Al-Qaeda is blocking Taliban fighters who favour peace talks from negotiating with Kabul.
The terror movement has disarmed two Taliban commanders, Mullah Laal Muhammad and Mullah Alaoddin of the Haqqani network, who were interested in starting peace talks with the Afghan government, Kunduz Provincial Governor Engineer Muhammad Omar said.
Al-Qaeda has disarmed two prominent commanders of the Haqqani Network in Kunduz in the past two weeks, and nine others in fear of being disarmed have buried their weapons and fled to Pakistan, Omar told Central Asia Online.
The Afghan Taliban (have accepted) reality now and want to participate in peace talks with the Afghan government, but the Pakistani, Uzbek and Chechen militants dont want the reconciliation process to start," he said.
After President Hamid Karzais election to a second term, he expressed willingness to talk to those who lay down their arms and accept the Afghan constitution.
Kunduz representative to the Afghan parliament Moyeen Merastyal confirmed the governors statement.
The groups that are supporting the Taliban from outside dont want peace talks in Afghanistan as they consider stability detrimental to their interests, Merastyal said. They want terrorism in the region, not only in Afghanistan, so anyone who looks interested in peace talks is being disarmed or captured, he said, referring to the arrest of some Taliban figures in Pakistan.
Those prominent Taliban commanders who have been captured in Pakistan in the past few months were interested in starting peace talks, but they were stopped as well, he added.
On the other hand, since the arrest of the Talibans chief military commander, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, in Karachi last February, some disagreements between Taliban factions and al-Qaeda have been visible, Omar said.
The reconciliation and reintegration plan is aimed at encouraging the Talibans followers, estimated by NATO officials at 25,000 to 30,000 active fighters, to renounce violence, sever ties with al-Qaeda and respect the constitution.
Taliban leaders and spokesmen have said negotiations can begin only after international forces leave Afghanistan.
#2
Enemy fighting Enemy, stay away, perhaps arm both sides with hand grenades and set the fuses to one nanosecond after removal from the shipping container.(Get the shippers too.)
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
09/08/2010 15:53 Comments ||
Top||
#3
In one sense, it doesn't really matter whether those who favour peace talks actually negotiate or are forced from the field by their own side. Either way, they are no longer fighting, which reduces the number of those doing so. Perhaps General Petraeus is correct, that we have started down the path to victory.
#1
I read crap like this and Sharia being allowed to be run along side their laws actually makes me kind of happy Obama made them into bad guys. Quite frankly, I'm beginning to view Britain as an enemy state whose stupidity is just causing the accleration of the world down the drain.
The UKs special representative on Afghanistan and Pakistan was appointed in March last year after being UK ambassador in Kabul the two previous years.
In June he took an "extended leave" from the role just a month before a crunch international conference in Kabul, in what observers described as a surprise move.
At the time no reason was given for why Sir Sherard temporarily stepped down and the Foreign Office said he was "expected back in the autumn".
Sir Sherard was known to have been critical of the United States-led military strategy in Afghanistan and to have argued in favour of holding talks with the Taliban.
He then missed the Kabul summit attended by world leaders including Ban Ki-Moon, the United Nations Secretary General.
Foreign Office insiders at the time rejected reports suggesting he had been sidelined by the new Coalition Government at the request of the Americans.
But on Wednesday the FCO announced that it had been agreed that a separate representative was no longer required due to the changing situation.
A spokesman said this would allow the role to be handled by a policy chief, which would be now handled by Karen Pierce, the FCO director for South Asia and Afghanistan.
He said many allies, including the US, combine the representative and policy roles.
William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, paid tribute to Sir Sherard, saying he had made an invaluable contribution to UK policy towards Afghanistan and Pakistan.
He showed great commitment, dedication and expertise during an important phase in international efforts in the region, he said.
"He has a very able successor in Karen Pierce. Afghanistan and Pakistan continue to be this Government's top priority in foreign affairs."
#3
NEWS KERALA > US MAY REPOSITION INSTEAD OF WITHDRAWING ITS TROOPS FROM AFGHANISTAN: NATO OFFICIAL. Low-N-Slow, continuous Natural Rate(s) of Attrition, as opposed to LARGE-SCALE, MASS-UNIT PHASED WITHDRAWAL AT PRE-DETERMINED TIME. Individual Soldiers or Elements, Small-Units may not be immediately replaced upon receipt of official orders to depart from theater.
VERSUS
PAKISTAN DEFENCE FORUMS > [Mullah Omar]TALIBAN CHIEF SAYS [Taliban, Militant]VICTORY IN AFGHANISTAN IS "CLOSE".
ARTIC > MULLAH OMAR also calls on POTUS BAMMER to withdraw all US Milfors from Afghanistan UNCONDITIONALLY + ASAP, in order to promote peace.
A team of top U.S. officials is going to Seoul, Tokyo, and Beijing next week for talks on North Korea and U.S. efforts to convince the North to give up its nuclear program
"Which officials?"
"Top officials!"
The team will include the U.S. envoys for North Korea, Stephen Bosworth and Sung Kim.
Announcing the trip Tuesday, State Department spokesman PJ Crowley said he does not anticipate the officials going to North Korea during their four day visit.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il said during a visit to China last month that he would like to see a resumption of the six-party talks with China, Japan, Russia, South Korea, and the United States. But Crowley said Tuesday it is up to the North to create a better environment for progress.
Crowley also said Tuesday that the United States would consider any new requests for humanitarian aid for North Korea following recent devastating floods along its border with China.
Maybe Bambi will bow to them as well ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/08/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Maybe Bambi will bow to them as well
And maybe if they grab another American, we'll send them another lefty ex-President. Problem is that last time they gave Carter back.
#4
DRUDGEREPORT > YONHAP = WATER MASS MISTAKEN FOR SUBMARINE SPARKS FEAR OF N. KOREAN INFILTRATION.
LATEST: All things equal, the ROK Navy Boyz appear to had mistakenly depth-bombed either MASSIVE SEAWEED PATCH OR WEIRD ROCK, OR ELSE THEY JUST WOKE UP GODZILLA. And we all know how "PEACE-ABLE" GIZZY IS WHEN HE DOESN'T GET ENOUGH SLUMBER.
** ION CHINESE MILITARY FORUM > [HuffingtonPost] MORRISSEY: CHINESE PEOPLE ARE A SUB-SPECIES [aka Sub-Human], due to their lack of ANIMAL RIGHTS.
* SAME > [Wikipedia = "Freedom House" World Color Map] CHINA-RUSSIA-AFRICA DESCRIBED AS "AXIS-OF-THE-NOT-FREE" BY US CONSERVATIVES.
-------------
PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUM > INDIAN PRIME MINISTER
[M.Singh] WARNS CHINA WANTS FOOTHOLD IN SOUTH ASIA, + may use India's "soft underbelly" of KASHMIR[disputed wid PAK] in to keep India in a negative or detrimental state of "low-level equilibrium" vee CHINA???
* SAME > MORE THAN [CPLA] TROOPS, CHINESE ECON PROJECTS IN PAKISTANI-HELD KASHMIR WORRY INDIA. CHINA'S footprint in Kashmir + Himalayas ONLY GETTING BIGGER, NOT PAR OR LESSER???
* SAME > CENTRAL ASIAN MUSLIM STATES "FEAR" PAKISTAN [spread of PAK-style, Govt or Militant-ordered Chaos + Extermism to them despite PAK's historical role in helping the former Soviet SSRS achieve independence from the USSR-Russia.
* INDIAN EXPRESS > INDIA'S "LOOK EAST" POLICY: PM [Singh] TO VISIT VIETNAM, JAPAN, MALYASIA. Mainly to promote Bilateral Trade, Other Cooper, but also to negotaite + dev ANTI-CHIN, MILPOLECON "INDIAN CORRIDOR" INTO STRATEGIC PACOAS [read, US DOMINATED].
Usually governments fix their own natural disasters. Like Pakistan, for instance ...
North Korea wants rice and materials to repair flood damage such as cement and heavy equipment from South Korea, it was said in a message Saturday. The Unification Ministry on Tuesday said the message came from the North Korean Red Cross and was sent to its South Korean counterpart after the South offered some W10 billion in flood relief (US$1=W1,179).
The North asked for rice, cement, vehicles and bulldozers if the South is willing to help. The message was a belated response to the South Korean Red Cross's offer on Aug. 26 of emergency food supplies and medicines.
The cement and construction equipment will be used to build hardened bunkers for Nork artillery and troops. So how about, 'no' ...
But Seoul is less keen to provide rice and building materials since such aid has been put on hold as part of sanctions after the North sank the South Korean Navy corvette Cheonan since the North has a history of diverting such aid to the military. Heavy equipment, cement and iron bars proved controversial when the South gave flood aid to the North in 2006 and 2007.
But the government seems nonetheless inclined to meet the request to some extent, with many officials saying rice in particular should be considered, according to a ministry official.
This was the first time since April 2007 that the North officially asked the South for rice as relations soured when the conservative Lee Myung-bak administration came to office in 2008. A security official said, "We could think positively of giving them rice if it comes out of the W10 billion we've offered."
A senior government official earlier told reporters the government could approve offers from the private sector to send rice aid to the North. But as far as supplies of heavy equipment go, public sentiment here is unfavorable. A North Korea expert said, "We can't afford to give them materials or equipment like bulldozers that could be used to implement projects such as modernizing or renovating Pyongyang for the North Korean ruling class.
"There'll be an announcement on the supply of rice purely as a humanitarian issue between the Red Cross societies of the two sides," a senior Cheong Wa Dae official said. "But we'll have to think hard which materials best suit our intention of giving relief to flood victims."
At the moment, the North is clearly in dire need of aid from the South. It needs outside help amid a food shortage and is gearing up to establish Kim's successor at an extraordinary party congress this week.
It initially turned to traditional ally China, but although Kim senior visited China twice in May and August this year, he came away almost empty-handed and is under pressure from Beijing to reform and open up the country's failed planned economy.
Whether the request marks the beginning of a thaw in inter-Korean relations remains to be seen. "We'll have to watch for a while once the party congress is over to understand whether the North will be making this a priority," the Cheong Wa Dae official speculated.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/08/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Can we have the 'petting a rabid dog' picture please?
[Iran Press] German Chancellor Angela Merkel is set to pay tribute to the Danish cartoonist who caused uproar in the Mohammedan world by drawing insulting cartoons of Prophet Mohammed (PTUI!).
Merkel is scheduled to address a ceremony about freedom of press in Potsdam, near Berlin on Wednesday where she will give an award to Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard, organizers of the event said in a statement on Tuesday.
"We still know what no freedom means and we should never forget how valuable liberty is. Press freedom is one of the features of a free democracy," Merkel was quoted as by AFP.
The 75-year old cartoonist, who offended Mohammedans across the world, will be awarded the M100 Media Prize 2010.
The blasphemous cartoons were first printed on September 30, 2005 in Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, and were reprinted repeatedly in different newspapers in over 50, mostly Western, countries.
The move by Western media sparked anger among Mohammedans across the globe, provoking mass protests by the community who demanded Westergaard be punished.
Westergaard announced in June that he would retire from the Jyllands-Posten newspaper in a bid to ease tensions over his insulting cartoons.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/08/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under: Global Jihad
#1
If the Obama administration or Petraeus were to criticize this decision by Merkel we (Germany) should withdraw our troops from all international NATO engagements immediately, just like Spain did after Zapatero was elected.
A line must be drawn at some point.
Not even German soldiers deserve to die due to insane rules of engagement servicing a hostile and evil foreign population while their home country and continent is subjected to creeping Sharia with the active support of our "allies."
WASHINGTON: A religious leader who met with Attorney General Eric Holder on Tuesday said the top US law enforcement official described as "idiotic and dangerous" a Florida church's plan to burn copies of the Quran on the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks.
"He said, I quote him, 'The Gainesville plan is idiotic and dangerous,'" said Farhana Khera, executive director of Muslim Advocates.
Rabbi David Sapperstein of the Religious Action Network added that they held a "vigorous discussion," even though the attorney general has no power to intervene to stop the planned burning of Muslim holy books.
"A lot of protection is to come from local law enforcement," he told reporters. "We are confident that the attorney general, when he speaks, speaks very strongly to the American people."
Holder held the talks with religious leaders to discuss ways of confronting an anti-Islamic wave in the United States, amid plans by an evangelical pastor to hold a Koran-burning ceremony in Florida on Saturday.
The ceremony is to be led by Pastor Terry Jones, who has said the Quran torching aims "to remember those who were brutally murdered on September 11," and to send a warning "to the radical element of Islam." Well it certainly is awful to see book burnings... it reminds one of fascism
Agreed. Book burning is what idiots do.
N.B.: put the http link in the source box when you post, not buried in the text. AoS.
#1
Yeah, there were a bunch of religious leaders meeting in D.C. today, headed up by one Ingrid Mattson, a Canadian Muslim convert professor and activist and the current president of the Islamic Society of North America. You should look her up; she has quite the background on JihadWatch. It was all on CSpan...they said they didn't discuss the GZ mosque...only the Koran burning issue. All, of course, were simply outraged. It was quite the production, considering all of this was started by just a few dozen wackos in Florida.
They should save their matches, though. I vote to line up a bunch of jars, place a Koran in each one and then piss in them.
#2
This Crayon burning exercise IS idiotic and dangerous. It serves no beneficial purpose. It very well could swing some marginally wacko Muslims all the way to the dark side (yes, there are Muslims who are rational, so far) and lead to the death of innocent people. Furthermore, it is a very un-Christian thing to do - the whole 'Do unto others' idea... Just because something is legal doesn't make it right.
#3
Yeah. Musn't provoke them. Lest they turn the tables and do something equally provocative. Like putting up a 15 story monument to their victory of murdering nearly 3000 innocents.
If you want to defeat the ideas of the Koran do what Jihad Watch does - shine a bright shiny light on it. Expose it for what it is. Debate it. Point out that everything the 'extremist Islamist' does is right out of the Koran and that the Koran commands Muslims to do just that.
Burning a book is stupid and only shows that paper burns.
Having said that - I'm sure Holder and his boss would be just as concerned about burning a bible or Torah.
(yeah right...)
BTW: Doesn't Saudi Arabia burn bibles as a matter of course?
I like Freedom of Speech a lot. SO much so that I like Wikileaks.
I agree the Pastor has the right to burn the Koran if he so wants to.
But even General Petraeus is asking them not to do it. The average muslim just sees the news from the US on al Jazeera and thinks all Americans are burning Korans. They then get told that's what freedom brings.
So then they hate freedom, and they hate us even more and that undoes all the work the troops are trying to do. And alienates the good moderate muslims.
But i don't know how i feel about that really - on the one hand, you cannot have "conditional" freedom. You are either free or you're not.
You can't have people pressured and forced into submitting because of fear of the consequences so maybe this would provoke the conflict we have to have.. after all this 'winning hearts and minds' is a failed strategy. Maybe this would help us all admit it. The cultural gulf is too wide.
or it could just be needlessly provoking bloodshed and mayhem.
I agree with that good poster: light is the cure for darkness. Not more darkness. Shine the light don't give them more excuses to behave like barbarians.
#6
Or the alternative is to flush them out now. I don't want to live my life worried that some day, some one is going to provoke their sorry asses and they'll go off on one of their enraged killing sprees.
Are there really people out there that think this cult needs an excuse to commit atrocities? Seriously?
The South Park Episode "Cartoon Wars Part II" featured a scene showing Mohammed "just standing there doing nothing offensive." That scene was censored by Comedy Central.
Another scene showed President Bush, some American celebrities and Jesus Christ defecating on each other and the American flag. This scene was aired, there were no riots by either outraged Christians or outraged American patriots.
#9
The only thing I don't like about the book burning is it is book burning. It sets a bad precedent and brings back feelings of Nazi Germany. As for angering Islam, tough. How long are we going to sit in hostage to these people and put up with the killing sprees? We've had to put up with Bible burning and flag burning, people doing all sorts of distasteful things to other religious symbols, and people are again afraid to act because they might piss off Muslims and watch them going on a killing spree? They'll do that any way. It's what they want. Being afraid of them and letting that fear intimidate people is part of the plan why they are so successful. It's terrorism without a bomb. I mean really, how long are we going to be hostages to them? Half the world already suffers from Stockholm Syndrome from them.
#10
I'll ask one question before this gets, hot. How many of you have read the quran and hadiths? The only time Muhammad taught peace was when he was outnumbered.
Book burning is never a good thing but in this case they are burning a terrorist manual.
#11
Even if I knew nothing about Islam, anything Eric (away with eurocentrist notions of Law & Justice) Holder considers "idiotic and dangerous" has my wholehearted approval.
Since I do know something about Islam, I have to say "Consider this a first instalment in repaying your burning of Library of Alexandria and the rest, beasts of Abaddon."
#12
It wasn't too long ago that many Muslims were reveling in Nazism, and turning the Arabic version of Mein Kampf into a bestseller.
And if all it takes to turn a Muslim into a murderous maniac is to burn a book, or to publish a book, for that matter, they are borderline murderous maniacs already, so should be treated as such, instead of letting them hide behind a veneer of civility and humanity.
Appeasement has never worked. It never will work. So it's best to see their true colors before they metastasize too deeply into our society.
If it takes burning a bunch of cheap copies of their religious text to do this, it is worth it. And if this brave preacher gets viciously murdered for it, it is not his fault, but that of his murderer.
If your family is physically threatened, it may be justifiable to kill who is threatening them. But if you're dealing in fantasy, and somebody says Obi Wan Kenobi wasn't a real Jedi, or Mohammed was a child molester, that is not a legitimate reason to murder someone, no matter how offended you are.
Book burning is stupid. It lowers us. Better for us to focus on the threat and respond accordingly.
If the Koran is a 'terrorist manual' as noted by some, all the better to read and understand it (as a non-Muslim) so as to know how to defeat terrorists.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/08/2010 7:59 Comments ||
Top||
#14
Burn the books. We should provoke and outrage them at every turn.
Posted by: Secret Asian Man ||
09/08/2010 8:31 Comments ||
Top||
#15
Meh. There's a reason there's no Catholic Rage Boy or Presbyterian Rage Boy. These tools would be outraged whether the books are burned or not, or even if they were Reader's Digests and simply represented Korans. Skinless people in a sandpaper world
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/08/2010 8:48 Comments ||
Top||
#16
More damaging to the jihadi cause would be to read the Koran aloud. Let people hear what these people believe. A nice touch would be a side by side comparison with those bits that contain the stories of Jesus, Moses, Abraham, etc. Let the distortions be outlined in neon -- we had a Muslim speaker at the trailing daughters' elementary school some months after 9/11, and she actually told the group that they believe in the same prophets the Jews and Christians do, completely skimming over the differences,
#17
Ingrid Mattson, a Canadian Muslim convert professor and activist and the current president of the Islamic Society of North America.
#1 Infidel. Thanks for the reference. Mattson does not sound much like a "moderate" muslim. She converted from Catholicism to islam. Not for free speech. For sharia law in America. Sounds much like the Feisal Abdul Rauf in held beliefs maybe more extreme. Perhaps Andrew Breitbart will offer $100,000 if anyone can find a "moderate" muslim.
#18
...But then how would you know they were moderate. Because they said so? Thanks to taqiyya and kitman we would never really know. She embraces Wahhabism also
#19
Anyone see Rauf's editorial in the NYSlimes yet? Let me give you the cliff notes version:
"Screw you, America. We're building the goddam mosque. And when I got back to town I couldn't believe how miserably mean y'all have been to my 'peoples', so we're back to calling it Cordoba House. And no, hell to the no, I will not be denouncing my Hamas brethren. Go fuck yourselves."
#20
#16 More damaging to the jihadi cause would be to read the Koran aloud. Let people hear what these people believe. A nice touch would be a side by side comparison with those bits that contain the stories of Jesus, Moses, Abraham, etc. Let the distortions be outlined in neon -- we had a Muslim speaker at the trailing daughters' elementary school some months after 9/11, and she actually told the group that they believe in the same prophets the Jews and Christians do, completely skimming over the differences,
Posted by: trailing wife 2010-09-08 08:53
I always find that funny about them. More misleading rhetoric. What people don't understand is that what they do say is considered Heresy by the Catholic church and is still combated and treated as such today.
They should save their matches, though. I vote to line up a bunch of jars, place a Koran in each one and then piss in them.
Posted by: Infidel 2010-09-08 00:27
That's an idea. We already know how they treat other religions and their institutions and symbols. Just look at what they did do to Cordoba after the invasion.
#21
I'd rather recommend what Chancellor Merkel will do tonight.
She'll hand over a German media prize IN PERSON to the Danish Mohammed cartoonist.
The Lady has what you call you know what
Posted by: European Conservative ||
09/08/2010 10:45 Comments ||
Top||
#22
#21 I'd rather recommend what Chancellor Merkel will do tonight.
She'll hand over a German media prize IN PERSON to the Danish Mohammed cartoonist.
The Lady has what you call you know what
Posted by: European Conservative 2010-09-08 10:45
This actually surprises me alot considering how liberal Merkel is and how liberal, can't we all get along and every thing is okay," Germany is. You don't suppose they are seeing the tyranny that rose for them coming again do you?
#23
Like smashing Piggy's glasses, book burning is anti-civilization.
I have gone my whole life watching people burn, piss, shit on, so forth symbols I hold dear. If those offended consider themselves ye olde people of the book, they would know that burning a book does not destroy their god.
So grow up already. People swayed by this one way or another are just looking for an excuse.
#24
Holder held the talks with religious leaders to discuss ways of confronting an anti-Islamic wave in the United States
A wave really? Seems like its a few isolated incidents that have gotten an over abundance of airplay from the leftist media. But then again, what do I know Im just another one those right wing phobes
#25
This is what bothers me: Throughout the whole debate about the Ground Zero mosque our betters have been telling us about how this is the right of the Muslims, and how honouring such rights is what make America and the West so strong. Yes, I agree, but it also shows very poor judgement on behalf of the mosque-builders. Very little comments about that part. Now to the book burning, we are told all about it showing poor judgement but nothing about how it is within the peoples' rights to do so if they choose. Why no comment about how it is these very same rights that also make America and the West great.
#26
It might make sense to use the book burning as a publicity device and then to highlight the 100 to 170 Jihad verses in the Koran and compile them all and read them outloud to the various media people attending the event.
Posted by: lord garth ||
09/08/2010 12:40 Comments ||
Top||
#27
Merkel - ballsiest move of the year. Would sasha baron Cohen as Brino even be this bold?Merkel has no peer at this moment fir sending a clear F.U.
#28
you cannot have "conditional" freedom. You are either free or you're not.
The "conditional" freedoms concern me. The deadly "however". One may say anything one wants about anything - except islam. The media may publish any article - as long as the contents do not upset muslims. Humour and cartoons may poke fun at anyone or anything - except muslims and islam. Freedom of religion exists only where muslims permit it - this freedom applies only to muslims.
Freedom of the press. Freedom of speech and expression. Freedom of religion. All now conditional to the permissions and sensibilities of muslims. all supported, if not initiated, by "moderate muslims" (an oxymoron at best).
Why the legal burning of a Koran is any more "provacative" than the building of a victory mosque at GZ lies in the insanity of the players. The "danger" of islamic anger lies everywhere: in what infidels say, in countless superstitions and ridiculous conspiricy theories, in the very idea that infidels live.
Why continue to try and educate infidels on the dangers of islam by simply reading them the koran when burning one will illustrate this far more quickly and sincerely? Shake the tree and lets see who falls out.
I'm fed up being told I have to pussyfoot around the sensitivities of muslims for any reason. Doubley so when my rights are involved. The flashpoint of muslims is far lower than 451F.
As an aside... i'm wondering if Jeff Dunham (ventriloquist) has received any death threats over the use of his Achmed, the dead terrorist, puppet?
#30
If Obama had played this correctly he could have made a big positive impact, as this is truly a teachable moment.
In a free society people will tolerate free expression they despise, be it the legal construction of a Ground Zero Mosque, be it a Koran burning event, he could have said.
Such a statement would have shown true commitment to a free and open society and it would have defused rumors about him being a Muslim.
That he has not used this opportunity so far is telling.
#31
Can we compare the number of American leaders (political and religious) who have wholeheartedly condemned the Koran-burning to the number of Muslim political & religious leaders who wholeheartedly condemned 9/11?
(Wholeheartedly being without any magic "But..." or "However...")
#32
I believe the koran burning will result in a temporary increase in the numbers of attacks, but isn't that one reason why Marines are over there? To kill radical Muslims? Let them attack I say.
I think the US media has made this "crisis".
People keep citing Gen Petraeus...ask his boss, General Mattis, what he thinks about this issue and I believe you will get a very different response.
Ignorant people are always excitable. I think about the Indian Mutiny of 1857 with the native sepoys revolted against the East India Company army. A lot of blood shed over a rumor of British cartridges being greased with bovine fat. But, it did give the British government a reality check about the folks they were dealing with in India and the prospects for long-term stability.
As Moose said:
And if all it takes to turn a Muslim into a murderous maniac is to burn a book...they are borderline murderous maniacs already, so should be treated as such, instead of letting them hide behind a veneer of civility and humanity.
Posted by: A Grunt in Pogue Clothing ||
09/08/2010 14:34 Comments ||
Top||
#33
Read via an Instapundit link today that the book-burner has links to F-U'd Freddy Phelps' Westboro church. I'll admit the association puts it a different light for me.
#34
More damaging to the jihadi cause would be to read the Koran aloud. Let people hear what these people believe.
Isn't that what Geert Wilders did? Remember the response to his movie?
Muslims need to understand that we have a problem with the way they behave. The problem is they react with violence if we express an idea they don't like. If it takes cartoons, Geert Wilders movies, or Koran burnings to get their attention then so be it. If they react with violence it only proves our point. If they want to protest peacefully then maybe we've made some progress. If we are going to engage with these people, interact with them, they need to understand that we take our rights seriously. If they can't understand that, how can we ever have a free and fair exchange of ideas with them?
And if they won't respect our culture and our rights then we have decisions to make. We can let them intimidate us and thereby lose our freedom. We can try to disengage with them (can you hear the oil companies howling over that? can you imagine the PC moonbats if we tried to expel them from our countries?), or we can keep on fighting these stupid little wars for the next thousand years.
I'm in favor of disengagement myself. I'd like to let them stew in their own juices for another thousand years. Let them turn their countries into deserts and keep them out of ours. I don't want war and I don't plan on burning any Qurans myself. But if the members of a church in Florida want to do that, it is their right. Eric Holder be damned. Petraeus too. Clinton and even the Pope too. Do you really want these people to surrender their rights? I don't.
#35
Anybody notice that the MSM really didn't give a crap about this tiny congregation and their silly book burning UNTIL the GZ mosque ran into stiff headwinds, and then this become a huge moral issue? Setting this up as moral equivalency to mute the GZ opponents as the MSM builds a story of Islamophobia here.
Gee, it would be fun to follow the editorial guidance and MSM/reporter funding here. Somewhere you find petrodollars and George Soros I'll bet.
#36
The political class of western countries could have avoided this ugly development by drawing a line earlier.
In recent years there were many opportunities where the Arab-Islamic world could have been warned to respect western freedom and sovereignty.
Muslim ambassadors in Denmark wanted to complain to PM Rasmussen about the cartoons. He refused to receive them. Other western governments criticized this move and admonished him to seek "dialogue."
Imagine if instead Denmark, the US, France and Germany, and others had simultaneously PNGd the ambassadors of the offending Muslim nations.
No bloodshed, but a clear warning.
Instead the west has become finlandized, we have meekly accepted an Islamic Brezhnev doctrine.
#37
Saw a muslim being interviewed by Hannity, I think. This muslim was opposed to building the mosque. However, the interesting part about what he said was that imam Feisal Abdul Rauf would be viewed as a powerful man in the muslim world if he gets this mosque built. (Yeah and that would most likely mean we would come across looking like dumb $hits for allowing it to be built.)
#39
There's also a Muzzie who's come out today to say that there are actually pages in the Koran that should be burned. Link's at HotAir. Just hope she has her bodyguards lined up.
#40
what he said was that imam Feisal Abdul Rauf would be viewed as a powerful man in the muslim world if he gets this mosque built.
It's good to get that info out there, but I doubt there are many who actually thought Rauf really gives a shit about the muzzie community. He's all about power.
#41
don't burn them. any idiot can come up with burning a book, and as mentioned many times above, it is reminiscent of Nazi Germany.
instead, have a corral with live hogs in it and run the korans through a wood chipper and use it as litter for the hogs to root around in. save the first and last page before shredding, use the first as a napkin for the free roast pig BBQ and the last one as TP.
Posted by: Abu do you love on vacation and a borrowed laptop ||
09/08/2010 18:08 Comments ||
Top||
#42
I'll repeat what I said yesterday:
Don't burn the koran - it's too easy a death.
1. Put it in a jar of urine and call it art.
2. Cover another copy with manure and do the same.
3. Put a picture of Mo-ham-head on the ground and invite people to walk on it to write their thoughts in a book.
What? It was art when done to Christian symbols and the American flag. Don't you support art?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
09/08/2010 18:32 Comments ||
Top||
#43
Burning the Koran or Bible or American flag is protected under our constitution and reaffermed by the SC. However stupid any of those burnings are, bottom line, its legal. Any effort buy the government to stop it or to ask for a media blackout, like Hillary did, goes against what America stands for. I suspect it will all turn to spin as they burn the Koran, and the news agancies that carry it will be blamed for the next 50 deaths in Afghanistan.
Posted by: 49 pan ||
09/08/2010 20:10 Comments ||
Top||
#44
49 Pan,
That is where multi-culturalism fails. Islam and the US Constitution do not co-exist. Hafiz, which literally means "Guardian" of the Koran, which for the most part is a title given to those who have memorized the entire book, could also mean protectors of the book against those who would do harm to the book. This will be a flash point where many Christians who would never do such a thing will be punished severely for what this Preacher intends to do. Barbarian response is expected indeed.
#45
49 Pan is right. All this crazy sh*t is protected "speech." I think that it is a stupid idea to burn the Koran, but it is legal in this country. The liberals think that it is ok to desecrate Christian or Jewish religious symbolism, but they have a double standard when it comes to Islam.
The bottom line with me is that if it is done and some Muslims go apesh*t, that is their problem and not ours. They get in our face about it, they have a problem. I am sick of these psychopaths and their liberal apologists.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
09/08/2010 22:11 Comments ||
Top||
#46
The liberals think that it is ok to desecrate Christian or Jewish religious symbolism, but they have a double standard when it comes to Islam.
#47
All I know is, if there's to be a campfire then I'm bringing some hotdogs, smores and pabsts...the rest of you can BYOB...
seriously though, 500 afghanis protesting in Kabul? Last I heard you could get 500 afghanis to pretty much protest anything western or borderline offensive to islam (but what isn't borderline offensive to islam these days?).
If this kook in Fla wants to burn korans so be it. I'm actually kind of interested to see how this plays out. Might be the necessary bring to a head we need to call this war as it really is. The forces of liberty (with all its associated messiness) versus the orcs.
[Pak Daily Times] The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, formerly NWFP, aka Terrorism Central (KP) government has once again demanded a conclusive military operation against the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP), which it said was strengthening its position in the tribal belt.
"Taliban Boskonians have started targeting settled areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa once again and carried out two major attacks in Lakki Marwat and Kohat within two days," KP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain told reporters on Tuesday.
"Security forces should now focus on terrorists' activities rather than the flood activities. Taliban are taking advantage of the flood situation and have restarted killing innocent citizens," Iftikhar said, adding that any further delay in the operation against the Taliban could put the whole country at risk.
He said that Taliban-affiliated groups had once again strengthened their presence in Darra Adamkhel, Khyber, Mohmand and suburbs of Beautiful Downtown Peshawar. Referring to the kidnapping of Islamia College University Vice Chancellor Dr Ajmal Khan, the minister said that the government had ordered police to launch a crackdown against kidnappers, who, he said, had close links with terrorists.
The minister also said that the federal government had accepted the province's suggestions about distribution of relief funds among the provinces.
"The Centre has agreed with the KP government's request that rehabilitation and reconstruction work in the flood-affected areas should be carried out mostly by the provinces. The Centre will now provide funds to the provinces on need basis," he said. He said that the federal government had also agreed to increase the cash grant for the flood-affected people from Rs 5,000 to Rs 20,000 on the KP government's suggestion.
He said that the KP government would take all steps to complete the rehabilitation and reconstruction projects in the flood-hit areas at the earliest.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/08/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
[Pak Daily Times] The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) on Tuesday threatened more suicide kabooms on security forces and government offices, challenging authorities already overwhelmed by the devastating floods in the country. "Americans are carrying out dronezaps with the permission of Pakistain and we will take Dire Revenge™ with suicide kabooms on security forces, police and government offices," TTP front man Azim Tariq told Rooters by telephone, from Qazi's guesthouse an undisclosed location. "Drone attacks have killed dozens of innocent women and children but America has never expressed its regret, " Tariq said. The TTP has grabbed credit for the latest bombing, which killed 19 people in Lakki Marwat.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/08/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under: TTP
#1
I don't know why I comment on this thing. I've read some articles where either some thing is lost in translation or it's a comedy piece, and I can't decide which. This last part irked me a bit though: Drone attacks have killed dozens of innocent women and children but America has never expressed its regret,
A. Yes America has.
B. HOW MANY FREAKING WOMEN, CHILDREN, AND MEN HAVE THEY KILLED AND BEEN HAPPY ABOUT, TAKE PRIDE IN, AND CLAIM CREDIT FOR? In the US alone, there are about 3000 dead innocents in a single terrorist act. They take pride in it.
[Pak Daily Times] The US-led coalition's strategy in Afghanistan is too ambitious and instead it should counter the threat of bad turban attacks along the Afghan-Pakistain border, a British think tank said on Tuesday.
The call by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) came as the public and governments in NATO countries tire of the nine-year-old war.
"For Western states to be pinned down militarily and psychologically in Afghanistan will not be in the service of their wider political and security interests," IISS Director General John Chipman told a news conference.
The coalition's original goal of defeating al Qaeda in Afghanistan and preventing its return had ballooned into a comprehensive strategy to develop and modernise Afghanistan, Chipman said at the launch of 'Strategic Survey 2010', the institute's annual review of world affairs.
"Defeat of the Taliban was seen as virtually synonymous with the defeat of al Qaeda, even though much of its organised capacities had been displaced to Pakistain," he said.
Finding a constitutional settlement that recognised Afghan realities would need an enormous political effort that included not just all the local players but all regional states, he said.
"That in time might be necessary. In the interim... it is necessary and advisable for outside powers to move to a containment and deterrence policy to deal with the international terrorist threat from the Afghan-Pakistain border regions," he said.
Ambitious: Chipman called US President Barack B.O. Obama's counter-insurgency strategy "too ambitious" and said the coalition should draw up a containment strategy now to implement as combat forces withdrew.
Such a strategy would have political, diplomatic, economic and military elements. "It would require political deals in Afghanistan and among key regional powers including India, Pakistain, Iran and the central Asian states," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/08/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban
BAGHDAD Hundreds of Iraqi artifacts looted from museums and archaeological sites across the country including a 4,400-year-old statue of an ancient king stolen during the US-led invasion have been returned to Iraq and were displayed Tuesday.
Iraq is home to relics of the worlds most ancient urban civilizations. Its priceless heritage was plundered during the countrys wars and upheavals, and its precious antiquities sold to collectors abroad.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/08/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
The Who, What, When, Why, and Where seem to be missing from the original article. I expected more from the Khaleej Times.
Posted by: Bobby ||
09/08/2010 5:50 Comments ||
Top||
#2
The Who, What, When, Why, and Where seem to be missing from the original article. I expected more from the Khaleej Times.
Because the Who, What, When, Why, and Where would probably point their finger at Iraqis blowing the image that it was the US troops. It would be bad for propaganda.
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdulmahdi said on Tuesday that his nomination for the premiership came in response to the will of the Nation al Alliance to speed up the formation of the new government not as a result of any Arab or regional pressures.
Abdulmahdi told Aswat al-Iraq news agency correspondent during a press conference that he will work with other political blocs to form a government of national unity. He thanked the members of the National Alliance for their trust, including those who opposed or rejected his nomination.
He underlined that he will be in the parliaments building every day until forming the new government and ending the current crisis.
Iraq has been in a political vacuum since the March 7 election which Allawis Iraqiya won by two seats over State of Law, although neither party won the majority needed to govern. Allawi and Malikis blocs have held tentative negotiations, but at the same time have also both been reaching out to other potential partners.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/08/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
I wonder how the peace talks will work out?
A member of the Palestinian negotiation team, Nabil Sha'ath, said in Ramallah, "The Palestinian Authority will never recognize Israel as the Jewish state because such a declaration will negate the right of the Palestinian refugees to return to their homes."
Sha'ath said that the Palestinian negotiating team rejected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's offer to discus this matter at the next meeting between the sides at Sharm a-Sheikh. He noted, "The PA does is not opposed to the fact that there will be a Jewish majority in Israel." Right up until they have the opportunity to change that fact?
[Pak Daily Times] Foreign countries should not interfere in Iran's legal system and stop trying to turn the case of a woman sentenced to be stoned to death for adultery into a human rights issue, Iranian government spokesperson said on Tuesday.
The case of the 43-year-old mother of two, condemned to death for illicit sex and charged with involvement in her husband's murder, provoked an international outcry, with Brazil offering her asylum and the Vatican speaking out against the punishment.
The spokesperson said that the furore was based on false information about Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani's case. "Unfortunately, (they are) defending a person who is being tried for murder and adultery, which are two major crimes of this lady and should not become a human rights issue," Foreign Ministry Ramin Mehmanparast told a news conference.
"If releasing all those who have committed murder is to be perceived as a human rights issue, then all European countries should release all the murderers in their countries." The stoning case has further strained relations between Iran and the West which accuses the Islamic Republic of seeking nuclear weapons.
In France, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said on Tuesday he was appalled to hear about the sentence. "This is barbaric beyond words. We condemn such acts, which have no justification under any moral or religious code," he told the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/08/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
It is clear that Muslim countries are very sensitive to having their barbaric practices called barbaric. Therefore, they should be frequently and roundly criticized specifically for their primitivism, to let their citizens know that the rest of the world see them not as an enlightened people, offering the "civility" and "advancement" of Islam, but a crude and brutal throwback to ignorance and pagan like behavior, reveling in superstition and bloodshed.
#2
They wanted to be up there with the big boys of the world stage, so they should get use to being the center of attention just like the rest. You just moved from third rank crank to front stage target of criticism. Welcome into the line of fire. And this is just the beginning.
#3
Does most of Europe have the death penalty any more? Autria took down a statue of Arnold Schwarzenegger because he allowed some one to be executed in CA. Of course, then there is the cruel and unusual punishment thing, then the the secular law versus religious law, and finally does any one really belive the BS charges Iran created? If she did kill the SOB's then it was probably in self defense.
[Iran Press] Russia has urged Iran to maintain cooperation with the ineffective International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a day after Tehran rejected the agency's claim that it had restricted UN inspectors.
"The IAEA must continue its work ... Iran must fulfill the requirement of the IAEA," RIA Novosti quoted Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov as saying on Tuesday.
On Monday, IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano handed his latest report on the implementation of the Safeguards Agreement in Iran to the agency's Board of Governors.
According to the supposedly confidential report that was made immediately available to the press, the agency confirms that it "continues to verify the non-diversion of declared nuclear material in Iran," calling on Tehran to provide "necessary cooperation."
Iranian officials have criticized the report for mixing technical issues with politics, stressing that Tehran has fully complied with IAEA regulations.
Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Ali Akbar Salehi said Iran, like all IAEA members states, has the right to vet IAEA inspectors and bar those it believes are prejudiced.
Regarding the IAEA claim that Iran has denied inspectors access to its heavy water plant, Salehi argued such an inspection did not fall within the framework of the Safeguards Agreement between Iran and the agency.
Remarks of the Russian foreign minister were made following a meeting with his French counterpart Bernard Kouchner in Paris, two weeks after Russia delivered its first supply of nuclear fuel for the launch of Iran's first nuclear power plant in the southern city of Bushehr.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/08/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
[Iran Press] Iranian Foreign Ministry front man Ramin Mehmanparast says Tehran has a legitimate right to demand changes to the list of UN inspectors monitoring its nuclear program.
"One issue that some officials within the [International Atomic Energy] Agency may raise is over the designation of inspectors, which...we have the right to decide to replace or change inspectors based on their records," IRNA quoted Mehmanparast as saying on Tuesday.
The remarks come one day after the agency claimed in its latest report that Tehran's "repeated objections" to the designation of experienced inspectors could hamper the process of monitoring Iran's nuclear facilities.
Speaking at his weekly press briefing, Mehmanparast said Iran is ready to resume nuclear fuel swap negotiations with the Vienna group --the US, France, Russia, and the IAEA -- based on the Tehran declaration.
On May 17, Iran, Brazil, and Turkey signed a nuclear fuel swap declaration, under which Tehran expressed readiness to exchange 1,200 kg of its low-enriched uranium on Turkish soil for fuel for a medical research reactor.
Iranian officials say the latest report has reaffirmed the non-diversion of Iran's nuclear program and shows that the country's compliance with IAEA regulations.
Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Ali Akbar Salehi also stressed that Iran, like other IAEA members states, has the right to vet and bar IAEA inspectors.
Tehran rejects Western allegations that it is following a military nuclear program, arguing that as a member of the IAEA and a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty it has the right to use peaceful nuclear technology.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/08/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
Yas. We only accept inspectors who take 7 million dollar bribes like the head of the UN IAEA.
[An Nahar] Hizbullah sources denied that party members removed long-range rockets from a suspected arms depot in Shehabiyeh and transferred them to other locations after several blasts and a fire in the three-storey building last week.
The Israeli army said Sunday that it dispatched an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to film the scene following Friday's kabooms and defense officials said the home was previously known to Israel as a significant arms cache used by Hizbullah fighters.
Hizbullah "does not comment on Israeli lies," the sources told pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat in remarks published Tuesday.
The Israeli army said that some of the weaponry, which included 107 and 122 mm rockets, were taken to nearby homes and others to a mosque in Nabatiyeh.
Israel has warned that it will send the footage to the United Nations, aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society as evidence to a complaint it filed against Leb last week.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/08/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[7 views]
Top|| File under: Hezbollah
An evangelical pastor insisted his plans to torch the holy Koran would go ahead after US secretary of state Hillary Clinton condemned the "disgraceful" burning ceremony in Florida.
The leader of the little known church found himself in the eye of a rapidly swirling storm today with several Muslim and world leaders deploring his plans as fanning flames of intolerance, as well as Muslim hatred of the United States.
Clinton was the most senior US official to speak out against the burning scheduled for the anniversary of the September 11 attacks, saying she was "heartened by the clear, unequivocal condemnation of this disrespectful, disgraceful act that has come from American religious leaders of all faiths."
The White House added its voice to warnings that the move could trigger outrage around the Islamic world and endanger the lives of US soldiers.
"It puts our troops in harm's way. And obviously any type of activity like that puts our troops in harm's way would be a concern to this administration," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said yesterday.
He was reiterating comments by top US and NATO commander in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus, who warned burning the holy book of Islam would provide propaganda for insurgents.
"It could endanger troops and it could endanger the overall effort in Afghanistan," said Petraeus of the plan, adding that it could cause significant problems "everywhere in the world we are engaged with the Islamic community."
#1
She's a stupid hack! So did she say anything about the flag burnings in Afghanistan, remember Afghanistan? The country we are having soldiers killed in every day defending them from the Talabon! Did you say someting about that? No you asked the media to not report on the koran/toilette paper burning! You have now tried to influence the free speech of the press. Hillary is an amature and she is a danger to our nation.
Posted by: 49 pan ||
09/08/2010 20:03 Comments ||
Top||
#2
They have the right to do it its just flat out bad taste. Is there any group more easily ticked off than Muslims?
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.
[Pak Daily Times] Foreign countries should not interfere in Iran's legal system and stop trying to turn the case of a woman sentenced to be stoned to death for adultery into a human rights issue, Iranian government spokesperson said on Tuesday.
[An Nahar] Hizbullah sources denied that party members removed long-range rockets from a suspected arms depot in Shehabiyeh and transferred them to other locations after several blasts and a fire in the three-storey building last week.
