[KhaamaPress] On Tuesday, the Ministry of Education of the Afghan Interim government reopened schools except for girls beyond the sixth grade on 21 March 2021 (the first day of the new solar year 1402).
Ehsanullah Khattab, a front man for the Ministry of Education of the de facto government, said on Tuesday that the new academic year for Boys’ schools and girls’ first to sixth grades started on Tuesday.
While speaking to Khaama Press, he confirmed that the schools have reopened without attending girls beyond sixth grade.
On Monday, Richard Bennett, the UN special representative for Afghanistan and a group of experts expressed concerns, saying that "the ongoing unlawful denial for girls’ right to education in Afghanistan is impacting an entire generation and the country’s future," a statement said.
The statement added that the Taliban ...mindless ferocity in a turban... authorities "has no justification for denying the right to education, on any ground, including religion or tradition."
The UN urged the de facto government to immediately reopen schools beyond sixth grade and universities for young women in the country.
Despite repeated demands by the people of Afghanistan and the international community on girls’ education and women’s work, the current administration has not changed or reversed its policies about women and girls’ fundamental rights.
[ANInews] Taliban have banned the celebration of the Afghan festive Nowruz
...the Persian New Year, also celebrated by Shiites...
in the central Daikundi province, warning residents if they are caught celebrating the occasion, they will be treated accordingly, Khaama Press reported.
Taliban's Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice in an announcement said the group's regulators have told people "Islam prohibits the celebration of Nowruz".
According to this announcement, Taliban observers have met with the worshipers of at least 35 mosques in Daikundi, and have asked them to resist the "Western ideas, Khawarij and rituals that are not in line with Islam", Khaama Press reported.
In this declaration, Nowruz is attributed to the "era of ignorance" and people are warned that the occasion is promoted by "foreigners" among Muslims.
The ministry of vice and virtue of the Taliban has warned ordinary people to refrain from celebrating "alien and un-Islamic customs, and days that are not "holy in Islam", Khaama Press reported.
The popular festival was banned during the Taliban's previous rule between 1996 and 2001. However, last year the group said they will not celebrate the Nowruz, but have no problem with those celebrating it.
Nowruz has been celebrated for more than 3,000 years, observed by adherents of both the main branches of Islam, Sunnis and Shias in Afghanistan, Iran, Central Asia, and parts of the Middle East - and usually marked by a public holiday.
Banning the Nowruz celebration, which marks the arrival of spring in Daikundi, indicates the ruling regime's opposition to the popular festive, which prompted widespread criticisms in the past as well.
Nowruz celebration is one of the ancient rituals of the people of Afghanistan, being celebrated in different ways, similar to other countries' so-called "Nowruz region".
The United Nations officially recognized the "International Day of Nowruz" with the adoption of Resolution 64/253 by the United Nations General Assembly in February 2010.
[ToloNews] Kabul residents celebrated the start of the new solar year 1402 on Tuesday with a traditional flag-raising ceremony in the Shuhada-e-Saliheen area of the capital.
At the ceremony, they urged the Islamic Emirate to provide equal rights to men and women and to offer work opportunities to residents in the new year.
"The flag-raising ceremony is being held every year as usual in Mazar-e-Sharif of Balk province and in Kart-e-Sakhi of Kabul," said Ahmad Fahim, a resident of Kabul.
"We hope to have a year full of peace, serenity, intimacy and a good new year," said Abdul Manan, another resident of Kabul.
Some in Kabul celebrated the first day of the new year by going to entertainment venues, visiting friends, and praying for a year full of happiness and progress.
"We hope that this year will be a happy year and that the economic situation of the people will improve and that schools will be opened for girls," Aryan, a resident of Kabul told TOLOnews.
Only men and boys were present in the parks and entertainment areas, according to Fahim, a father who celebrated Nowruz by bringing his three children to one of Kabul's amusement parks.
"There is a big difference, in the past years, there weren’t such bans. The only good thing about this year is that the security is ensured," Fahim, a resident of Kabul told TOLOnews.
The Islamic Emirate cancelled the Nowruz holiday and forbade the celebration of the first day of the solar year.
Despite restrictions, residents in the capital and the provinces celebrated Nowruz last year with more enthusiasm.
[ToloNews] The Islamic Emirate has conducted 70 military operations in the past year with the aim of suppressing the Khorasan branch of ISIS group in Afghanistan, officials reported. According to government-provided numbers, more than a hundred ISIS fighters have been killed in these operations.
The operations of the Islamic Emirate forces intensified against ISIS hideouts in Kabul, Herat ...a venerable old Persian-speaking city in western Afghanistan, populated mostly by Tadjiks, which is why it's not as blood-soaked as areas controlled by Pashtuns... , Balkh and other provinces. Ijaz Amin Ahangar, the head of ISIS in the Indian subcontinent, and Qari Fatih, the head of the security department of this group, were reportedly killed as a result of these operations.
Continued on Page 49
[KhaamaPress] Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHR) in an announcement has called for immediate attention to the situation of former Afghan military personnel, adding some governments in the region deploy these soldiers in regional wars.
The Human Rights Commission in a fresh announcement on Sunday said unlawful detainment, tortures, and extra-judicial killings of the former government’s army personnel have increased in Afghanistan.
As per the announcement, some of these military officials who have moved to the neighboring countries earlier including Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites.... and Pakistain, with their visas expired, are now forced to live illegally in those countries.
Based on existing evidence, AIHR emphasizes that "some countries in the region use former Afghan soldiers as a combat force in regional wars"
AIHR points out at dire situation of the former military officials and their family members, most of whom are poor and helpless, have fallen into the trap of criminal groups and suffer terrible stories — and an uncertain future awaits them.
As per the findings of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, the Islamic Emirate officials are accused of mistreating former Afghan military personnel, in some cases, the extreme tortures have ended in deaths.
The AIHRC calls on all those governments who fought in Afghanistan to fight terrorism and recently irresponsibly left their allies alone to be accountable for their decisions and the painful fate of their Afghan allies.
Since the return of the Taliban ...Arabic for students... to power, the human rights One man's rights are another man's existential threat. situation in the country has been dire. Under a heavy atmosphere of surveillance and censorship, systematic violations of human rights across the country have been reported by authoritative human rights bodies and civil society actors.
The general amnesty announced by the Taliban was never held, and hundreds of former military personnel have been subject to torture, unlawful detainment, and extra-judicial killings throughout Afghanistan.
[AlAhram] Nigeria's ruling party won the majority of governorships contested in last weekend's elections, results showed Tuesday, following a ballot marred by voter suppression and violent mostly peaceful intimidation the US government called deeply troubling.
Elections were held to choose governors in 28 of Nigeria's 36 states and state assembly politicians. Governors in the remaining eight states had earlier been chosen in by-elections due to court rulings.
The local elections came three weeks after the candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, won a presidential ballot marked by delays and technical problems that rivals said was massively rigged.
According to the results from Saturday's vote declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), APC won the governorship in 15 states -- Lagos, Sokoto, Katsina, Jigawa, Gombe, Kwara, Niger, Yobe, Nasarawa, Cross River, Ebonyi, Ogun, Benue, Kaduna and Borno.
The main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won seven -- Plateau, Bauchi, Oyo, Delta, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Zamfara states.
The New Nigeria People's Party (NNPP) emerged victorious in Kano, northern Nigeria's largest state.
More results were expected on Tuesday.
Governors are powerful figures in Nigeria and some control state budgets that are larger than those of several African nations.
The two main opposition presidential candidates -- PDP's Atiku Abubakar, who came second, and Peter Obi of Labour Party who was third -- are challenging Tinubu's victory in court.
The Labour Party said it had filed its official legal petition.
"The process of reclaiming the people's mandate has started," Labour front man Yunusa Tanko said in a statement on Tuesday.
In a major upset in the presidential election, outsider Obi won the most votes in Lagos, considered the fiefdom of president-elect Tinubu.
The big question on Saturday was whether Obi's popularity, especially among younger voters, would translate into success at the local polls.
But the APC's Babajide Sanwo-Olu scored a landslide re-election as Lagos governor.
In the key northeastern region of Adamawa -- which could see the election of Nigeria's first woman governor -- the results were declared "inconclusive" as the number of voters unable to cast their ballot was greater than the margin between the two frontrunners.
INEC will set a new date for elections in areas of Adamawa where people had been unable to vote, and afterwards then declare the state-wide result.
President Muhammadu Buhari of the APC steps down in May after two terms, leaving Africa's most populous country grappling with growing insecurity, economic woes and widening poverty.
'DISTURBING' VIOLENCE
Nigerians had hoped the presidential ballot would give them a chance to be heard, but many were disappointed by the way the election to replace Buhari was conducted. Turnout for Saturday's local polls was low.
Voters and opposition parties complained last month that technical mishaps with voting machines caused delays and allowed for vote rigging, which the electoral commission has denied.
Local and international observers said the latest poll was impacted by disappointments in the presidential election but also by tactics to scare voters, buy ballots and threats of violence.
"The United States is deeply troubled by the disturbing acts of violent mostly peaceful voter intimidation and suppression that took place during the March 18 polls in Lagos, Kano, and other states," the US embassy said in a statement on Tuesday.
EU mission Chief Observer Barry Andrews on Monday said Nigerians' expectations for Saturday's election were not met in many parts of the country.
"Many were disappointed and we witnessed voter apathy that is a clear consequence of failures by political elites and, unfortunately, also by INEC," he said.
His mission also said polling was disrupted by "thuggery and intimidation of voters, polling officials, observers, and journalists."
"Unfortunately, there were many casualties and fatalities," it said. "Vote-buying, also directly observed by EU (election) observers, further detracted from an appropriate conduct of the elections."
[Bulawayo24] THE group of 22 Afghan nationals, who worked closely with United States military and security agencies after the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attack on America, were recently holed up in Zambia after they moved out of Zim-bob-we following a failed bid to enter South Africa.
The Afghans, who worked with the US security forces as interpreters, informers and spies, had arrived in Harare last year en route South Africa before they were blocked at Beitbridge border post on 16 February 2023.
Investigations by The NewsHawks show the Afghans are seeking asylum in Johannesburg where safe havens for them have been organised by their American handlers.
Continued on Page 49
[HODHODYEMENNEWS.NET] Member of the political bureau of Ansarulah, Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, warned the UAE of a coming strike if it did not leave the islands and ports of Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of... "The UAE’s rule over a number of Yemeni islands and ports will not last long," al-Bukhaiti said on Twitter on Tuesday.
He pointed out that the UAE has incurred losses for the past eight years. This is not compared to the expected losses from the next strike if it does not leave safely.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/22/2023 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[8 views]
Top|| File under: Houthis
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[KavkazUzel] The Court of Appeals returned the case of Daud Mamilov, a native of Ingushetia, who was found guilty of involvement in the activities of the Islamic State and sentenced to eight years, to the court of first instance to eliminate violations, since the defendants were not familiarized with the protocol of the court session, lawyer Lyudmila Tolstonogova said. After the arrest of Daud Mamilov, his family faced difficulties. Friends still refuse to believe in his guilt, said his wife Aza Mamilova.
As the "Caucasian Knot" reported, in August 2020, the Court of Appeal in Moscow agreed with the arguments of the lawyers of Daud Mamilov, a native of Ingushetia, recognizing the inaction of the investigation in his case. After that, the case of Mamilov, accused of involvement in the terrorist organization "Islamic State," was transferred to a new investigator. In September 2020, Mamilov announced that he was forced to confess. On July 19, 2022, Mamilov was found guilty of involvement in the activities of ISIS* and sentenced to eight years in a penal colony. Lawyer Lyudmila Tolstonogova filed an appeal .
Daud Mamilov was detained on April 29, 2019. According to the investigators, five people, among whom was Daud Mamilov, who lives in Dmitrov, created a clandestine cell of the Islamic State terrorist organization banned in Russia by a court. In June 2020, more than 70 residents of Ingushetia, including deputies of the People's Assembly, vouched for Daud Mamilov to no avail.
The detainee's father, Zakriy Mamilov, a deputy of the People's Assembly of Ingushetia, who opposed the agreement on the border between Ingushetia and Chechnya, linked the criminal prosecution of his son with his own political activities.
THE LAWYER POINTED OUT VIOLATIONS IN THE TRIAL
The military appeals court withdrew from the appeal the criminal case, one of the participants of which is Daud Mamilov, a native of Ingushetia, and sent the case to the court of first instance in connection with a significant violation of the rights of the accused, lawyer Lyudmila Tolstonogova said.
"At the session of the Court of Appeals, it turned out that several people from among the defendants were deprived of the right to familiarize themselves with the protocol of the court session and make comments on it, they were also deprived of the right to receive a copy of the protocol of the court session. through the administration of the pre-trial detention center, the outgoing numbers were registered by the SIZO.
However, it turned out that no petitions were received by the court. Under such circumstances, the court of first instance grossly violated the provisions of part 7, part 8 of article 259 and article 260 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation (Remarks on the protocol and audio recording of the court session ).
What prevents the consideration of the case by the Court of Appeals and entails the removal of the case from consideration and return to the court of first instance to eliminate violations and fulfill the above requirements. After that, the case will again be sent for appeal consideration," Tolstonogova explained to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.
According to her, it will take at least four to six months to familiarize the convicts with the protocol of the court session and the audio recording, consider the comments on the protocol by the court of first instance and return the case for appeal.
The lawyer also noted that this is not the first time that the court of first instance has committed violations, and that the defense has had to send complaints to the court of appeal more than once.
So, according to her, in April 2020 she filed a complaint with the Babushkinsky District Court of Moscow about the inaction of the investigator in the investigation of the Mamilov case, but the court refused to satisfy the complaint.
"Then we filed a complaint with the Court of Appeal for Criminal Cases of the Moscow City Court with a request to cancel the decision of the court of first instance. The Court of Appeal in Moscow agreed with the arguments of the lawyer, the decision of the Babushkinsky Court was. After that, Mamilov’s case was transferred to a new investigator," said the lawyer.
She stressed that she doubted that the court of first instance had objectively and impartially sentenced Mamilov. And that there is every reason for it.
The lawyer quoted an extract from the minutes of the court session: "At 20.10 on May 18, 2022, the judicial collegium retires to the deliberation room to pronounce the verdict, which the presiding judge announces to those present in the courtroom. not earlier than 15.00 on May 19, 2022. On May 19, 2022, at 16.10, the court returns to the courtroom. The introductory and operative parts of the verdict have been announced," the lawyer said.
Tolstonogova pointed out that there was a violation of Part 4 of Article 310 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation "Pronouncement of the Sentence", since the court did not explain to the participants in the process the procedure for familiarizing themselves with the full text of the verdict.
"And the full text of the verdict was delivered only on May 26-27, 2022 and amounts to 56 sheets. That is, the court, from October 20, May 18, 2022 to October 16, 2022, for 20 hours (of which part is at night) analyzed the arguments of the prosecutor, eight lawyers and eight defendants, which indicates either the ability of the judicial panel to work at the speed of an average computer, or the deprivation of the defendants of the right to a fair trial without taking into account the arguments of the defense and any assessment of the evidence," the lawyer explained.
She also drew attention to the fact that the minutes of the court session were made no earlier than July 7, 2022. On this day, it was handed over to the defense, that is, after a month and a half from the moment the verdict was announced.
"The protocol does not reliably reflect the course of the trial. Including, it partially distorts the testimony of key witnesses to the degree “on the contrary.” The defense raises the question of how the court delivered the verdict without having a protocol of the court session," Tolstonogova said.
"Even judges with a phenomenal memory forget what they heard after a few months, and by the time the verdict is passed, many important details of the testimony of witnesses, defendants, defense arguments, examined materials, and expert opinions are forgotten. Listen to the audio protocol of the court session for 20 hours, including night time, consisting of a recording of 23 days of the process - it is unrealistic, it is beyond the limits of human capabilities," the lawyer is sure.
All these arguments are the basis for believing that Mamilov was sentenced unfairly," she explained.
MAMILOV'S FAMILY FACED DIFFICULTIES AFTER HIS ARREST
After the detention of Daud Mamilov, his father, a deputy of the People's Assembly of Ingushetia, Zakriy Mamilov, died. After that, the family became even more difficult, said the wife of Daud Mamilov Aza Mamilov . “The first time Daud was detained, it really unsettled me, I had no idea how to live on when you have six children. If it weren’t for my father-in-law, Zakri Mamilov, I would have been in prostration for a long time. I don’t think he was easy, but he held on, convinced me that everything would be fine, and Daoud would be home soon. He believed that a mistake had occurred and everything would be fine soon. And he convinced us of this. Unfortunately, our hopes were not justified," Aza Mamilova told the correspondent "Caucasian Knot."
According to her, the father-in-law had a hard time, he took all the care of his son's family.
"When the father-in-law died unexpectedly for all of us, I knew that it would be a big blow for Daud. Because he understood that all worries, all problems, both financial and domestic, would now fall on the shoulders of two women," explained Mamilov’s wife .
According to her, very often, when she came to the organization for some information, then having learned that she was the daughter-in-law of Zakriy, her problems were solved quickly.
"The father-in-law died, and his good name helps us survive. I am writing to Daud about this so that he knows what a kind and fair person his father was,” Aza Mamilova shared.
She added that her husband often writes letters in which he addresses the eldest son as the head of the family, writes that "the son is now the main one, he has a great responsibility for the younger children. He should be the mother's first assistant," she quoted the letter. wife of Aza Mamilov.
According to her, 18-year-old son Emin tries to help her, during the holidays he worked part-time.
"We live on our mother-in-law’s pension and on child allowances. There are a lot of expenses. Every day I give Emin 200 rubles - 150 rubles for travel to college and 50 rubles for tea and a sandwich. and the prices there are very high. Relatives help, but now it’s such a time that life is not easy for everyone, so you have to rely more on your own strength," said Aza Mamilova.
After moving from Dmitrov, her children had a hard time adjusting to Ingushetia, she added.
"We realized that there was no hope for Daud's speedy release, and we decided to move to Ingushetia. I came to the school for documents, and the school director burst into tears, told me that no one believed that Daud was an extremist. Just before leaving, I met a woman, her son studied in a different class, but the boys were friends with each other. She came up to me and with tears in her eyes said that she was very sorry that this happened, that we had to leave, her son said that he was a better friend than Emin, it doesn't exist and probably won't exist," Dauda Mamilov's wife said.
Some residents were witnesses in court, many wrote statements in defense of Daoud, which were included in the criminal case, she added.
"Now we are often called from Dmitrov, they ask when we will return. I can’t say anything in response, now is such a time that it’s difficult to think ahead," said Aza Mamilova.
A resident of the city of Dmitrov Nikolai, one of those who signed a statement in defense of Daud, stressed that due to long-term communication with Daud, with his parents and other relatives from Ingushetia who came to Dmitrov, his attitude towards the inhabitants of the Caucasus has changed.
"After all sorts of conflicts, plus military operations on the territory of the North Caucasus, many developed a certain stereotype of a Caucasian, a daring person, unpredictable in actions. The Mamilovs changed my opinion about Caucasians. Both Daud and his father Zakriy did not try to seem "good". They just lived the way they live everywhere: here, in Dmitrov, in Ingushetia or in Astrakhan, where Daud worked at one time.At any time, in any society, they remained themselves: intelligent, respectful, kind and sympathetic.Daud and I had many ideas how to make our village more attractive. He is a great builder, we would have succeeded if not for this someone's monstrous mistake. Whatever it is, but I am firmly convinced of the innocence of my comrade Daud Mamilov," Nikolai assured the correspondent "Caucasian Knot".
[NPASyria] In a bizarre turn of events, a German court has found that Dr. Ibrahim Nahel Othman, a famed physician working for the Syrian opposition who was reported killed in 2011, is alive and being held for his connections to ISIS in a prison in northeast Syria.
The fact was exposed during the court case of Nadine K,
...mother of one, house-mother for future ISIS wives — or perhaps brothel keeper is a more realistic description — manager of an ISIS weapons stash, and mistress of her husband’s concubine. The ideal ISIS wife, in fact, except that she only spit out one child for the Caliphate and, since it isn’t named, probably a girl child at that...
a German woman who had travelled to Syria in order to join ISIS. She is being tried by a high court in Koblenz over her part in the kidnapping and rape of Yazidi women by her husband, one Ibrahim O. The German state news agency SWR says that security and legal experts have confirmed that he is the ’slain’ opposition doctor.
Dr. Ibrahim Nahel Othman, in his mid-twenties in 2011, gained recognition for his impassioned work as a physician for the Syrian opposition. He was a co-founder of the Physicians Coordination Committee in Damascus, an opposition-linked body. He was informally known as the ’Doctor of the Revolution’.
On Dec. 10, 2011, the Syrian Local Coordination Committees announced Othman had been killed by Syrian intelligence as he tried to escape to The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor... . A video reporting to show his body circulated on social media.
According to new information, Othman was not only very alive, but was living in Europa ...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum... in the years following his ’death’. He first arrived La Belle France, then moving to the Germany state of North Rhein Westphalia. In July 2015, he informed the local administration that he would be moving to Sweden. In reality, Othman and Nadine K travelled to ISIS-held djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... He was reportedly arrested in late March 2019 by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and was being held in a prison near Hasakah until recently.
To what extent Othman harboured sympathies for ISIS before travelling to Mosul is unknown. His family says they are ’far removed’ from that ideology. However, if you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible warning... Mosul had been in the hands of the bully boy group well over a year by the time the pair arrived in the city.
Similarly, it is unknown to what extent European security services were aware that Othman was alive and living on the continent, and that he had then traveled to the caliphate.
In which unnamed people who claim to be former CIA say mean things about the integrity of the George W. Bush administration.
[ShafaqNews] Two former CIA officials have come forward with firsthand accounts of the George W. Bush administration's attempts to misrepresent intelligence in order to justify the US invasion of Iraq. The officials, referred to by pseudonyms due to the sensitivity of their positions, spoke to Insider ahead of the 20th anniversary of the invasion.
According to the officials, the administration attempted to assert a connection between Saddam Hussein's regime and al-Qaeda, despite evidence assembled by the CIA suggesting that no such connection existed. One example of this false connection was the supposed meeting between Mohammed Atta, the chief 9/11 hijacker, and Iraqi intelligence agents in Prague. Then-Vice President Dick Cheney falsely claimed on "Meet the Press" in December 2001 that the meeting was "pretty well confirmed."
The officials, with a combined service at CIA totaling more than four decades, explained that their role was to keep such "ridiculous notions under control." However, you can observe a lot just by watching... they faced pressure from the White House to provide a justification for the invasion, despite there being no intelligence that would change their opinion. The Bush administration was "very explicit" about its obsession with Iraq almost immediately upon taking power, said one official.
Although Saddam Hussein knew about al-Qaeda's presence in Iraq, there was no working relationship between the two entities, according to the officials. Instead, it was about surveillance. The officials added that the US decision to invade Iraq had already been made, and the administration was looking for "selling points" to justify the war publicly.
The officials also revealed that British intelligence realized early on that the US was going to invade Iraq, regardless of what intelligence analysts wrote. The US was moving its forces to the Middle East in large numbers, and British intelligence essentially said, "It doesn't matter what we write."
The US invasion of Iraq, which began on March 20, 2003, has been estimated to have cost the lives of approximately 300,000 people.
Bush, Cheney, and other officials did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
#1
Fabrication? Indeed it was, at least in once instance.
You may remember Secretary of State Colin Powell's famous PPT trailer slides and UN briefing. Klingon puppeteer Geo Tennent with pale blue necktie sits to the rear of Powell.
Administration Claims:
Two mobile trailers were found in Mosul and Irbil five weeks after the Iraq War began. During the eight months afterwards, senior Bush administration officials claimed that the trailers were mobile biological weapons production labs and served as conclusive evidence of Iraq’s active weapons of mass destruction (WMD) program.
Facts:
Soon after the discovery of the two trailers, it was determined by top British, U.S. and U.N. bioweapons inspectors that the trucks housed hydrogen generation units used to fill weather balloons, rather than equipment for the production of lethal biological agents. The State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research and the CIA-appointed Iraq Survey Group also found no evidence to corroborate the claim of the existence of a mobile biological weapons program.
Overview:
By late May of 2003 – one month after the two trailers were found – both trucks were inspected and unequivocally determined by U.S. bioweapons experts to be unsuitable for biological weapons production. Notwithstanding, President Bush and senior members of his administration continued from May 2003 through January 2004 to state that the trailers were, in fact, mobile bioweapons labs.
Based on what U.S. officials knew 20 years ago, they were absolutely justified in taking military action to evict Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq. Twenty years later, the world remains, on rough balance, better off because they did.
Despite all the United States and its allies got wrong operationally in Iraq in the past two decades, it also did a lot of things right and for good reasons — and with some markedly good results.
#5
People forget we did find chemical weapons in Iraq. A lot of them. The kicker was they were all made during the 80s for the Iran-Iraq war and were in terrible shape.
#8
Coincidentally, the Mrs. and I visited the Bush museum in Dallas yesterday. I was impressed by Bush - the person - but skipped through the WOT section. Very inspiring was the Freedom Matters exhibit. Folks from all over, including Russia and Cuba, defined freedom. Bush thought it was a universal concept, and so it seemed.
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/22/2023 9:25 Comments ||
Top||
#9
Our family Marine told us that they found many sites with the precursors to lethal chem weapons, Darth. All they would have had to do is mix the 2 or 3 chemicals together. Sites always found with piles of Mop Suits, gloves and masks.
#12
This as opposed to the misrepreseting done by the CIA.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
03/22/2023 10:55 Comments ||
Top||
#13
family Marine told us that they found many sites with the precursors to lethal chem weapons
I came in just after the 101st got back from desert storm and they had story after story of finding shells, barrels and other chemical crap. Some had broken and were leaking and the chemical bonds had broken down and were just merely severely toxic instead of lethal. Others were in excellent condition and ready to be fired.
But all were from the 70-80s
#14
Thank you, B. Many remember that day. Back then, there was trust and confidence. Fast forward to today - it's all gone and not coming back until after this has all been sorted out. Unfortunately, none of us will be around to see it come to full fruition.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
03/22/2023 13:54 Comments ||
Top||
#15
/\ I sat 'ringside' as an uninvolved observer on the WMD Trailer inspection fiasco. There's a lot more to the sad story, recriminations and dismissals, etc. Many of the victims are still alive and probably would not appreciate a rehash.
The Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd (UPPCL) has terminated the services of an engineer for praising the slain Al Qaeda leader the late Osama bin Laden ...... who doesn't live anywhere anymore...... Ravindra Prakash Gautam, a Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO), had been suspended in June 2022 after he put a picture of Laden at his Kayamganj sub-division-II office in Farrukhabad district.
UPPCL Chairman M. Devraj issued Gautam's termination order after a probe committee found the latter guilty of "indulging in an anti-national act that tarnished the image of the department".
A video of Gautam's Kayamganj office with Osama's picture hanging in it, had gone viral last year. The caption of the picture called him "Respected Osama bin Laden, world's best engineer".
His colleagues told news hounds then that Gautam used to idolise the former al-Qaeda chief as he had an engineering degree.
Gautam also accepted that the video indeed was true.
Dakshinanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd (DVVN L) Managing Director, Amit Kishore, said Gautam was suspended immediately and a probe initiated against him.
The inquiry committee of DVVNL levelled several other charges against Gautam such as loss of revenue, doing direct correspondence with the MD, use of indecent behaviour with senior officers and laxity in departmental work, etc.
The inquiry committee also said that when Gautam was asked to answer all the allegations, he came out with baseless and unsatisfactory replies.
Meanwhile, ...back at the pond, Gloria again dodged the questing tip of the giant frog's tongue and ran for her life... Gautam told news hounds that if a section of people in the country can consider Godse as their idol, then why can't he consider Osama bin Laden as his idol.
#3
Not Union Pacific, SteveS. Uttar Pradesh — one of the states that make up India. No doubt it can be found on a map of the country if one looks, though where on that map I could not possibly say.
#5
One Christmas in Uttar Pradesh
An orphanage puts up a creche.
[appropriate gravity]
"Utter depravity!"
Kali appears in the flesh.
[pile of little arms]
Lovely promises that the government of Iraq cannot enforce in Kurdistan.
[Rudaw] Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani said that the country will not allow its land to be used for attacks on neighboring The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor... , during a joint presser with Ottoman Turkish President His Enormity, Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First ...Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him. It's a sin, a shame, and a felony to insult the president of Turkey. In Anatolia did Recep Bey a stately Presidential Palace decree, that has 1100 rooms. That's 968 more than there are in the White House, 400 more than in Versailles, and 325 more than Buckingham Palace, so you know who's really most important... in Ankara on Tuesday.
Sudani arrived in Turkey’s capital of Ankara on Tuesday, received by Erdogan at the presidential complex. The two leaders then held a meeting discussing Baghdad-Ankara bilateral relations in various fields, according to a statement from Sudani’s office.
"Iraq is committed to not allowing its land to be used as a launchpad for attacks against Turkey," said the Iraqi premier during the presser.
"The security of the region is interconnected and inseparable. Through intelligence cooperation and the exchange of information, we will definitely solve these security issues without the use of violence, in a way that preserves the security and illusory sovereignty of Iraq which we wish to achieve, and in a way that does affect our relationship and serious aspirations with Turkey," he added.
Turkey-Iraq relations were severely harmed in July when nine Iraqi tourists were killed in a bombardment in Duhok province, blamed on the Ottoman Turkish army. Ankara denied any involvement in the incident but Baghdad took the issue to the UN Security Council and called on the neighbouring country to withdraw troops from Iraq.
Erdogan said that Sudani’s visit is a testament to the friendly relations between Iraq and Turkey, thanking Baghdad for its support following the devastating earthquake which killed nearly 50,000 people in Turkey in February.
A disastrous 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck the city of Kahramanmaras in southern Turkey in February with its impact also ripping through neighboring Syria. More than 7,000 people bit the dust due to the quake in Syria.
The natural disaster galvanized countries from around the world, including Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, to come to the aid of the mourning countries, providing rescue teams, monetary support, as well as relief and medical supplies.
The Ottoman Turkish president agreed to double the water releases from the Tigris River for a period of one month, saying the decision was made "in order to relieve Iraq's distress."
Water levels in the Euphrates and Tigris rivers — shared by Iraq, Syria, and Turkey — have dropped considerably in recent years. In the latest stark warning of the threats a heating climate poses to the country, a report by Iraq’s Ministry of Water Resources towards the end of last year predicted that unless urgent action is taken to combat declining water levels, Iraq’s two main rivers will be entirely dry by 2040.
Sudani and Erdogan also emphasized their determination to work on a new railroad project, stretching from Basra to Turkey. The Ottoman Turkish president stated that he believes the project could be turned into a new "Silk Road" for the region.
Turkey has dozens of military bases in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq, and Ankara carries out frequent aerial and ground attacks in the country on the grounds of fighting the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) - an gang struggling for the increased rights of Kurds in Turkey.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
03/22/2023 00:01 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under: Sublime Porte
[IsraelTimes] Ambassador Mike Herzog holds unscheduled meeting with deputy secretary of state who conveys concern over legislation green-lighting resettlement in northern West Bank
The Biden administration, the same old faces in slightly different places, the same old ideas, the same old graft ...the collection of boodlers, grifters, hangers-on, and self-proclaimed experts affiliated with the Biden Crime Family. Entrusted with an entire nation as the result of a suspicious election, they set about happily implementing stuff they absorbed in college, all of which blew up and splattered the rest of us... summoned Israel’s ambassador to the US to the State Department for an unscheduled meeting on Tuesday in a rare move by the Biden administration aimed at escalating its protest against the Knesset’s passage of a law that will allow the resettlement of evacuated areas of the northern West Bank, a US official told The Times of Israel.
Continued on Page 49
#1
He is the Principal Deputy Spokesperson for the US Department of State. Vedant Patel (33), was born in Gujarat and is a graduate from the University of California, Riverside, and previously served as an Assistant Press Secretary and Spokesperson for President Biden in The White House.
I wonder if he would comment on Indian occupation of Jammu-Kashmir.
[IsraelTimes] Police say more officers to be deployed around Old City for Friday prayers during Moslem holy month, warn of terror groups inciting violence; IDF preemptively arrests instigators.
Israeli security forces are once again gearing up for the Moslem holy month of Ramadan, which coincides with the Jewish holiday of Passover this year, with tension already high across the West Bank and in Jerusalem.
Police anticipate hundreds of thousands of visitors — mainly Paleostinians — will come to Jerusalem during Ramadan, a month of fasting, prayer and reflection observed by Moslems worldwide, which is expected to begin Wednesday or Thursday and end April 21.
Ramadan has often been marked by festivities and high tension between Israel and the Paleostinians.
The IDF in recent weeks has conducted "preemptive" arrests of dozens of Paleostinians identified as instigators of violence, and they are expected to remain held during Ramadan. Other wanted Paleostinians who were allegedly planning terror attacks have been killed or arrested during recent raids.
Police warned Sunday of "those who try to take advantage of the holidays to spread incitement on social media, false rumors and disinformation, in particular in relation to the holy places."
Police said terror groups and other terror elements have in the past used Ramadan to incite and cause rioting in Jerusalem.
Law enforcement officials said police would act "without compromise against rioters and those breaking the law, who harm or attempt to harm those who pray and celebrate, or who use the holidays to harm civilians or security forces."
Officials at the police’s Jerusalem district held meetings in recent days with various local officials and community leaders to coordinate the holiday activities in the capital. IDF officials have held similar meetings with Paleostinian officials in the West Bank in recent weeks.
Police said that on Fridays during Ramadan, there would be an increased presence of coppers throughout Jerusalem, especially in the Old City and near the Temple Mount, as numerous worshipers are expected to pray at the al-Aqsa Mosque. A police official told news hounds that the Jerusalem district has a shortfall of over 800 coppers to properly ensure security.
For Paleostinian Moslems, worship at the al-Aqsa Mosque — the third-holiest site in Islam — is a central part of the festival. Jews revere the same hilltop as the Temple Mount, the holiest site in their tradition.
The Israeli army has eased some restrictions on movement for West Bank and Gazook Paleostinians to allow women, children, and some men to pray at al-Aqsa without permits.
Police said they are also preparing for Passover and Easter, which will take place during Ramadan this year.
"The purpose of the preparation and police activity in Jerusalem during Ramadan is to enable freedom of worship... while maintaining security, law and public order," a police statement said.
"Police will act to secure all the worshipers who arrive at the holy places on these days, Moslems, Jews and Christians, with the aim of allowing everyone freedom of worship," the statement added.
[An Nahar] The Israeli Army said that the man suspected of entering northern Israel from Lebanon Hezbollahstan ...the home of Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity™, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade... and planting a bomb at the Megiddo Junction did not cross the border via a tunnel.
"The possibility of the terrorist crossing via a tunnel has been completely ruled out," The Times of Israel said.
Israel's Army Radio said Tuesday that the man used a ladder, but the Israeli Army did not confirm the ladder theory and did not detail exactly how the man crossed into Israel. "The army is still studying and investigating the incident," The Times of Israel said.
Last week, Israeli soldiers killed an armed man suspected of entering the country from Lebanon and blowing up a car, raising the risk of renewed tensions with Hezbollah.
The incident unnerved Israelis, who questioned on social media and elsewhere how someone with explosives could travel dozens of kilometers inside Israel and set off a roadside kaboom before being detected.
The Israeli army said that soldiers stopped a car carrying the bombing suspect at a checkpoint shortly after a roadside explosion seriously injured a driver near Megiddo Junction in the country’s north last week. The suspect was wearing a boom jacket and had a rifle and a gun when he was stopped near the border with Lebanon. The army said it shot and killed the man and is questioning the driver.
The army said the device went kaboom! at a 90-degree angle, which is unusual for the area, which led officials to suspect that the man infiltrated from Lebanon and may have been linked to Hezbollah.
Israel's northern border with Lebanon has remained quiet but tense since the 2006 war.
But Israel discovered four years ago what it said was a network of tunnels built by Hezbollah along the border.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/22/2023 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[9 views]
Top|| File under: Hezbollah
[AlAhram] The US Treasury Department announced on Tuesday new sanctions on several companies and individuals for supporting Iran's drone and other weapons programs.
The new sanctions target four companies and three individuals based in Iran ...The nation is noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence... and The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor... Those sanctioned are helping Tehran acquire European-made drone engines for its drone and weapons programs, the Treasury Department said.
"Iran's well-documented deployment of drone and conventional arms to its proxies continues undermining the regional security and global stability," said Brian Nelson, the Deputy Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence at the department.
US citizens will be prohibited from doing business with the companies or individuals targeted by the new sanctions and all relevant assets will be frozen, according to the new decision.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
03/22/2023 02:27 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
[KhaamaPress] Afghanistan continues to be the country most impacted by terrorism for the fourth consecutive year, despite a decline in attacks and fatalities of 75% and 58%, respectively, according to the tenth Global Terrorism Index (GTI) study.
India ranked 13th on the index, a barely noticeable drop from the previous year. Despite being among the 25 worst-hit countries on the index, Indian respondents refrained from ranking war and terrorism as the top threat to their daily safety.
AFGHANISTAN: KEY FINDINGS OF THE GLOBAL TERRORISM (GTI):
Afghanistan remains the most impacted by terrorism and is ranked first.
Afghanistan was among the most impacted by terrorism for the fourth consecutive year, and Afghan respondents selected war and terror as the biggest threat to their daily safety.
Afghanistan recorded 633 deaths in 2022 despite terrorism-related deaths declining by 866 in 2022, a 58 % improvement over 2021.
The Report listed the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... -Khorasan (ISIS) as the most active terrorist group in Afghanistan following the Taliban ...Arabic for students... takeover of the country. It was responsible for the deaths of 422 people in 202, accounting for almost 67% of the total terrorism-related deaths in the country for the year.
INDIA: KEY FINDINGS OF THE GLOBAL TERRORISM INDEX (GTI):
India was listed among countries with a "high" impact of terrorism and ranked 13th
India was among the 25 worst terror-hit countries and 56 of the 120 nations surveyed, with no respondents selecting war and terror as the biggest threat to their daily safety.
The Report listed the Communist Party of India (Maoist) as the 12th deadliest terror group in 2022.
ACCORDING TO THE REPORT, THE FOUR DEADLIEST TERRORIST GROUPS IN 2022:
Islamic State (IS) and its affiliates were the deadliest terrorist groups in the world in 2022, followed by al-Shabaab ...... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord... , Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... Liberation Army (BLA), and Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal Moslemeen (JNIM)
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.
...mindless ferocity in a turban...
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites....
...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor...
...... who doesn't live anywhere anymore......
...Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him. It's a sin, a shame, and a felony to insult the president of Turkey. In Anatolia did Recep Bey a stately Presidential Palace decree, that has 1100 rooms. That's 968 more than there are in the White House, 400 more than in Versailles, and 325 more than Buckingham Palace, so you know who's really most important...
...the collection of boodlers, grifters, hangers-on, and self-proclaimed 
...the home of Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity™, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade...
Hezbollah
...The nation is noted for 
...... the Islamic version of the old Somali warlord...
