will treat this guy at least as well as we have treated the illegal combatants at Gitmo. Three square meals a day; opportunities to pray and practice his religion (including providing him with a Bible, a rosary, etc., chaplains) etc. He will not be tortured, although he may be interrogated a little roughly. He will not be beaten.
Who am I kidding. If he is still alive, he will probably be tortured to death and buried in a shallow grave.
And people will say it is our fault.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia || 07/02/2009 18:53 Comments || Top||


NATO Troops Bang Talicommander in Jawzjan Province
[Quqnoos] A local Taliban commander was killed Tuesday during a NATO-led operation in the northern Jawzjan province, the forces said. The firefight was burst out after Taliban militants attacked a convoy of the NATO-led Swedish and Finnish troops in Darzab district of the relatively stable northern province. According to a NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) press release, the forces called for nearest air support and consequently a militant was killed and two more were injured.
"Ja, sure! Give us some air support! Dey bane shootin' at us!"
The Swedish and Finnish troops stayed unharmed in the fighting that lasted about an hour.
"You okay, Sven?"
"Ja, sure!"
"Ole?"
"Ja, sure!"
"Erkki?"
"Ja, suure! Do we have anymore gin?"

Jawzjan is a relatively peaceful Afghan province bordering Uzbekistan.
Posted by: Fred || 07/02/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  I thought all Finns were named Mikko or Lauri.
Posted by: crosspatch || 07/02/2009 0:25 Comments || Top||

#2  NATO has troops in Afghanistan? Who would have known?
Posted by: JohnQC || 07/02/2009 10:24 Comments || Top||


US Warplanes Pound Militant Bunkers
[Quqnoos] US air strikes have killed dozens of militants Tuesday night in the eastern Khost province, according to US military

Coalition troops launched an air strike overnight against senior Haqqani commanders on their safe havens in the western part of the restive Afghan province of Khost, a US defence department statement noted. "Coalition aircraft destroyed a pair of command bunkers, killing more than a dozen militants" the statement further said.

The militants were part of Haqqani network that allegedly facilitates foreign fighters in the eastern Afghanistan, a US military spokesman Col Greg Julian said in Kabul.

The spokesman for the coalition forces added that the operation is still in progress and will continue to target the top militant's leaders.

The US bombings have frequently caused civilian causalities but Col Julian said he is unaware of any civilian loss in the Khost air strike.

Haqqani network facilitates foreign fighters to come into Afghanistan and according to the US forces, the network spread them throughout the country.
Posted by: Fred || 07/02/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


U.S. Marines launch assault in S.Afghan valley
LOWER HELMAND RIVER VALLEY, AFGHANISTAN (Reuters) – U.S. Marines launched a helicopter assault early on Thursday in the lower Helmand river valley in southern Afghanistan, spokesman Capt. Bill Pelletier said.

A Reuters correspondent in the valley saw flares in the sky over the town of Nawa, south of the provincial capital Lashkar Gah.

Nearly 4,000 Marines and U.S. sailors are taking part in the assault, code-named Operation Khanjar (Strike of the Sword), along with about 650 Afghan troops and police, a Marines press statement said.

"What makes Operation Khanjar different from those that have occurred before is the massive size of the force introduced, the speed at which it will insert and the fact that where we go we will stay, and where we stay, we will hold ..." it quoted Brigadier General Larry Nicholson, commanding officer of the Marine Expeditionary Brigade-Afghanistan, as saying.

The valley of irrigated wheat and opium fields along the Helmand river is largely in the hands of Taliban fighters who have resisted British-led NATO forces for years.

The United States has sent 8,500 Marines to Helmand province in the last two months, the largest wave of a massive buildup of forces that will see the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan rise from 32,000 at the beginning of this year to 68,000 by year's end.

President Barack Obama has declared the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan to be the main security threat facing the United States.

Helmand province is one of the Taliban's main heartlands in southern Afghanistan and produces the largest share of the country's opium crop which supplies 90 percent of the world's heroin.

Attacks by Taliban fighters are at their highest levels since the strict Islamists were driven out of Kabul by U.S.-backed Afghan opponents in 2001 after refusing to turn over Osama bin Laden in the wake of the September 11 attacks on the United States.

U.S. and NATO commanders have said they intend to deploy American reinforcements to seize Taliban-held territory in the south in time for Afghanistan to hold a presidential election on August 20.
Posted by: tu3031 || 07/02/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Basra Part Deux

Thousands of British forces, fighting under NATO command, have been in Helmand since 2006 with broadly the same strategy, but security has deteriorated. They have met with stronger resistance than initially expected against Taliban fighters bankrolled by the vast opium and heroin trade.
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 07/02/2009 3:47 Comments || Top||

#2  word on Fox was that the Talibs have grabbed a US soldier. My prayers taht he gets out whole and alive and the turbans eat painful death
Posted by: Frank G || 07/02/2009 9:41 Comments || Top||

#3  There has bot to be a story behind this one Frank, and I fear not a very good one.
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/02/2009 9:46 Comments || Top||

#4  US: American soldier captured in Afghanistan
Insurgents have captured an American soldier in eastern Afghanistan, the U.S. military said Thursday.

Spokeswoman Capt. Elizabeth Mathias said the soldier went missing Tuesday.

"We are using all of our resources to find him and provide for his safe return," Mathias said.

Mathias did not provide details on the soldier, the location where he was captured or the circumstances.

"We are not providing further details to protect the soldier's well-being," she said.

An Afghan police official said the soldier went missing during the day Tuesday in the Mullakheil area of eastern Paktika province. Gen. Nabi Mullakheil said there is an American base in the area.
Posted by: ed || 07/02/2009 9:49 Comments || Top||

#5  If he is still alive then probably in Pakistan by now.
Posted by: ed || 07/02/2009 9:51 Comments || Top||

#6  Fox just reported he's "been missing for 3 days" and was "outside the wire with three indig." Bad smell to it, very bad.
Posted by: Besoeker || 07/02/2009 10:04 Comments || Top||

#7  I wonder if this is a repeat of the episode in Iraq when a Lebanese immigrant US soldier essentially defected and went back to Lebanon.
Posted by: ed || 07/02/2009 10:08 Comments || Top||

#8  Saw in the paper this a.m. that Gen. Nicholson said the marines were going to build and live in small outposts among the local population. He said: "We're going to be with the people. We're not going to drive to work. We're going to walk to work."

O.K. to try to win the "hearts and minds" but such policies may lead to more kidnappings.
Posted by: JohnQC || 07/02/2009 10:36 Comments || Top||

#9  Are the Marines operating under the new ROE here, or are there special tougher ROE in force for such an operation?

If it's the former then the Taliban could just hide behind illegal combatants pretending to be civilians and be safe.
Posted by: Crinelet Thegum2264 || 07/02/2009 12:52 Comments || Top||


Africa Horn
Ethiopia dismisses Somali threat, violence flares
Ethiopia Wednesday dismissed a threat of invasion from Somalia's hardline Islamist insurgents saying the rebels posed no clear and present danger.

Al Qaeda-linked fighters in Somalia's al Shabaab rebel group are battling to oust President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, himself a former Islamist insurgent who joined a peace process last year. Tuesday, al Shabaab threatened to attack Ethiopia, urging its fighters to wage jihad against its neighbor.

"We have heard the declaration of war from al Shabaab," said Ethiopian government head of information Bereket Simon. "We cannot say this is a clear and present danger to Ethiopia."

Al Shabaab and allied fighters control much of southern and central Somalia and have boxed the government and 4,300 African Union peackeepers into a few blocks of Mogadishu. Street fighting and mortar shelling killed at least 15 people and wounded 42 in the capital late Wednesday, residents and ambulance workers said.

Resident Abdullahi Ahmed said he had seen 6 dead fighters in the street and that he had been hit in the hand by shrapnel. Ambulance service official Ali Muse said they had taken 9 bodies and 42 wounded people to hospitals.

The government's military spokesman, Farhan Arsanyo, told Reuters late Wednesday they had captured two opposition fighters who admitted they were Pakistani. "We will be displaying them to the media tomorrow," he said.

Ethiopia has kept a strong military force along its common border since withdrawing. While it has repeatedly denied sending combat troops back into Somalia, it has acknowledged making "reconnaissance" missions into its neighbor. Somali residents, rebels and humanitarian workers have reported seeing Ethiopian soldiers in different parts of the country in recent weeks. Addis Ababa says the reports are being peddled by hardliners to mobilize support for the insurgency.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has not ruled out sending back troops if his country is threatened but says he is waiting to see how the international community responds to the deteriorating security situation in the country.

Kenya, east Africa's biggest economy, has beefed up its military presence along its porous border with southern Somalia, where the rebels have their main strongholds. Al Shabaab has threatened to strike in the capital Nairobi, which is home to a large Somali community, if Kenya intervenes and the country's security forces are on alert.

The district police commander in Isiolo district, Marius Tim, said Wednesday that anti-terrorism police had raided a village in the center of Kenya and arrested two people accused of helping a top al Shabaab official get Kenyan citizenship.
Posted by: ryuge || 07/02/2009 02:23 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Africa North
Morocco dismantles Salafia Jihadia cell
[Maghrebia] Moroccan authorities referred four terror suspects to the public prosecutor of the Court of Appeal in Rabat on Monday (June 29th) on charges of forming a "criminal gang, preparation of terrorist acts, collecting funds for acts of terrorism, drug trafficking, car theft, and falsifying vehicle registration documents".

They will subsequently be referred to the investigation magistrate who examines terrorism cases in Salé.

Security officials announced the dismantling of a Salafia Jihadia terrorist cell last Friday, reporting the seizure of three Ceuta-registered vehicles and documents and audio tapes calling for jihad, legitimising suicide operations and killing hostages taken by al-Qaeda.

According to security authorities, the cell was planning violent strikes to destabilise Morocco, targeting tourist locations and diplomatic headquarters, while they had no intention of committing any acts on Spanish soil.

Local newspapers reported that the Spanish Intelligence Agency provided Moroccan authorities with detailed information leading to the raid on the cell. At the time of their arrest, the suspects were allegedly putting the final touches on their deadly plans.

The cell was reportedly led by 34-year old Abou Yacine, a resident of Ceuta. He served two years in prison following the 2006 dismantling of the "Ansar Al Mehdi" terrorist cell, which reportedly planned to overthrow the Moroccan monarchy.

Authorities said that members of the cell were involved in organised crime, justified under the principle of "istehlal", which is often used to excuse illicit behaviours.

According to press reports, the cell cultivated relations with al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and various types of smugglers and terrorists in Morocco and Europe.

"The most important pillar in the ideology of the jihadist salafist movement is the call for political change through violent opposition to existing regimes," Mohammed Darif, an expert in Islamist armed groups, told Magharebia.

Darif said that many such groups benefit from the principle of istehlal.

"It's a principle on which jihadist salafism is based, and it regards taking the blood and money of others as permissible within sharia, so long as it considers them infidels," he said.

Darif added that the allegiance of these groups to al-Qaeda "makes them even more dangerous, as they can benefit from the [group's] logistical support".

Hassan, a young Moroccan man, spoke to Magharebia about the successful raid.

"No one has the right to undermine the stability of our nation," he said. "We reject the chaos that these groups intend to drag us into."

The young man suggested that terrorism is a cultural problem, rather than a security problem. "We have to stage a cultural revolution," he said, "to stand in the face of extremism."
Posted by: Fred || 07/02/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Salafia Jihadiya


Morocco tries eight suspected terror cell members
Eight alleged members of what security forces call a "nascent terrorist organisation" went on trial Tuesday (June 30th) in Sale, MAP reported. The purported "Al Mourabitine Al Jodod" (Group of New Fighters) cell, which operated in Laâyoune, Guelmim, and Boujdour as part of the radical Islamist Salafia Jihadia movement, allegedly plotted to carry out terrorist attacks in Morocco. Security forces dismantled the group in May.
Posted by: Fred || 07/02/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Salafia Jihadiya


China-Japan-Koreas
North Korea fires missiles
South Korean military officials say North Korea has fired two short-range missiles off its east coast. A defence ministry spokesman says the missiles were launched from a base near the eastern port of Wonsan.

"They appear to be ground-to-ship missiles, which were launched into the East Sea (Sea of Japan)," the spokesman told AFP. "We have no detailed information now, but there have been preparations for missile launches in the region," he said.

The launch came amid a visit by the US delegation, which is in the region to discuss new United Nations sanctions against North Korea following the North's nuclear test of May 25.

North Korea has responded defiantly to the UN's condemnation of its long-range rocket launch in April 5 and subsequent nuclear test in May.

On Wednesday, Japan's Coast Guard said it had been warned by North Korea to stay clear of coastal areas in the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea until July 11, due to military exercises.
Posted by: tipper || 07/02/2009 07:10 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  premature erocketulation?
Posted by: Frank G || 07/02/2009 7:37 Comments || Top||

#2  Ground to ship missiles are probably a warning shot to try to keep ships away.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 07/02/2009 11:31 Comments || Top||

#3  What will Obama do? I see three options 1) Military intimidation; 2) Nothing; 3) Smart Diplomacy

In his seven months in office one thing clearly has emerged in the field of foreign policy: The Obama Doctrine, which is to say, do nothing.

Obama is a joke to our enemies and an embarrassment to our nation.
Posted by: Don Vito Crolutle2068 || 07/02/2009 16:11 Comments || Top||


N. Korea issues navigation ban covering 10 sites for military drill
[Kyodo: Korea] North Korea has issued navigation bans for 10 coastal sites along the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea citing military exercises, the Japan Coast Guard said Wednesday. According to the coast guard, which was informed of the bans by the North Korean government via e-mail, the latest move covers seven sites located off the Sea of Japan coast and three sites in waters off the Yellow Sea.
Posted by: Fred || 07/02/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  SOUTH KOREA believes that NOKOR may launch either a 300-500 KM IMPROVED SCUD-BASED MISSLE, or in altern a LR LAND-BASED ANTI-SHIP MISSLE.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 07/02/2009 0:21 Comments || Top||


U.S. Sanctions N.Korean, Hong Kong Firms
The U.S. on Tuesday stepped up pressure on North Korea, slapping sanctions on a North Korean trading company and an Iran-based Hong Kong firm under UN Security Council Resolution 1874, which was passed on June 12 in the wake of North Korea's second nuclear test.
This is good; not sure we needed to wait for the latest UN resolution but fine, they did it. Now they need to keep tightening the screws.
Under Executive Order 13382, the State Department on Tuesday banned Namchongang Trading Corporation, a North Korean firm suspected of involvement in the purchase of uranium enrichment equipment, from all transactions with enterprises and individuals in the U.S. and froze any U.S. assets held by the firm. The State Department said Namchongang has been "involved in the purchase of aluminum tubes and other equipment specifically suitable for a uranium enrichment program since the late 1990s."

The Treasury the same day said it was imposing sanctions on Hong Kong Electronics on Kish Island in southern Iran on suspicion of supporting North Korea's missile program. According to the Treasury, Hong Kong Electronics in April "facilitated the movement" of millions of dollars involved in the North's missile development program from Iran to North Korea on behalf of North Korea's Tanchon Commercial Bank and Korea Mining Development Trading Corp., both of which are subject to earlier UN sanctions.

This is the first time a foreign firm dealing with North Korea has been subject to sanctions under Resolution 1874.
Posted by: Steve White || 07/02/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Home Front: WoT
Somali-Americans Accused of Al Qaeda Ties Indicted on Terror Charges, Sources Say
Via JihadWatch
A federal grand jury has indicted a group of Somali-Americans on terror-related charges after more than 20 young men from the Minneapolis area were recruited to join an Al Qaeda-linked group in Somalia, according to two law enforcement sources.

The indictments have yet to be unsealed, but an announcement is expected in the next few weeks. One law enforcement source told FOX News the grand jury already has handed up indictments against at least three people.

For much of the past year the FBI has been looking into how dozens of young, Somali-American men were recruited to train and possibly fight alongside al-Shabaab in anarchy-stricken Somalia. The investigation has centered around Minneapolis, where a grand jury has been hearing testimony from witnesses for several months, but the investigation has also been active in Seattle; Columbus, Ohio; Cincinnati; Boston; and San Diego.
Posted by: ed || 07/02/2009 11:33 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


India-Pakistan
Five persons being deported over fake traveling documents
[Geo News] The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has announced deportation of five persons over carrying illegal traveling documents. According to FIA sources, five persons were arrested at Jinnah international airport as they had arrived Pakistan having illegal traveling documents who had come here two days ago through Saudi airline. Arrested persons failed to prove their Pakistan nationality during FIA's two daylong investigation. Subsequently, FIA decided to deport them from country and will send to Saudi Arabia on Thursday morning, sources added. The Interior Ministry has been apprised of the situation, FIA sources said indicating that a notice has been served on Saudi airline, asking the declaration of the identity of those five arrested.
Posted by: Fred || 07/02/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda


Militants' attack in Dirbala kills two
[Geo News] Militants ambushed peace Lashkar, killing two and injuring 4 others in Dirbala, Geo News reported Wednesday. The Lashkar, formed with an aim of creating peace, headed to burn down house of a militants' commander Naeemullah when militants intercepted them, killing two and wounding 4 others.
Posted by: Fred || 07/02/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: TTP


28 Taliban killed in clash with Kurram tribesmen
Tribesmen attacked Taliban hideouts in Kurram Agency, killing 28 Taliban on Wednesday as the intensifying battles prompted them to ask for army troops to help, said a local lawmaker.

At least seven tribesmen were also killed in the clash in Kurram which was the latest in two weeks of battles between the Taliban and tribesmen there that have killed 141 people -- including more than 100 Taliban, said two government officials.

Sajid Hussain Toori, a lawmaker from Kurram, said the Taliban were moving into Kurram from the Swat valley. He said hundreds of tribesmen took part in the attack early on Wednesday, triggering a gunbattle that killed 28 Taliban and seven tribesmen. "Kurram is an important place because the Taliban can cross the Afghan border from here easily," said Toori. "The lashkar is facing these armed Taliban, but we request that the government send troops to Kurram to fight the Taliban as quickly as possible."
Posted by: Fred || 07/02/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: TTP


FC kills 28 LI activists in Tirah
At least 28 members of a militant group, including an important commander, were killed by security forces in Khyber Agency on Wednesday evening, said FC sources. The sources said that those killed by troops were members of Lashkar-e-Islam's (LI) Mangal Bagh group. The sources said the security forces had also destroyed five vehicles and hideouts of the militant group in the operation in Sandapal area of Tirah valley.
Posted by: Fred || 07/02/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Lashkar-e-Islami


Tribal elder among four gunned down
Suspected Taliban killed a pro-government tribal leader, his driver and two gunmen on Wednesday while they were on their way to Peshawar. The vehicle of Malik Guli Shah of the Kokikhel tribe was ambushed on the main highway near Tedi Bazaar, Jamrud. The driver and one of the gunmen were shot and killed immediately, while Guli Shah and the other gunman died at a Peshawar hospital. Relatives of Guli Shah later protested against the government in Jamrud Bazaar.
Posted by: Fred || 07/02/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: TTP


US imposes sanctions on 3 LT leaders
The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on an Al Qaeda backer and three leaders of the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, believed to be behind last year's Mumbai attacks. The US Treasury said it was imposing an assets freeze on the four, identified as Fazeelattul Shaykh Abu Mohammed Ameen Al-Peshawari, Arif Qasmani, Mohammed Yahya Mujahid, and Nasir Javaid.

Ameen Al-Peshawari allegedly provided assistance, including funding and recruits, to Al Qaeda and the Taliban currently fighting to regain control of Afghanistan. Qasmani is said to be the chief coordinator for Laskhar and Mujahid was the head of the group's media department. Javaid had allegedly served Lashkar's commander in Pakistan. The Treasury said its action came two days after Al-Peshawari, Qasmani and Mujahid were added to a UN blacklist of individuals.
This article starring:
ARIF QASMANILashakar-e-Taiba
FAZILATTUL SHEIKH ABU MOHAMED AMIN AL PESHAWARILashakar-e-Taiba
MOHAMED YAHYA MUJAHIDLashakar-e-Taiba
NASIR JAVAIDLashakar-e-Taiba
Posted by: Fred || 07/02/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Lashkar e-Taiba


Fazlullah seriously injured: Malik
Fugitive Taliban leader Mullah Fazlullah has been critically injured in the ongoing military operation in Malakand Division, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said on Wednesday. "It has been confirmed that he has been hit and seriously injured," he told the BBC in an interview.

He said most "Taliban leaders" hid during the military action. "However, we will flush them out of their hideouts," he added. Malik urged the international community, especially the United Nations, to help Pakistan determine the source of the Taliban's funding. "The militants sitting in South Waziristan and planning terrorist activities, I won't call them Taliban, I would call them Zaliman (oppressors)," Malik said. To questions, he said the government had anticipated "unity" among the extremists once it launched an offensive against Baitullah Mehsud. "Be it Gul Bahadur or Commander Nazeer, be it Qari Hussain or Baitullah Mehsud or Hakimullah -- they are all branches of the same tree. They are all hardcore terrorists who should be called Zaliman and not Taliban," he added.
This article starring:
BAITULLAH MEHSUDTTP
COMANDER NAZIRTTP
GUL BAHADURTTP
HAKIMULLAHTTP
MULLAH FAZLULLAHTTP
QARI HUSEINTTP
Posted by: Fred || 07/02/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: TTP


Police arrest Lahore suicide attacks suspect
Police on Wednesday claimed to have arrested from Rahim Yar Khan a terrorist suspected of involvement in suicide attacks in Lahore, a private TV channel reported. The police said the suspect, Hafiz Shakeel, had confessed to masterminding the theft of vehicles used in various suicide attacks in Lahore, a private TV channel reported. The channel said the police had also arrested three other terror suspects on information provided by Shakeel from various areas of Punjab.

Police officials said they recovered four ID cards from Shakeel, adding that the suspects stole vehicles from Rahim Yar Khan, Bhakkar and Mianwali.Meanwhile, sources in Landikotal told Daily Times that security forces had arrested four terror suspects from Jamrud. Sources in the Khasadar Force said the suspects were arrested from Lala Kandao area following a tip-off.
This article starring:
HAFIZ SHAKILal-Qaeda in Pakistan
Posted by: Fred || 07/02/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Pakistan


Iraq
Extra Special News of the Day: Surprise, Biden Shows up in Iraq
Vice President Biden landed Thursday in Baghdad on a surprise visit to meet with Iraqi officials and U.S. military commanders, as well as speak to U.S. troops on the ground.

The trip comes two days after the White House announced the vice president would be assigned to oversee political reconciliation efforts among Iraqi factions.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Obama asked his No. 2 to work with Gen. Ray Odierno, the top commander in Iraq, and Ambassador Christopher Hill on mending fences in Iraq.

Biden will be "working with the Iraqis toward overcoming their political differences and achieving the type of reconciliation that we all understand has yet to fully take place, but needs to take place," Gibbs said.

As a senator, Biden advocated a plan to partition Iraq into semi-autonomous regions for the Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds -- but Gibbs said the vice president is "perfectly suited" for the role of unifying the country given his knowledge of the region.

Such a responsibility would be the highest-level overseas duty assigned to Biden, who has trended toward more domestic matters despite his foreign policy credentials, touted during the campaign.

The Biden visit comes after the U.S. met its Tuesday deadline to withdraw U.S. forces from Iraqi cities.
Posted by: Sherry || 07/02/2009 12:53 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "First I'll visit the Shiite Prime Minister, then the Kurdish Prime Minister, then the Sunni Prime Minister"
Posted by: Frank G || 07/02/2009 13:10 Comments || Top||

#2  "It's great to be here in Iran!"
Posted by: tu3031 || 07/02/2009 13:12 Comments || Top||

#3  heh...
who is Biden????
Anybody here seen this guy?
Anybody know what he looks like?

Posted by: 3dc || 07/02/2009 13:24 Comments || Top||

#4  " given his knowledge of the region"

Like his in-depth knowledge of India and the Indian people, working in 7-11?
Posted by: OldSpook || 07/02/2009 16:54 Comments || Top||

#5  The plastic turkey returns to Iraq.
Posted by: Pappy || 07/02/2009 17:01 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Israeli-US settlement freeze talks hit a dead end
[Al Arabiya Latest] Israel held firm once more against a total settlement freeze in defiance of international protocols and past peace agreements as talks on Tuesday between its Defense Minister Ehud Barak and United States envoy George Mitchell appeared to be at an impasse.

A public rift between Washington and Tel Aviv was starkly revealed as Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak refused to budge on freezing settlement growth in the West Bank and asserted the Jewish state's right to what it calls "natural growth."

The talks came after a meeting scheduled last week between the two was cancelled, in what was seen as an Israeli-U.S. tension.
Posted by: Fred || 07/02/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Palestinian Authority


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
6 Mousavi supporters reportedly hanged
As the Iranian authorities warned the opposition on Tuesday that they would tolerate no further protests over the disputed June 12 presidential elections, a report emerged of the hangings of six supporters of defeated candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi.

Speaking after Iran's top legislative body upheld the election victory of incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, sources in Iran told this reporter in a telephone interview that the hangings took place in the holy city of Mashhad on Monday. There was no independent confirmation of the report.

Underlining the climate of fear among direct and even indirect supporters of Mousavi's campaign for the election to be annulled, the sources also reported that a prominent cleric gave a speech to opposition protesters in Teheran earlier this week in which he publicly acknowledged that the very act of speaking at the gathering would likely cost him his life.

"Ayatollah Hadi Gafouri said that the Imam [Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini] never wanted [current supreme Leader] Ali Khamenei to succeed him. He even went to say that the Islamic republic died the day the Imam did," one source said.

Other criticisms from senior clerics over the regime's handling of the elections and subsequent protests included a report from a Persian news agency, which on Tuesday quoted a senior cleric from the city of Esfahan, Ayatollah Seyyed Jalaleddin Taheri-Esfahani, defending Mousavi against the regime's criticisms.

The ayatollah was quoted as saying: "Is it a case of justice to see that an honorable and modest Seyyed [a descendant of the household of the prophet Muhammad], who until the last moments of Khomeini's life was a dear and close companion of that grand leader, is now considered to be a rioter and an agent of arrogance who must be punished?"

On Monday, witnesses said thousands of policemen and Basij militiamen carrying batons were deployed in Teheran's main squares to prevent any recurrence of the opposition protests. Drivers who so much as shouted "Allahu Akbar" or beeped their horns had their windows smashed by the Basiji and riot police.

Women police, better known as the Sisters of Zeynab, are also now out in force, the witnesses said.

"Some people are still going out into the streets, but there is despair and sadness," said one source. "Now we are told that [pro-Mousavi] green bands are illegal, which is ironic because it symbolizes the color of Islam."

On Monday, the daughter of former president Hashemi Rafsanjani, spoke a gathering of opposition protesters in Teheran's Enqelab Square, sources said. "Mrs. Faezeh Hashemi arrived and tried to give the people some words of encouragement," said one, "but the police broke up the rally within minutes."

He added, "My nephew saw one of these Sisters of Zeynab beat down an elderly woman with no mercy. When he tried to intervene, saying to her, 'Miss, she is like your grandmother,' the woman turned around to get a Basiji to deal with him."

Mousavi's Facebook page is still carrying messages aimed at quashing the notion that he is caving in. "He did not give in to the Guardians Council," runs one new message. "Mir Hossein Mousavi is not under house arrest, he is not about to leave the country, he is under strong pressure to end this, but he always said he will stand up for the people's will to the end! He is from and with the people."

Amid the talk of despair and quashed protests, one defiant reformist supporter told this reporter: "The regime wants the world to think they have won. Don't believe it... Even if this regime is about to collapse, they would not let anybody know until their final hour."
Posted by: Beavis || 07/02/2009 09:58 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  In further news President Obama spoke out in support of freedom and against these injustices by the tyrannical Iranian regime in comments to the press corps today, repeating his definitive stand by saying: "".

The US Mainstream Media reflected the president's concerns by headlining "who got what in Michael Jackson's will".

My take? Fuck Obama - I hope he drops dead this very minute, the evil bastard
Posted by: OldSpook || 07/02/2009 16:50 Comments || Top||

#2  Once again the Obama Doctrine of doing absolutely nothing shows its value in the world community.
Posted by: Don Vito Crolutle2068 || 07/02/2009 17:26 Comments || Top||


Interpol hunting for witness of Neda's death
Yeah, I'll bet Five-O's on it too...
[Iran Press TV Latest] Iran's Police Chief, Brig. Gen. Esmail Ahmadi-Moqaddam, says Interpol is searching for a man who witnessed the death of Neda Agha-soltan.

Neda was shot dead in a central Tehran street on June 20, amid the post-election unrest in the capital city and her death has turned into a controversial issue.

Iranian authorities say that security forces have not fired at protesters, adding that the incident was "a premeditated scenario" to defame Iran.

Arash Hejazi, an Iranian physician, however, has told the BBC that he witnessed the incident and that a member of the Basij had shot at Neda, a claim strongly dismissed by the volunteer force. "Arash Hejazi is wanted by Interpol and Iran's Intelligence Ministry," Fars news agency quoted Ahmadi-Moqaddam as saying.

The police chief said that Hejazi is charged with helping the Western media to launch a psywar against Iran. "The murder of Neda Agha-Soltan was a scenario and is not related to the Tehran unrest in any way," he concluded.
Posted by: Fred || 07/02/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  No one can defame Iran. It's not possible. Perhaps the police chief would feel better if he went out & shot another girl.How brave! Little girls are so tough.
Posted by: whatadeal || 07/02/2009 4:56 Comments || Top||

#2  I presume any witnesses they find will be turned over to Dinner Jacket's police for interviews - probably involving colonic rupture (see story elsewhere on this page).
Posted by: Glenmore || 07/02/2009 6:59 Comments || Top||

#3  Has Interpol ever caught anyone?
Posted by: JohnQC || 07/02/2009 10:37 Comments || Top||

#4  John QC " Has Interpol ever caught anyone"? Maybe they should ask O.J. for help.
Posted by: WolfDog || 07/02/2009 11:52 Comments || Top||

#5  Looks like it's news to Interpol. The only guy they're looking for is some Turkish guy wanted for murder.
Posted by: tu3031 || 07/02/2009 12:47 Comments || Top||

#6  Maybe they can get OJ to help out...
Posted by: mojo || 07/02/2009 13:21 Comments || Top||


Tortured and Raped by the Basij
This is the account of an 18 year old male protestor.
His shoulder blades and arms were wounded. There were some slashes on the face. No bone fractures, but he was bruised all over the body. I wanted to take some photos but he did not let me. The doctor said only four of his teeth were intact, the rest were broken. You could hardly understand what he said.

Then the doctor told me what had happened. He had suffered rupture of the rectum and the doctor feared colonic bleeding. He suggested we take him to the hospital immediately.

They registered him under a false name and with somebody else's insurance. The nurses were crying. Two of them asked what sort of beast had beaten him up like that. He was a broken man. He told us not to waste our money on him, and that he would kill himself.

He was arrested in Shiraz on 15 June, the Monday after the election.

"I was kept in a van till evening that day and then transferred to a solitary cell where I was kept for two days," he said. "Then I was repeatedly interrogated, beaten and hung from a ceiling. They call it chicken kebab. They tie your hands and feet together and hang you from the ceiling, turning you around and beating you with cables.

I believed I was going to be sent from the detention centre to prison. But they sent me to where they called Roughnecks' Room. It was on Saturday or Sunday that they raped me for the first time. There were three or four huge guys we had not seen before. They came to me and tore my clothes. I tried to resist but two of them laid me on the floor and the third did it. It was done in front of four other detainees."

"My cell mates, especially the older one, tried to console me. They said nobody loses his dignity through such an act. They did it to two other cell mates in the next days. Then it became a routine."
Posted by: Frozen Al || 07/02/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Rafsanjani? ferris? SISTANI? anyone? Guardian counsel?
Posted by: newc || 07/02/2009 0:48 Comments || Top||

#2  Nothing to see here... Just an internal concern of the 'democratically elected' government of Iran that our leadership in DC supports
Posted by: abu do you love || 07/02/2009 1:52 Comments || Top||

#3  Yeah, vigorous debate and such.

Anyone for ice cream?
Posted by: Scott R || 07/02/2009 2:59 Comments || Top||

#4  I am curious. What is it with the Iranian government and their henchmen? Is this the only way they can achieve satisfaction is through raping men? This is disgusting but then of course if Iran were to change their name to Honduras, then BO would have a comment within the minute.
Posted by: Art || 07/02/2009 10:44 Comments || Top||

#5  Bambi's comment ... "but, but, but I told them I was appalled and disgusted." What a maroon.
Posted by: WolfDog || 07/02/2009 11:57 Comments || Top||

#6  I am curious. What is it with the Iranian government and their henchmen? Is this the only way they can achieve satisfaction is through raping men? This is disgusting but then of course if Iran were to change their name to Honduras, then BO would have a comment within the minute.

IIUC, rape is a very common tactic in dictatorships - sorry to always bring that up, but don't forget that kaddafy had the bulgarian nurses raped by dogs to make them confess.
Here, we might have a special focus on homosexual rape because of of local psychosexual "habits"; while I don't doubt male prisoners have been raped by tortured all over the world and across the cultures (IIRC, sodomizing captured ennemies is a very common russian habit, that was and is a major sore point, no pun intended, even in now "pacified" chechnya), arabs seem to have "issues" here, this I gather from reading some israeli guys writing about how arab armies always try and feminize the adversary (notably by raping and/or emasculating prisoners or bodies, this was a notable SOP of the algerian FLN), or how arab secret polices use male-on-male rape to break political prisoners (read several bits about this, even way before getting online, heck, I read about a syrian - possible connection with the basiji's own FL - political prisoner being casually raped by his guards, back in a Reader's digest atleast 10-15 years ago).

The mysteries of the old and sophisticated east, I guess.
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 07/02/2009 12:48 Comments || Top||

#7  I'll bet they miss SAVAK.
Posted by: tu3031 || 07/02/2009 12:48 Comments || Top||

#8  OK Obama you chickenshit, you want to talk to people who condone and promote this sort of thing?

His inaction and actions damn him as an evil man, who deserves to die. I pray God will strike him deservedly dead.
Posted by: OldSpook || 07/02/2009 16:56 Comments || Top||


Inside Evin Prison
Reza was imprisoned in Tehran, and he said all sort of people were there. Some of them just unlucky people just walking in streets and captured for no reason.

Reza spent his first 48 hours of arrest at level -4 of ministry of interior building without food or water. According to Reza some of the injured people already passed out, and a taxi driver looked like dead by that time. Reza estimated around 200 people were in each room and there were not enough space to even sit on the ground. There was also an awful problem of only one toilet for all people in there and a impossible time limit of around 1 minute for each person. They randomly beat up people.

He said in the second day some pain cloth people came with papers forcing people to sign them. The papers were prewritten confessions all in different handwritings saying the signer violated national security and Islam. Reza said some people sign them and some other just faked their signatures and names. There were not enough confession papers for all people.

A man came and said the detainees would be released today, but an hour later another came and told them they would be in prison for 10 years.

So many people're put in Iran prison that prisoners only have standing space. They moved Reza and some of the selected people to Evin. Around 3am day 2 they started moving people in vans; Reza said a driver was talking to a Basiji about Evin prison is full.

They ran another confession show at Evin, this time with promise of instant freedom and new accusations.

But after they learned Reza is a student, they moved him to a harsher environment with some other prisoners. Guards prevented them from sleeping by keeping them standing all night long.
Posted by: Frozen Al || 07/02/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Compare wid GUAM PDN FORUM > IS THERE A GITMO PRISON ALREADY IN PALAU? For 300 NON-SPARTAN MUSLIMS Palau was repor to accept beofre the recent "17 UIGHURS" fuss???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 07/02/2009 0:38 Comments || Top||

#2  Where is the hue and cry from the left / MSM / Bambi? Can anyone say Guantanamo Bay?
Posted by: WolfDog || 07/02/2009 12:02 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
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5TTP
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2Salafia Jihadiya
1Jundullah
1Lashkar-e-Islami
1Lashkar e-Taiba
1Palestinian Authority
1al-Qaeda in Pakistan
1al-Qaeda
1Govt of Pakistan

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Two weeks of WOT
Thu 2009-07-02
  Mousavi, Karroubi call Short Round govt ''illegitimate''
Wed 2009-07-01
  11 cross-dressing Haqqani turbans arrested in Khost
Tue 2009-06-30
  Iran confirms Ahmadinejad's victory
Mon 2009-06-29
  Mousavi's website shut down
Sun 2009-06-28
  Saad al-Hariri Leb's new premier
Sat 2009-06-27
  Council appoints commission to probe election
Fri 2009-06-26
  Mousavi warns of more protests
Thu 2009-06-25
  Somali legislators flee abroad, Parliament paralysed
Wed 2009-06-24
  Khamenei agrees to extend vote probe
Tue 2009-06-23
  Revolutionary Guards Say They'll Crush Protests
Mon 2009-06-22
  Guardian Council: Over 100% voted in 50 cities
Sun 2009-06-21
  Assembly of Experts caves to Fearless Leader
Sat 2009-06-20
  Iran police disperse protesters
Fri 2009-06-19
  Khamenei to Mousavi: toe the line or else
Thu 2009-06-18
  Iran cracks down

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