[DAWN] The Trump administration intended to announce the drawdown of about 4,000 troops from Afghanistan early next week, US officials told NBC News on Sunday.
"The drawdown could be ... a unilateral concession to the Taliban ...the Pashtun equivalent of men... ," other officials told CNN. "The smaller US military presence will be largely focused on counterterrorism operations against groups like Al Qaeda and ISIS-K," they added.
The officials, however, acknowledged the expected withdrawal could "reduce considerably" the US military’s ability to train and advise local Afghan forces.
The United States still has between 12,000 and 13,000 troops in Afghanistan.
The officials who spoke to NBC News said this would be a phased withdrawal that would occur over a few months, but they did not say when it would begin.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/16/2019 00:30 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban
[KhaamaPress] The administration of President Donald Trump ...The tack in the backside of the Democratic Party... intends to announce the withdrawal of more than 4,000 U.S. troops from Afghanistan, it has been reported.
The former and current U.S. officials privy of the development have told NBC News that the Trump administration intends to announce the draw down as early as next week.
The officials further added that the withdrawal would leave between 8 to 9 thousand troops in Afghanistan.
According to reports, the United States has between 12,000 to 13,000 troops in Afghanistan.
This comes as the U.S. Special Envoy for Afghanistan Reconciliation Ambassador Khalilzad on Thursday announced a brief pause in talks with the Taliban ...the Pashtun equivalent of men... politicians, days after resuming peace talks with the group which stalled in September.
Meanwhile, ...back at the buffalo wallow, Standing Buffalo watched the circling Commanches and asked himself What would Geronimo do?... a U.S. Forces-Afghanistan has said "U.S. Forces-Afghanistan has not received orders to reduce troop levels in Afghanistan. We remain fully committed to the Resolute Support mission and our Afghan partners, and focused on our key objective: ensuring Afghanistan is never again used as a safe haven for bully boyz who threaten the United States, our allies or our interests."
Ambassador Khalilzad announced the ’brief pause’ following a coordinated attack near Bagram airfield on Wednesday which killed 2 civilians and maimed at least 70 others.
[Jpost] The Sudanese transitional government is slated to close the offices of the foreign terrorist organizations, Hamas, one of the armed feet of the Moslem Brüderbund millipede, and Hezbollah, according to a report in the Middle East Eye.
The Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi... regime financed Middle East Eye reported that "A reliable Sudanese source close to [Prime Minister Abdallah] Hamdok's office disclosed to Middle East Eye that the government will close the offices of foreign groups designated as bandidoshard boyz by the US, including Hamas and Hezbollah."
According to the report, "The Sudanese source who spoke to MEE, who asked for anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media, said: "The government will close the offices of Hamas and Hezbollah and any other Islamic group designated as terrorist groups that has presence in Sudan, because Sudan has nothing actually to do with these groups and the interests of Sudan are above everything."
The Sudanese source added "Actually they have hidden their presence in the past few years but we won't tolerate any individual's presence in the future."
The outlet said the action to evict Hamas and Hezbollah from the north African country was meant to convince the United States government to de-list Sudan as a state-sponsor of terrorism. The United States proscribed Sudan a state-sponsor of terrorism in 1993.
In early December, the US and Sudan agreed to begin exchanging ambassadors again after a period of more than two decades. US-Sudan relations have improved since the Sudanese people overthrew the dictatorship of former president Omar al-Bashir ...Former President-for-Life of Sudan He came to power in 1989 when he, as a brigadier in the Sudanese army, led a group of officers in a bloodless military coup that ousted the government of Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi and eventually appointed himself head cheese. He fell out with his Islamic mentor, Hasan al-Turabi, tried to impose shariah on the Christian and animist south, resulting in its secessesion, and attempted to Arabize Darfur by unleashing the barbaric Janjaweed on it. Sudan's potential prosperity has been pissed away in warfare that has left as many as 400,000 people dead and 2.5 million displaced. Hee was overthrown by popular consent in 2019. Omar has been indicted for genocide by the International Criminal Court but nothing is expected to come of it... The US listed Sudan a state-sponsor of terrorism in 1993 after it hosted the dear departed al-Qaeda leader the late Osama bin Laden ...... who is now neither a strong horse nor a weak horse, but a dead horse...... US Secretary of State Pompeo did not address the terrorism classification at the time of Abdallah’s December visit.
The US government said that Sudan has still not met the conditions for being de-listed from its terrorism list but the country is making progress.
Sudan accused Israel of carrying out an air strike that killed two people in a car near the city of Port Sudan in 2011. In 2009, Sudan said a convoy of people smugglers was hit by unidentified aircraft in Sudan
The then-Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert said at the time: "We operate everywhere where we can hit terror infrastructure - in close places and in places further away."
Arms smugglers have used Sudan as a pipeline to send weapons to Hamas-controlled Gazoo ...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamaswith about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... Strip. The EU and the US classify Hamas as terrorist organization. The UK, US, Canada, the Arab League ...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... , the Netherlands and Israel designated the Iranian-backed Hezbollah a terrorist entity.
In May, a Sudanese general announced a shift in its foreign policy to back Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... instead of its traditional ally Iran. "Sudan is standing with the kingdom against all threats and attacks from Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today 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. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan, the abbreviation IRGC is a cognate form of Stürmabteilung (or SA), the term Supreme Guide is a cognate form of either Shah or Führer or maybe both, and they hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... and Huthi militias," said General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo in his meeting with the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman ...Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia as of 2016. The Turks hate him, so he must be all right, despite the occasional brutal murder of Qatar-owned journalists... According to the US State Department entry on terrorism, "Sudan broke diplomatic relations with the United States in 1967 after the start of the Arab-Israeli War. Relations were reestablished in 1972. Sudan established links with international terrorist organizations resulting in the United States’ designation of Sudan as a State Sponsor of Terrorism in 1993 and the suspension of U.S. Embassy operations in 1996. The U.S. Embassy was reopened in 2002."
#1
And thus ends a pernicious 30 year Sudan-Iran and Sudan-Hamas alliance that began within weeks of the Sudanese Islamist revolution of 1989. Hasan al-Turabi's effort to meld the Sudanese Sunni circle and the Iranian Shiite square has failed.
[AlAhram] Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi discussed Sunday with Paleostinian President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ...aka Abu Mazen, a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial. While no Yasser Arafat, he has his own brand of evil, just a little more lowercase.... the latest developments in the Paleostinian file on the sidelines of the second day of the World Youth Forum being held in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh.
El-Sisi stressed Egypt's support for helping to develop "a strategic vision" that goes beyond "short and temporary solutions" to bring stability to Paleostine.
No doubt Israel would dearly love that, too, though they require that Israel continue to thrive as an independent state throughout the process and after.
The Egyptian president stressed Egypt's firm position on the "two-state solution, and the establishment of a Paleostinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital."
Oh well, It was a nice idea for the few seconds y’all had it.
El-Sisi and Abbas reviewed developments taking place internally, especially the move to hold Paleostinian general elections.
...which will definitely take place sometime between now and never, though probably closer to never...
The two leaders also discussed bilateral relations between the two brotherly countries,
...that’s “brotherly”, actually, given the current Egyptian insistence that they are not Arab, but a special kind of thing that is also not African...
and ways to develop them in various fields.
During the talks, the duo agreed to continue intensive consultations and coordination on issues of common concern, especially in regard to unifying Paleostinian stances in a way that contributes to achieving the aspirations of the Paleostinian people.
You mean their aspiration to live in Tel Aviv and Haifa while the Mediterranean runs red with Jewish blood? It will never happen. If Allah wanted such a thing, y’all would have won at least one of the wars y’all lost so mortifyingly. Clearly y’all are not actually the beloved of Allah, and those of you who died a-jihading did not find themselves in Paradise at the end of it. Sorry.
[AlAhram] The Libyan embassy in Cairo has suspended its work in Egypt until further notice starting Sunday 15 December over "security reasons."
The embassy announced its closure in a statement published on its official Facebook page on Saturday.
In a separate statement on Sunday, the embassy denied that members of its diplomatic mission had defected from the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA).
It said a statement about the matter, which was reported by Egypt's official news agency MENA, was forged by a group that is not affiliated with the embassy in any way.
MENA had reported that the Libyan diplomatic mission in Egypt announced in a statement on Saturday that it had defected from the GNA headed by Fayez al-Sarraj, and that the mission’s members no longer recognize the GNA after it recently signed "illegitimate agreements" with The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire... , adding that it stands by the Libyan National Army (LNA), which is led by Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar ...Self-proclaimed Field Marshal, served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy, so it's kind of hard to describe him as a Qadaffy holdover. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all... and the elected parliament.
Last month, head of the GNA al-Serraj signed two memoranda of understanding (MoUs) 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 in the White House, 400 more than in Versailles, and 325 more than Buckingham Palace, so you know who's really more important... on security and maritime boundaries in the Mediterranean.
Egypt had officially condemned the signing of the MoUs, saying they violate the Skhirat Agreement, which does not give the prime minister the authority to sign international agreements.
Egypt’s Parliamentary Speaker Ali Abdel-Aal stated yesterday during a meeting with Libyan parliament speaker Aguila Saleh that Egypt considers the Libyan parliament the "only legitimate representative of the Libyan people."
He also announced earlier this month Egypt’s solidarity with the Libyan national parliament and the LNA.
LNA commander Khalifa Haftar announced last Thursday the start of "zero hour" of the battle to take over the Libyan capital Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... from the UN-supported GNA.
Fighting intensified between Haftar’s forces and militias affiliated with the GNA during the past days following Haftar’s announcement.
The LNA claims that Haftar’s forces took over al-Tawghaar town to the south of Tripoli.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
12/16/2019 01:49 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under: Sublime Porte
[Jpost] Hamas, a regional Iranian catspaw, leader Ismail Haniyeh ...became Prime Minister of Gaza after the legislative elections of 2006 which Hamas won. President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed Haniyeh from office on 14 June 2007 at the height of the Fatah-Hamas festivities, but Haniyeh did not acknowledge the decree and continues as the PM of Gazoo while Abbas maintains a separate PM in the West Bank... arrived in Doha, Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi... on Sunday after completing a visit in The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...Qatar's satrapy in Asia Minor... , according to Channel 13.
Iranian foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was in Doha on Sunday as well, according to Rooters.
Those we are helping now can give us the greatest help in saving Europe. We are giving persecuted Christians what they need: homes, hospitals, and schools, and we receive in return what Europe needs most: a Christian faith, love and perseverance". — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Daily News Hungary, November 28, 2019.
"Our estimation is that more than 90 percent of Christian have already left Iraq and almost 50 percent of Christians in Syria have left the country". — Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of the Syrian Orthodox Church.
European leaders, rather than being embarrassed, should make the condition of Christians under Islam the starting point of their conversations with Muslims.
"The fate of Eastern Christians and other minorities is the prelude to our own fate." — Former French Prime Minister François Fillon, Valeurs Actuelles, December 12, 2019.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/16/2019 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[8 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
European leaders, rather than being embarrassed, should make the condition of Christians under Islam the starting point of their conversations with Muslims.
Given they don't give a rat's ass about Christians in their own country, why would they be concerned about those in others. When the Left made themselves their own god, the Christians became their enemies.
#2
Funny that the safest place for Kews in Europe us Viktur Orban's Hungary.
Actually not funny at all. Makes perfect sense that the western society which values our Western heritage more than any other should preserve and protect Judaism.
[JihadWatch] There may be a glimmer of hope for Sweden after all…
The Swedish School Inspectorate has revoked a Gothenburg Islamic school’s licence due to concerns that pupils may be exposed to radical Islamic ideology.
The Swedish government has been infamously succumbing to dhimmitude. Only days ago, when a Muslim posted a video threat, saying “We Arabs are here to take over your f*****g country so go down on your f*****g knees and…,” a 53-year-old Swede who insulted him on Facebook was slapped with a hate crime charge.
Three out of four Swedes support banning independent religious schools, even though the problem is coming from Islamic schools, not Hindu, Christian, Jewish or other religious schools. In mid-May, the Swedish security service arrested five “radical Islamists in a short period of time, with one of those arrested being one of the main leaders of an Islamic school in western Sweden.”
It’s not only in Islamic schools that the “radical” Islamic ideology is being taught, but in mosques, too. There has been a push by some politicians over the past few years to force mosques in Europe to deliver sermons in the local language instead of in Arabic. This should be a practice throughout the West. But that, too, is not enough.
“Sweden Shuts Down Islamic School Due to Radicalisation Concerns,” by Chris Tomlinson, Breitbart, December 10, 2019:
The Swedish School Inspectorate has revoked a Gothenburg Islamic school’s licence due to concerns that pupils may be exposed to radical Islamic ideology.
Authorities closed the Safirskolan school after its former owner, Abdel-Nasser el Nadi, had been detained by the Swedish security police (Säpo). Säpo recommended he, and several other Islamic radicals, be deported from the country on national security grounds, Nyheter Idag reports.
While a new individual did take the helm of the school, which was formerly called Vetenskapsskolan (the Science School), the inspectorate determined that the new head was still close enough to el Nadi that the school risked “being subjected to radicalisation and recruitment to environments that accept violence or serious crime as a method of political change”…..
[IsraelTimes] Officials led by Ismail Haniyeh ...became Prime Minister of Gaza after the legislative elections of 2006 which Hamas won. President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed Haniyeh from office on 14 June 2007 at the height of the Fatah-Hamas festivities, but Haniyeh did not acknowledge the decree and continues as the PM of Gazoo while Abbas maintains a separate PM in the West Bank... praise the Ottoman Turkish president for supporting the Paleostinians, the terror group’s website reports; al-Aqsa TV says Haniyeh to attend Malaysia summit.
A Hamas, a regional Iranian catspaw, delegation led by its chief, Ismail Haniyeh, met 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 in the White House, 400 more than in Versailles, and 325 more than Buckingham Palace, so you know who's really more important... in Istanbul on Saturday and spoke to him about the dire humanitarian situation in the Gazoo ...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamaswith about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... Strip, the terror group said in a report posted on its official website.
Haniyeh had been in The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...Qatar's satrapy in Asia Minor... since the previous Sunday following talks with the Egyptian General Intelligence Services. The trip marked the first time he has traveled beyond Gaza and Egypt since he became Hamas’s top leader in May 2017.
"The Hamas delegation spoke about the difficult humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip in light of the ongoing siege and the necessary measures to end [it]," the report stated, adding that it praised Turkey for its "positions vis-a-vis the Paleostinian people and its just cause."
The Ottoman Turkish Presidency’s Twitter account confirmed that Haniyeh and Erdogan met and released a photo of the two at the Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul.
Hamas’s al-Aqsa TV reported Sunday that Haniyeh will be attending the Kuala Lumpur Summit in Malaysia on Wednesday.
The conference will "delve into seeking new solutions for problems affecting the Islamic world," the Malay Mail, a Malaysian daily, reported.
Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi... i Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Pak Prime Minister Imran Khan ...aka The Great Khan, who who convinced himself that playing cricket qualified him to lead a nuclear-armed nation with severe personality disorders... , Iranian President Hassan Rouhani ...Iran's moderate president, which he is, relative to his predecessor, which doesn't mean he's anything but a puppet of the nearest holy man... and Erdogan are "among the notable Islamic leaders expected to join the summit," the Malay Mail report added.
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/16/2019 6:55 Comments ||
Top||
#2
January 2018: The United States government has designated Hamas Politburo Chief Ismail Haniyeh as a specially designated terrorist, becoming the first country outside of Israel to do so.
President Trump continues to make good on his campaign promises... Pamala Geller.
Erdogan continues to play with fire. The result is predictable.
[MEMRI.ORG] 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 in the White House, 400 more than in Versailles, and 325 more than Buckingham Palace, so you know who's really more important... : "The hostility toward Islam and Moslems that is becoming more common in Western countries as time goes on is another important question. One section of the problems is in the form of direct attacks on property and lives. One section appears in insidious policies of assimilation. Whereas another section appears as a blind hostility. Whatever form it takes, in the end those who are victims, who are oppressed, are always Moslems. Are they attacking our mosques? They are. Are Moslems being killed where they are seen? They are. For how long will we remain silent in the face of this?"If we do not raise our voices, if we do not intervene with our hands, [we will intervene] with our words. If we do not intervene with our words, then do we have no obligation, no responsibility to hate from our hearts? For as long as we do not do this, we will take many more beatings. These terror organizations, all of which are the product of a scheme and which exploit our religion's name, are used as an excuse by these tyrants. At the recent NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis.... Summit, the president of La Belle France, still, stands up and talks about 'Islamic terror.' How many times have I told him: Islam, beginning from the word's meaning, derived from slm, means peace. How can you, with the phrase 'Islamic terror,' bring peace and terror together?
"However much we take ownership of children, women, the elderly, and the disabled, against threats whose source is the West, our family structure will be protected to that degree.
"We should be vigilant against the erosion that is a result of the content whose source is the West on means of communication such as social media and television. While our borders are protected, we must rapidly fill every gap, every crack that will allow our minds to be taken prisoner.
"What is happening in Syria is clear. What is happening in Somalia is clear. What is happening in Sudan is clear. What is happening in Iraq is clear. What is happening in Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today 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. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan, the abbreviation IRGC is a cognate form of Stürmabteilung (or SA), the term Supreme Guide is a cognate form of either Shah or Führer or maybe both, and they hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... is clear. It is the same in Paleostine. My dear brothers, take note: All of these things are happening in Islamic countries. The imperialist understanding of 'divide, break apart, and swallow the Islamic countries' is continuing on its path.
"370,000 people, by their own wish, have returned [to Syria] and settled in the regions of Syria that we have made safe. We have begun our work in constructing the settlement areas between Ras al-Ayn and Tel Abyad in which, in the first phase, we will be able to house hundreds of thousands of people and along with the other places along the border, we will be able to house one million people."
Posted by: Fred ||
12/16/2019 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under: Sublime Porte
#1
Know Muslims, no peace, No Muslims, know peace.
#5
Gosh, it's almost as if Erdy thinks there is some sort of clash of civilizations going on. We have been assured by top men that this is not the case.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] Turkey could shut down its Incirlik air base, which hosts U.S. nuclear warheads, in response to threats of U.S. sanctions and a separate U.S. Senate resolution that recognized mass killings of Armenians a century ago as genocide, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday.
'If it is necessary for us to take such a step, of course we have the authority ... If this is necessary, together with our delegations, we will close down Incirlik if necessary,' Erdogan said on A Haber TV.
Turkey can also close down the Kurecik radar base if necessary, he added.
The two bases sit on Turkey’s southwest coast, near the border with Syria.
Erdogan has regularly raised the possibility of closing the bases in the past, during tensions between the two countries.
The US air force uses the airbase at Incirlik for raids on positions held by the so-called Islamic State group in Syria. The Kurecik base houses a major NATO radar station.
#3
The Daily Mail claims that Incirlik air base, "hosts U.S. nuclear warheads", but neither it nor any American source can prove that fact. Insiders claim the base has not housed nuclear weapons for more than a decade.
[AlAhram] In recent days, Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today 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. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan, the abbreviation IRGC is a cognate form of Stürmabteilung (or SA), the term Supreme Guide is a cognate form of either Shah or Führer or maybe both, and they hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... hawks in Congress leveraged Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's interest in a Senate run to win a key concession from the Trump administration that could help their bid to kill the nuclear deal with Tehran.
Late last week, the State Department agreed to release a portion of an internal legal opinion that says the U.S. has the right to demand that all U.N. sanctions on Iran be reinstated, despite President Donald Trump ...Perhaps no man has ever had as much fun being president of the US... pulling the U.S. out of the nuclear deal. In exchange, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, lifted his hold on the nomination for Stephen Biegun to serve as the State Department's No. 2 official, according to an administration official and a congressional aide.
Cruz's hold on Biegun not only put his nomination in jeopardy, but it also risked upending a relatively seamless transition at the State Department if Pompeo soon steps down to run for Senate in Kansas. Without Biegun in place, the top job at State would have likely gone on an interim basis to a David Hale, a career official who testified in the impeachment inquiry into Trump.
The behind-the-scenes drama raises new questions about Pompeo's future as the nation's top diplomat. A former congressman and Trump's CIA director, Pompeo has been weighing a Senate campaign in his home state for months, though officials say no final decision has been made.
The matter also highlights the extent to which some Republicans in Washington are still pushing to dismantle remaining elements of the Iran nuclear accord more than a year after the U.S. withdrew. The State Department legal opinion will be used by Cruz and others in the coming weeks to argue that Washington can still force the reimposition of U.N. sanctions set to expire next year.
Cruz placed the hold on the nomination for Biegun, currently the U.S. special representative for North Korea ...hereditary Communist monarchy distinguished by its truculence and periodic acts of violence. Distinguishing features include Songun (Army First) policy, which involves feeding the army before anyone but the Dear Leadership, and Juche, which is Kim Jong Il's personal interpretation of Marxism-Leninism, which he told everybody was brilliant. In 1950 the industrialized North invaded agrarian South Korea. Twenty-one countries of the United Nations eventually contributed to the UN force opposing the invasion, with the United States providing around 90% of the military personnel. Seventy years later the economic results are in and it doesn't look good for Juche... , pending the release of the Iran opinion. Cruz is an ally of the White House and one of the most hawkish politicians in Congress on Iran.
The hold would have scrambled the pecking order at the State Department should Pompeo depart for a Senate campaign.
The current deputy secretary of state, John Sullivan, was confirmed on Thursday to be the next U.S. ambassador to Russia. The third-ranking official is Hale, the most senior department official to testify in the impeachment investigation. He shed light on the decision to oust Marie Yovanovitch from her posting as the ambassador to Ukraine, as well as on the department's decision to not defend her.
After considering the possibility that Hale would become acting secretary of state with Sullivan off to Moscow and Biegun's nomination on hold, the department relented and released the Iran memo, according to the administration official and congressional aide.
Hours later, Cruz lifted his hold on Biegun.
The administration official and congressional aide were not authorized to public discuss the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The Iran opinion will be used by Cruz and other Iran deal opponents to argue that the U.S. should invoke a ``snapback'' mechanism for U.N. sanctions that is allowed under the Security Council resolution that enshrined the 2015 agreement known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, known as JCPOA. Snapback would mean the reimposition of all U.N. sanctions against Iran, including an arms embargo and travel bans on specific Iranian officials that are due to expire in October 2020.
Under Security Council Resolution 2231, any ``participant state'' in the agreement may invoke the snapback if Iran is found to be in ``significant non-performance'' with the agreement. Although Trump withdrew the U.S. from the nuclear deal last year, the resolution names the participants as those countries that originally negotiated it: Britannia, China, La Belle France, Germany, Russia, the United States and the Europe ...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum... an Union, along with Iran.
Deal supporters have argued that Trump's withdrawal means the U.S. is no longer a participant and is thus ineligible to invoke the snapback mechanism. Critics of the accord maintain the language of the Security Council resolution would allow it.
The State Department's legal opinion leans in favor of that latter argument by saying the U.S. has a legal avenue to demand the restoration of the U.N. sanctions.
``As the United States is an original JCPOA participant identified in (the UN resolution), there is a legally available argument we can assert that the United States can initiate the snapback process under UNSCR 2231 by submitting a notification to the Security Council of an issue that the United States believes constitutes significant non-performance,`` the State Department opinion says
Posted by: trailing wife ||
12/16/2019 01:45 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[8 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
If Pompeo remains at State -- a thankless and exhausting job -- he will be in line to replace Trump in 2024. If he leaves his replacement is up in the air. Many would like Cruz but he can never get the vote; many would have had Bolton before he blotted his copybook; many see the former UN Ambassador as a possibility, but her independence raises a question. The governor of Florida is a possibility. One thing for certain at present, if Pompeo leaves his replacement will not come from the State Department "professionals".
[DAWN] More than 100 activists protesting against a new Indian citizenship law were maimed in New Delhi on Sunday as they clashed with police who used tear gas and baton charges to disperse demonstrators at a major university.
Thousands, including students at the Jamia Millia Islamia University, protested against a new law that will give citizenship to non-Moslems fleeing religious persecution from several neighboring countries. The third day of what had been a peaceful demonstration against the law, passed by India’s Parliament last week, descended into chaos on Sunday afternoon. Three buses were set on fire, police officials said.
Chinmoy Biswal, a top police official, said that six police personnel were maimed in the melee in an upscale enclave of south Delhi.
Student organisers blamed outsiders for the violence.
"We have time and again maintained that our protests are peaceful and non-violent," they said in a statement. "We stand by this approach and condemn any party involved in the violence."
The protests have raged particularly in some eastern states such as Assam, Tripura and West Bengal, where resentment towards Bangladeshi immigrants has persisted for decades. The death toll from violent protests in northeast India rose to six on Sunday.
Authorities have shut down internet access in several parts of the affected states in an attempt to maintain law and order.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/16/2019 00:24 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[7 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
More than 100 activists protesting against a new Indian citizenship law were maimed
[THEBAGHDADPOST] Iraqi protesters have rejected Mohammed Shia al-Sudani’s nomination to become the country’s new prime minister.
Al-Sudani is a frontrunner to head Iraq’s interim government amid ongoing protests which forced the resignation of former Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi in November.
At least 400 people have been killed at the hands of security forces and person or persons unknown firing live ammunition and tear gas to disperse the demonstrations since they erupted in October.
At Tahrir Square, the focal point for the spontaneous, leaderless protests over long-standing grievances including government corruption, unemployment and a lack of basic services, demonstrators voiced their opposition against al-Sudani’s nomination.
One protester said al-Sudani, who resigned from the powerful Shiite Dawa and became an independent candidate, was still a "biased party member" and would prefer someone who comes from "inside the revolution," referring to the protests.
h/t Instapundit
[JPost] A German state commissioner to combat antisemitism told The Jerusalem Post that his country’s UN ambassador promotes antisemitism at the United Nations when he compared the Jewish state with Hamas.
"The comparison made by [Christoph] Heusgen between Israel’s actions and the terrorism of Hamas damages solidarity with Israel and is unfortunately apt to promote Israeli-related antisemitism," Uwe Becker, the commissioner tasked to fight antisemitism in the state of Hesse, told the Post.
[IsraelTimes] Minister claims attack was ’aimed at spying on government intelligence,’ just days after ’massive’ assault was blocked; says hackers were tracked.
Iran’s telecommunications minister announced on Sunday that the country had defused a second cyberattack in less than a week, this time "aimed at spying on government intelligence."
Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi said in a short Twitter post that the alleged attack was "identified and defused by a cybersecurity shield," and that the "spying servers were identified and the hackers were also tracked." He did not elaborate.
It was not clear if the attack caused any damage or disruptions in Iran’s computer and internet systems, and whether it was the latest chapter in the US and Iran’s ongoing cyber operations targeting the other.
Last Wednesday, Jahromi told the official IRNA news agency that a "massive" and "governmental" cyberattack targeted Iran’s electronic infrastructure. He provided no specifics on the purported attack except to say it was also defused and that a report would be released.
He also said the "security attack was very large" and that authorities were investigating its exact dimensions. Jahromi said he could not reveal any further details beyond saying that the "attack has been identified and defused."
"I cannot give details but yes, we were targeted by a very organized and governmental cyber attack," he said. "We are looking into the attack’s different dimensions and will release a report on it. It was a massive attack."
On Tuesday, the minister dismissed reports of hacking operations targeting Iranian banks, including local media reports that accounts of millions of customers of Iranian banks were hacked.
"Banks were not hacked," he said, adding that the rumors evolved from a blackmailing case by a former contractor who had managed to "access complex information."
Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today 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. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan, the abbreviation IRGC is a cognate form of Stürmabteilung (or SA), the term Supreme Guide is a cognate form of either Shah or Führer or maybe both, and they hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... has disconnected much of its infrastructure from the internet after the Stuxnet computer virus, widely believed to be a joint US-Israeli creation, disrupted thousands of Iranian centrifuges in the country’s nuclear sites in the late 2000s.
In June, Washington officials said that US military cyber forces launched a strike against Iranian military computer systems as US President Donald Trump ...Oh, noze! Not him!... backed away from plans for a more conventional military strike in response to Iran’s downing of a US surveillance drone in the strategic Persian Gulf.
Jahromi himself was sanctioned by the US late last month for what officials described as "his role in the regime’s widespread internet censorship."
[Rudaw] Domestic petrol consumption has fallen 20 percent in recent weeks, leaving Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today 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. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan, the abbreviation IRGC is a cognate form of Stürmabteilung (or SA), the term Supreme Guide is a cognate form of either Shah or Führer or maybe both, and they hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... with a surplus for export, President Hassan Rouhani ...Iran's moderate president, which he is, relative to his predecessor, which doesn't mean he's anything but a puppet of the nearest holy man... told ministers on Wednesday, almost a month after security forces brutally repressed nationwide protests against petrol price hikes.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife ||
12/16/2019 00:12 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[9 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
[AlAhram] The Observatory for Monitoring Takfiri ...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who must be killed... Fatwas and Extremist Ideologies at Egypt's Dar al-Iftaa said in a statement on Sunday that the terrorist group ISIS has created a new mobile application on Google Play and the App Store called ’Because Communication Matters.’
According to the observatory, the terrorist group uses this application to promote its ideology and attract more supporters.
The observatory said that ISIS created this application after an online campaign against it succeeded in shutting down around 26,000 accounts belonging to the group on different social media platforms.
The observatory believes that this led the group to create the new app outside of the common social media platforms
The observatory explained that the new app guarantees users full confidentiality, and that it is well-shielded against any possible infiltration by security agencies.
According to the observatory, the application can host around 10,000 users, and is able to store videos and transfer encrypted information.
The observatory’s statement referred to a report by VICE News, which says that since last week the group has created around 10 channels and pages on the application, and that some of them have over 100 followers.
The observatory said that ISIS is also using the application to collect more funds in Bitcoin.
The observatory warned from the dangers of such a development in the group’s communication techniques, especially as it is currently trying to reorganize itself following the death of its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
12/16/2019 01:49 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[5 views]
Top|| File under: Islamic State
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.
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
...Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia as of 2016. The Turks hate him, so he must be all right, despite the occasional brutal murder of Qatar-owned journalists...
...aka Abu Mazen, a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial. While no Yasser Arafat, he has his own brand of evil, just a little more lowercase....
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire...
...Qatar's satrapy in Asia Minor...
[JihadWatch] There may be a glimmer of hope for Sweden after all…
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for 
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for 
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for 
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for 
...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who must be killed...
