KABUL - Sophisticated laboratories inside Afghanistan are now converting 90 percent of the countrys opium into heroin and morphine before smuggling it around the world, the United Nations said Monday.
Afghanistan, the worlds biggest producer of opium, had until two years ago exported the illicit drug almost exclusively in its raw form, said the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The amount of the opium being processed (in Afghanistan), I think, is around 90 percent -- at least the lions share, UNODC representative Christina Oguz told reporters in Kabul.
Oguz said that anyone flying over the major opium producing areas would see a lot of small fires in the mountains. These are heroin labs. A couple of years ago, most of the drugs that were trafficked out of this country was opium, Oguz said. Now more and more of the opium is being processed into morphine and into heroin. And this indicates sophistication that we didnt have in this country before, she added.
War-shattered Afghanistan accounts for 92 percent of the worlds heroin supply despite vast internationally-backed efforts to eradicate its opium poppy fields.
Oguz said the annual income from the drugs trade -- more than three billion US dollars -- helps finance the Taleban-led insurgency plaguing mainly southern and eastern Afghanistan. The drugs have to be fought together with the insurgency, she said.
Afghanistan produced a record 6,000 tonnes of opium last year and officials fear that with a surge in opium cultivation in the southern provinces, this years harvest could top even that. I fear well be faced with at least the same amount as the last year, perhaps even more, Oguz said, adding that good weather conditions had also contributed to the increase.
Oguz also downplayed international efforts to eradicate poppy crops, saying that it was more important to provide cash-strapped opium farmers with alternative livelihoods.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/26/2007 00:00 ||
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#4
I wonder how much of that morphine is needed to treat their wounded Talibuddies? And how much of the heroin to 'motivate' their suicide attackers? They HAD to make their own - or smuggle the opium out and the refined products back in.
Seriously though, this historical and extremely lucrative crop cannot be wiped out without huge problems. But the farmers don't get paid all that much for it. Instead of trying to stop it maybe we should provide an alternative market for it, and buy it ourselves. I don't mean enter a bidding war with the heroin lords, but just provide a legal outlet at a 'normal' price to allow farmers to make their traditional living but not be outlaws in doing so. Heck, maybe we could even find something useful to do with the stuff.
#6
I think we should buy it as it can be turned into a legitimate pain killer. The synthetics such as Oxycontin have proved just as addictive as the narcotics they were created to replace. The pharmaceutical industry is way out-of-control and we need cost effective prescriptions for our growing geriatric population.
#7
Is there any reasonable argument to removing this funding source for the talibs by aerial spraying of herbicide?
so the farmers lose their money? hire them to work on road crews or to build a sustainable infrastructure that will promote a future.
Posted by: Abu do you love ||
06/26/2007 18:30 Comments ||
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#8
I often wonder if these might work as alternative crops all these are high altitude plants from the Andes.
Maca: This root likes very cold climates with adequate moisture, and is found only in Peru, including at levels of over 4000m. With a high protein content of around 15%, maca is also reputed to have fertility-enhancing qualities, and is used as an energiser and anti-stress agent. It is boiled in water then mixed with fruit juice or milk to make a thick broth. Maca is marketed as a nutrient supplement in a dehydrated and ground form in capsules.
Mashua: Like ulluco and oca, mashua is intercropped with other plants, and can be found from northern Argentina to Colombia. It is extremely popular in Colombia, partly because of its strong resistance to pests and disease, and due to yields often being as high as 70 tonne/ha; it is planted around fields in the belief that it will repel potato pests. Mashua is commonly used in food and folk medicine. Men often avoid eating it due to its reputation as an antiaphrodisiac. In Bolivia and Peru the tuber is left outside overnight and eating the next day with honey.
Oca: Because of its high yield and good taste (in addition to low inputs), Oca is frequently used in Andean rural cuisine, and it also grown in Venezuela, Argentina and Chile. Oca has a high water content (around 80%) and is often fed to children, and used in soups and stews. It can also be dehydrated and used as flour. Experiments have shown that it could take the place of wheat flour in the preparation of bread.
Posted by: bruce ||
06/26/2007 19:09 Comments ||
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French President Nicolas Sarkozy urged world powers on Monday to take a tough line with Sudan if it refuses to cooperate with international efforts to end bloodshed in Darfur. Silence kills, Sarkozy told ministers from some 20 nations taking part in a one-day meeting in Paris on efforts to ending four years of fighting in Darfur. Now we know that the absence of a decision and the absence of a response is unacceptable. Sudan must know that if it cooperates, we will help it greatly and that if it refuses, we will be firm. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the international community had failed to do enough to end the violence that has left at least 200,000 dead and driven more than two million from their homes, according to UN figures.
I do not think that the international community has really lived up to its responsibilities here, said Rice on Sunday.
Rice joined representatives from China, Sudans top oil customer and arms supplier, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and officials from some 15 other nations including Egypt, Japan and Russia. Neither Sudan nor the rebels were represented at the conference, held after President Omar al-Beshir bowed to months of pressure and agreed to a new peace force for Darfur under the United Nations and the African Union.
The African Union, which has brokered peace talks between Khartoum and Darfur rebels, is also not taking part in the meeting that it sees as duplicating its own efforts. Chinas envoy for Sudan said threats and pressure on Khartoum would be counterproductive and argued that world must instead focus on reconstruction aid to alleviate poverty.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/26/2007 00:00 ||
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Saudi Arabia urged Monday Palestinians to observe national unity and avoid division through prioritizing general interest over personal goals.
"We have the velvet glove on, for the moment."
At the conclusion of a cabinet meeting headed by King Abdullah bin Abdul-aziz, acting Information Minister Dr. Jubarah Al-Suraysri said the cabinet approved a draft accord for aviation services with Yemen, as well as two protocols to counter smuggling immigrants and suppress human trafficking. Other matters, he said, included reviewing the outcome of the monarch's recent visits to Spain and France.
Posted by: Seafarious ||
06/26/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Yeah, boss, sure.
Just as soon as we're finshed up with this Dire Revenge™ business.
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/26/2007 5:53 Comments ||
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#2
... through prioritizing general interest over personal goals.
#3
"You shouldn't be divided into Fatah and Hamas, you should unite into a single movement. Call it . . . Fatahss! Yeah, that's it, Fatahss! You can appoint Suha Arafat as your leader!"
Posted by: Mike ||
06/26/2007 6:42 Comments ||
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#4
They are uniting in Hell, one at a time.
Posted by: Gary and the Samoyeds ||
06/26/2007 8:34 Comments ||
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#5
Saudis said that?
Yep. Can't have Joo-killing mongrels bickering. It's non-productive. It's ruining the decades of 'good press'. It might mean the Saudis would have to find other patsys, or pick up something heavier than their Cartiers.
A Rajshahi court yesterday recorded depositions of two witnesses in the case against BNP leaders Aminul Haq, Ruhul Kuddus Talukdar Dulu and Nadim Mostafa for aiding the JMB militants. The witnesses -- Ayub Ali Pramanik, a victim of brutalities by JMB militants at Bagmara, and Abbas Ali -- told the court that militants including Bangla Bhai mentioned the BNP lawmakers as their patrons during their operations. They claimed that they had seen Bangla Bhai, Jalil Amin and Murshid having talks and receiving directions from the BNP bigwigs frequently over cellphone while torturing Ayub.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/26/2007 00:00 ||
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A Libyan intelligence agent will learn this week if he can appeal against his conviction for blowing a Pan Am airliner out of the sky over the Scottish town of Lockerbie in December 1988.
An eight-member independent review commission will announce at noon (1100 GMT) on Thursday whether it will refer the case of Abdel Basset al-Megrahi to the Scottish High Court as a possible miscarriage of justice.
If Megrahi were to appeal and win, it would throw wide open the question of who ordered and carried out the bombing of Pan Am 103, which killed 259 people on board and 11 on the ground.
Victims' relatives, legal sources and diplomatic analysts said such an outcome could also prompt compensation demands from Libya, which has paid more than $2 billion to victims' families on the premise that Megrahi was guilty.
more at link
Posted by: lotp ||
06/26/2007 13:51 ||
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#1
As long as the prosecution didn't study under Lifong, all should be good......
I will tell you what.... Lets take this f**ker up on a drone to 30 thousand feet, then disable the drone so it pummets to earth with him still alive inside, and as he sees the approaching ground, he witll either be terrified or be contemplating virgins... Hopefully the former, then he can miss the carriage of his justice...
Posted by: Fred ||
06/26/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
UN nuclear monitors were set to hold talks with officials in North Korea on Tuesday to discuss how to verify the long-delayed shutdown of the communist country's main nuclear reactor.
The North Korean government vowed Monday to move forward with a February agreement to shut down its Yongbyon reactor in exchange for aid, after announcing that a dispute over frozen bank funds that had held up disarmament efforts was now finally over.
They've had several months to come up with their next excuse. It ought to be interesting.
Suppose Kimmie's health has anything to do with this?
And if they do shut it down, they should fill the plant with concrete to make it useless. And make sure they take off with any spent material.
#3
So, instead of just shutting the thing down like they agreed to do NOW there's something left to discuss?
I'll believe the thing's shut down when I see them pouring concrete into the containment facility on live TV (and even then I'll have a few reservations about it).
#4
Whoa, when I first saw the headline I thought it said "NKorea, IKEA to discuss nuclear reactor shut down". and then I figured they'd be as effective and anyone else.
Long article that happily gives details so people can find the agents' homes. Looks like German authorities are going to push Washington hard to have the agents extradited. May or may not be related to Merkel's push to revive the EU constitution. It's going to be a long summer.
#1
Too bad they can't devote those investigative reporting skills to seeking out the Germany-based al Quada cells, like the one that supported the 9-11 attacks.
As much as the Dems hate the CIA - or the small remaining part that actually does anything - look for President H. Clinton's administration to extradite in 2009, if W. doesn't cave first.
#2
The German government could have put a stop to the arrest warrants in the first stage. It would simply have had to refer to Paragraph 153c of the German Code of Criminal Procedure, which states that a legal proceeding can be terminated by official decree if this is in the "prevailing public interest." But a group of senior officials meeting at the Justice Ministry rejected a government veto, arguing that any government efforts to apply the brakes on the investigation would be too difficult for the public to swallow. As a result, the cabinet decided to allow the Munich prosecutors' petition for the issuance of international arrest warrants to stand.
So the political cowards refused to stop something that could poison German-US relations for a generation... and should. Secretary of State Dr. Rice should explain to Chancellor Merkel that the extradition orders will not be enforced, and that there will be no further contact between the CIA and German intelligence until the Germans figure out how to make it go away. In the meantime let them get whatever information the French and British choose to share.
#4
The Germans will not get a pass in this WOT. Eventually,
they will have to deal with the islamonutjobs. It is just a matter of time. The islamic crazies want the world. It is in Germany's best interests to not push this. They must decide who are their friends and allies in this war.
#5
I think some of this reporting was originally provided by the LA Times.
I seem to recall the al-Masri clan in Gaza is one of the most bloodthirsty.
And where the h-e-double hockey sticks is their reporting on the real names, residences, and phone calls to Syria, Soddy, and Tehran made by their own terror cells.
#7
Maybe the Germans will go the way of Chirac....German companies have supplied both Iraq and Iran and had their share of UN kickbacks, directly in proportion to their very loud protests.
Spanish Obvious Defence Minister Jose Antonio Alonso said Monday the bomb attack, which targeted a Spanish contingent in the UNIFIL forces Sunday, was an attack targeting Security Council Resolution 1701 and UNIFIL forces themselves. The Spanish minister, who had flown to the south on board a military helicopter was speaking at an obituary service staged for three Spanish soldiers at their contingent headquarters in the South Lebanon town of Marjayoun. He said his country had suffered "a great loss" as a result of the terrorist attack. Spain had made it clear Monday that the attack would not deter its contingent from fulfilling its mission in South Lebanon.
Spain, I am sorry for the loss of your brave soldiers. Now will you take this euro and go buy or rent yourselves a clue?
It'll happen again, and then again, until the Spaniards realize that the Hezbies are ready to carry out their master's instructions and go get the Israelis, and to do that UNIFIL has to remove itself from the theater. I think the over/under on the next attack is about five days.
NATO's secretary-general mounted a stout defense of Washington's missile shield plan on Monday, the day before meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin when the issue is likely to top the agenda.
Russia has described United States' plan to place part of its missile shield in eastern Europe as a threat and the issue has divided European politicians with some saying it is vital for defense and others saying it is misguided. In echoes of the Cold War, Putin this month said he would order Russia to aim its missiles back at major European cities if Washington went ahead with the plan to site elements of the shield near Russia's borders. On Tuesday de Hoop Scheffer meets Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Putin.
"You don't have to be Einstein to understand that 10 interceptor rockets don't pose any threat to Russia and the Russian people"
"You don't have to be Einstein to understand that 10 interceptor rockets don't pose any threat to Russia and the Russian people," NATO's Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said via an interpreter in a debate on Russia's Ekho Moskvy radio station.
He underlined the shield was aimed at shooting down missiles fired by rogue states such as North Korea and Iran, and that Russia also shared these common enemies. "We were enemies and we tried to destroy each other but that era has now finished," de Hoop Scheffer said on Monday.
The United States wants to place part of the missile shield in Poland and the Czech republic.
As an alternative to the shield, Russia has also offered the United States use of a Soviet-built radar station in Azerbaijan. The United States said it would consider the offer although the Azeri radar station could not replace the main missile shield.
#1
He's probably worried about NATO suddenly or secretly raising the number of interceptors to 1000 or something like that. Also, instead of sending only one or two missiles to wipe out a target, now he has to send three or four.
Perhaps Putin has some inside information that Iran wants more missile technology should the US install this system. He could tell the Iranians that he would be able to shut down the radar if they had a mutual interest in attacking Europe, and that would forestall Iran asking for/demanding more and the resulting ill will if he had to tell them "Nyet".
O'Hare is one of the busiest airports in the nation. The [CBS channel] 2 Investigators have learned that 47 more employee access badges are missing, bringing the total we've discovered to 3,807 the biggest security failure involving access badges ever to be exposed. Airport employees are allowed to go through a back gate. All they have to do is show their access badge. They are not searched.
The latest missing badges belong to employees of Mesa Airlines, which operates flights for United Express. One of them belonged to Marcia Pinkston, who worked as a flight attendant.
She says she was fired for complaining about security. She says the airline never asked her to return her access badge and for months she could have used it to gain access to airplanes. Last month, Pinkston told CBS 2 about other security failures, including employees sharing security codes or "piggybacking" by following someone through open doors to gain access to secure areas.
At the time, the Transportation Security Administration vowed to investigate. But Pinkston tells CBS 2 that no one from TSA has contacted her even after she made allegations about piggybacking and code sharing.
Paul Maniscalco, a terrorism expert at George Washington University, says the threat of airport employees is real and points to numerous incidents including one in March at Orlandos airport when two employees smuggled drugs and guns on to a plane, and earlier this month in New York at JFK Airport a former cargo worker was charged with plotting to blow up fuel tanks.
Thanks to the CBS 2 investigation, the Department of Aviation fined Mesa Airlines $47,000 because of the missing badges. Thats the first time any airline has been fined for this issue.
Mesa Airlines said the fine is just a proposal and did not want to comment.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
06/26/2007 14:09 ||
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#1
only a matter of time before there is an inflight explosion on an aircraft that had baggage loaded @ O'Hare; look for another FAA AD to inspect all ( insert a/c type here) wing fuel tanks for wiring problems. again.
Afghans living in the Jungle Pir Alizai refugee camp are resisting the governments enforced closure of the camp because many are reluctant to return to a country at war while others claim they are Pakistanis.
The authorities want to shut down the refugee camp and send its residents to Afghanistan, because they say the camp is infested with militants, guns and drugs. The camp in southwest Pakistan was first setup in 1979 during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and according to the government has lately become a haven for the Taliban. It is one of four such camps scheduled for closure this year.
The UN refugee agency, which is running a voluntary repatriation programme for Afghans, refused to help the camp in 2005 after its lost its humanitarian value, an agency official said. It could no longer be considered, by UNHCR standards, a humanitarian camp. There was trafficking of arms, drugs and miscreants were living there, said the official.
However, the closure of the camp is facing resistance. Many Afghans say they dont want to return to a country at war, while other inhabitants say they are not even Afghans, but Pakistanis and they have the identification to prove it. One resident, Ahmedullah, has spent his entire life as a refugee in Pakistan and says he desperately wants to go him. But the war is preventing him from returning. Give us peace and we will go home, he said.
Abdul Ghani, 65, said many people had been killed, including hundreds of Taliban militants, by NATO forces in his home region of Panjwai, in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar.
Another problem facing the authorities is many of the inhabitants claim to be Pakistanis and not Afghans at all. According to a 2005 UN census, the camp was home to 35,000 Afghans, but thousands of Pakistani villagers fleeing drought and tribal feuds have moved to the camp, raising its total population to more than 100,000, residents say.
Some residents said up to 80 percent of inhabitants were Pakistani ethnic Pashtuns. Were Pakistanis. I have as much right to be in Pakistan as you do. Why are you forcing me to Afghanistan? said Haji Zardad Kakozai, head of a 25-member residents committee that manages camp affairs. He showed his Pakistani identity card to Reuters to prove his statement. All of us have decided that if the government wants to send us to jail, we will go to jail. If it kills us, we will die, but we will not leave, Kakozai added.
However, officials say many Afghans have acquired identity cards through marriage and other means. Many Afghans live and run businesses in Pakistani cities and towns across the country. They carry both identities. They show their Afghan cards when they get aid meant for refugees, otherwise they show themselves as Pakistanis, said a government official in Quetta.
Kakozai also denied there were any Al Qaeda or Taliban guerrillas hiding out in the camp. I have told authorities that if you find a single Al Qaeda man or training camp for militants you should slaughter all 25 of us, he said, referring to the committee.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/26/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
"many are reluctant to return to a country at war while others claim they are Pakistanis."
Well, they're not really all that reluctant to return to a country at war - they're the ones making the war when they return; it's just that they like having a safe haven to go back to in between attacks.
And many of them ARE Pakistanis now - the camps have been there 28 years - that's three generations in some families.
The Interior Ministry will ensure the safety of Chinese citizens living in Pakistan, said Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao on Monday.
Talking to reporters on his arrival at the Beijing Capital Airport, where he was received by senior officials of the Chinese Ministry of Public Security and Pakistani Ambassador to China Salman Bashir, he said the objective of his visit to China was to expand the scope of bilateral cooperation between the two ministries on security issues. Referring to the assistance provided by China to Pakistani security agencies, including provision of equipment to police, the minister said the assistance would help in the capacity building of Pakistani police. China is working on a number of mega projects in Pakistan and is a major investor in the country, he said. Sherpao is scheduled to hold a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Zhou Yongkan on Tuesday. He is also scheduled to visit Niu Jie Police station where he will be briefed about the working of the Chinese police.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/26/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
He is also scheduled to visit Niu Jie Police station where he will be briefed about the working of the Chinese police.
They will demonstrate what 60 volts DC can do to shrivel his ball sack. Chinese really seem upset over this little incident don't they ?
#3
Security has been beefed up around the 25 Chinese engineers recently arriving from China to work on the Gomal Zam Dam project.
To this effect, two cobra helicopters have been assigned to pick and drop the Chinese engineers to and from the site of the project. The work on Gomal Zam Dam has restarted and to this effect the continuous process of arrival of Chinese engineers is continuing.
The security of the Frontier Works Organization?s (FWO) employees and Chinese engineers has been increased. They have also been provided two cobra helicopters that will provide them pick and drop facility from Dera Ismail Khan (D I Khan) to working site.
China after the death of a Chinese engineer working on the Gomal Zam dam project near South Waziristan in October 2004 had suspended the project.
Posted by: John Frum ||
06/26/2007 11:41 Comments ||
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AHMADABAD, India - A court sentenced nine Muslims to life in prison on Monday for murdering a Hindu nationalist leader to avenge the killing of Muslims in one of Indias worst Hindu-Muslim riots, a prosecutor said. Haren Pandya, 43, a former home minister in the western Gujarat state government, was shot dead after finishing his morning workout at a park close to his residence in Ahmadabad city on March 26, 2003.
The Central Bureau of Investigation, Indias federal investigative agency, said the main suspect, Mohammed Asghar Ali, was hired by a Muslim cleric, Mufti Sufian, to kill Pandya to avenge the killings of Muslims in Gujarat a year earlier. Sufian was sentenced to life in prison, but he remains on the run.
Brave Lion of Islam.
The judge found eight others were part of the conspiracy and also sentenced them to life imprisonment. Two others were given seven-year jail terms and another was handed five years, prosecutor G.M. Panchal said.
Violence erupted on Feb. 27, 2002, when Muslims torched a train car in the town of Godhra, killing 60 Hindus. Hindus retaliated, burning Muslim neighborhoods throughout Gujarat state. Police estimated 1,000 people were killed in one of the worst Hindu-Muslim riots in India.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/26/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Some speculate that the Godhra attack (and the riots it sparked) were deliberate.. and ISI ordered.. they caused the redeployment of 3 divisions away from the Indo-Pak border, where the Indian Army was preparing to cross, in retalitaion for the attack on the Indian Parliament. The chaos in Gujarat deflected the attentions of the Indian Government towards internal security and took the pressure off Pakistan.
Posted by: John Frum ||
06/26/2007 6:15 Comments ||
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An arrest warrant was issued against Iraq's Sunni culture minister, and police raided his home on Tuesday after he was accused of ordering a 2005 assassination attempt against a secular Sunni politician that killed his two sons, officials said.
The main Sunni political bloc immediately demanded the decision be reversed.
Culture Minister Asad Kamal al-Hashimi, who was not home during the raid, was identified by two suspected militants as the mastermind of a Feb. 8, 2005, ambush against then-parliamentary candidate Mithal al-Alusi, according to Ali al-Dabbagh, a government spokesman. Al-Alusi escaped unharmed but two of his sons were killed.
"The two who planned and carried out the killings of Mithal al-Alusi's two sons confessed that they took orders from him," al-Dabbagh said. He added that al-Hashimi was a mosque imam at the time.
Al-Dabbagh said the arrest warrant was issued for the killings of al-Alusi's sons, not the failed attempt against the politician. He also said al-Hashimi's status as a Cabinet minister provides no immunity.
Al-Hashimi was the first full Cabinet minister to face arrest, although Iraqi authorities have arrested other senior officials, including the deputy health minister who was linked to Shiite militiamen loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite, has promised not to let political or sectarian considerations stop him from cracking down on violence, but the warrant against a prominent Sunni politician could set back efforts to bring the disaffected minority into the political process.
Al-Hashimi's party, the hardline Congress of the People of Iraq, condemned the arrest warrant and warned the Shiite-dominated government to avoid "playing with fire by continuing the policy of fabricating lies to exclude Sunni politicians and officials from the Iraqi arena."
Al-Hashimi said he was being targeted unfairly and accused the government of trying to sideline the leadership of the biggest Sunni parliamentary bloc, the Accordance Front, which comprises his party, as well as the moderate Iraqi Islamic Party and the National Dialogue Council.
"When they want to get rid of anybody, the easiest way for them to do that is to charge him with terrorist activities," he said in an interview with the pan-Arab satellite channel Al-Jazeera.
"They have ready-made charges and they use them against us so that they can chase us out of the country," he added.
Muhanad al-Essawi, an Accordance Front spokesman, said U.S. and Iraqi forces raided al-Hashimi's house and detained several guards. The U.S. military denied involvement in the raid.
"Iraqi authorities have issued an arrest warrant against al-Hashimi over fabricated terrorism charges," al-Essawi said.
The bloc later issued a statement denouncing the raid and the arrest warrant, saying it was based on information from detainees who had been tortured; the statement said al-Maliki had promised that al-Hashimi would not be arrested.
"The prime minister promised to stop all the procedures against the culture minister because it is not legal and the minister has immunity, but what happened was to the contrary," the statement said, adding another appeal was issued on Tuesday.
The statement said al-Maliki had ordered the guards released and the proceeding against the culture minister halted: "We are fed up and there is no room for patience and we wish that this mistake would be fixed and not repeated."
A government official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to disclose the information, said the arrest warrant was a judicial matter and denied that al-Maliki had given guarantees that al-Hashimi would not be arrested.
More than a third of Iraq's national police battalion commanders are now Sunni after a purge of Shiites who had a sectarian bias, a U.S. general said Monday.
Despite improvements, he predicted it will still be years before Iraqi forces are capable of securing the country by themselves.
Speaking to Pentagon reporters from Iraq, Army Brig. Gen. Dana Pittard said he had been saddened to see the destruction in one province where the number of U.S. forces had been reduced too soon.
"We cannot be in a hurry to withdraw our coalition forces," he said, using Diyala province north of Baghdad as an example.
Pittard this week ends his tour as day-to-day head of the effort to train Iraqi army soldiers, police, national police, border guards and other security workers.
"The growth of the Iraqi security forces over the past couple of years has really been quite dramatic in many ways," he said by video conference. Among improvements: Iraqi officials have recruited Sunnis to the national police command, a group that a year ago was almost entirely Shia. The national police have been known for their ties to Shiite militia.
Pittard said that since October, officials had removed seven of nine brigade commanders five because of sectarian bias. One of two division commanders is now Sunni, as are four of nine brigade commanders and 9 or 10 of the 27 battalion commanders, he said.
But he warned against being "in a hurry" to hand over responsibility for Iraq security to local soldiers and police a handover U.S. officials have said is key to bringing American forces home.
In a previous assignment, Pittard commanded a brigade combat team in Diyala province for a year. "It was just a few years ago ... where, believe it or not, many people were saying Diyala province was going to be one of the first ... to go to provincial Iraqi control," he said of the thinking in late 2005.
American forces were drawn down, and after the surge in killing that followed the February 2006 bombing at the Samarra mosque there weren't enough people left there "to be able to keep a lid on that violence," he said.
Diyala was a hotbed of the Sunni insurgency before President Bush in January ordered a buildup of forces to calm Baghdad. The province got worse after militants fled there to avoid the increased U.S.-led operations in the capital.
Diyala is a target of a new operation started some 10 days ago to clear out insurgents in and around the Baghdad area.
"I nearly shed a tear when I saw Baqouba today," Pittard said of the capital city in Diyala province. "The markets aren't up, the projects that we had spent so much time on, together with the Iraqi government, are now, in many places, in shambles."
Asked if Iraqis will be able to move fairly soon to take control of areas now being cleared out, Pittard said, "We've really got to be careful."
"A lesson learned is ... do not draw down too quickly when we think there's a glimmer of success," he said. "It will take time, it will take time for the Iraqi security forces to be able to take over from our forces."
The No. 2 commander in Iraq, Maj. Gen. Ray Odierno, said last week that the current operation should last through the summer and he won't be able to determine until then how much of the follow-on work U.S. forces will have to do themselves.
Pittard noted that Iraqi security forces are taking the lead in some places, such as in Maysan in the south, the province of Muthanna, and in Irbil in the north.
"I think it'll take a couple of years before the Iraqi security forces are going to be able to fully take control of the security situation in Iraq," he said.
Meanwhile, a think tank led by John Podesta, President Clinton's former chief of staff, recommended Monday that the U.S. immediately stop arming the Iraqis and redeploy U.S. troops within a year.
"Spending billions to arm Iraq's security forces without political consensus among Iraq's leaders carries significant risks the largest of which is arming faction-ridden national Iraqi units before a unified national government exists that these armed forces will loyally support," wrote the Center for America Progress in Washington.
Officials at the center downplayed the possibility that such an approach would lead to a genocide or a takeover by neighboring countries.
Iraq's neighbors "have an interest in not seeing things get even worse," said Brian Katulis, a senior fellow at the center.
Riyadh, Teheran, Damascus, Istanbul ... promoters of stability, that's what they are. Bloomin' saints.
Posted by: lotp ||
06/26/2007 07:30 ||
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Top|| File under: Mahdi Army
#1
Officials at the center downplayed the possibility that such an approach would lead to a genocide or a takeover by neighboring countries.
Why are you concerned about the welfare of the Hamas Mulla perverts. All the Hamas Mullas have done is make more rules to satisfy their own S&M sexual deviancy since they took over... Maimings, whippings and stonings...
You should be more concerned about the innocent dogs, horses, and the like.... ;)
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas is expected to demand the release of hundreds of Fatah prisoners from Israeli jails during Monday's summit in Sharm e-Sheikh, PA officials said.
"We want thousands of rifles, hundreds of armored vehicles and a lot of ammunition," one PA official told The Jerusalem Post. "We also want Jordan and Egypt to help train our forces in the West Bank."
The officials also said Abbas would call for supplying the Fatah-controlled security forces with more weapons to thwart attempts by Hamas to try to take over the West Bank. "We want thousands of rifles, hundreds of armored vehicles and a lot of ammunition," one PA official told The Jerusalem Post. "We also want Jordan and Egypt to help train our forces in the West Bank."
Another official said that Abbas and his aides would ask Israel to release senior Fatah operative Marwan Barghouti and hundreds of Fatah prisoners to enhance Fatah's status. "We will also ask Israel to remove most of the checkpoints in the West Bank and to increase the number of Palestinians who are permitted to work in Israel," he said. "These measures are needed to boost Fatah's standing in the West Bank and to prevent Hamas from establishing bases of support there."
Posted by: Fred ||
06/26/2007 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Fatah
#1
"We want thousands of rifles, hundreds of armored vehicles and a lot of ammunition,"
So go back to Gaza and steal it all back from Hamas.
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/26/2007 11:13 Comments ||
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#4
Paleos in Israel? Why? What does Israel get other than lethal mobile fireworks displays? And why should the Israelis care about Fatah's standing in the West Bank.
Boo-friggin-hoo. You fought, you lost. You want support, you ask the Arab league for support.
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
06/26/2007 14:20 Comments ||
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#5
Tony,
You got it. I'm not Israeli and don't know anyone in Israel ,but their constant actions of kissing & making up with these Muzzlem thugs baffles me. It just results in yet one more atrocity further down the road.
#6
WE2970, Israel is not kissing with Paleos. Israel is sucking up to the man who wants to bring peace to the region by establishing a Palestinian state. The same man who still believes that Iraqis earn for freedom, or that letting 20 million Mexicans into USA will just add 20 million Americans to USA population.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, in a surprise gesture intended to strengthen Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, announced at Monday's summit here the unilateral release of 250 Fatah prisoners.
"As a gesture of goodwill to the Palestinians, and amid an understanding of the importance of the issue of the prisoners, I decided today that I'll bring to the Israeli government at its next meeting a recommendation to release 250 prisoners from Fatah, without blood on their hands, as long as they sign commitments not to again become involved in terrorism," Olmert told the gathering at the Red Sea resort.
Olmert and his aides have said for days that there was no intention at this time to discuss a prisoner release.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/26/2007 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Fatah
#1
As a gesture of goodwill to the Palestinians
and as another sign of my suicidal tendencies ....
The family and colleagues of Alan Johnston, a BBC reporter kidnapped by Islamists in Gaza, urged his captors on Monday not to harm him after he appeared in a video wearing what he said was an explosive belt. Johnstons father said he and his family were most concerned and distressed about the video.
Islamists adore the footage of groveling, weeping hostage families.
The BBC also said it was very distressing to see Johnston being threatened in this way. Our thoughts, of course, are with Alan in his present predicament. We earnestly request his abductors to release Alan unharmed in any way, Johnstons father said in a statement. In the one-minute-long video posted by the Army of Islam on a Web site used by militants, Johnston looked tired but unharmed and appealed to the Hamas movement and the British government not to resort to tactics of force in an effort to end this.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/26/2007 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Hamas
#1
very distressing to see Johnston being threatened in this way
Translation: "Alan always said that you only kill Jooos".
The four major international players in the Middle East peace process will this week confirm outgoing British Prime Minister Tony Blair as their envoy, the Financial Times reported on Monday. The business daily said in its last edition that representatives from the Middle East Quartet, comprising the European Union, United Nations, Russia and the United States, would formally agree the 54-year-olds role when they meet in Jerusalem on Tuesday. Blairs appointment has been 150 percent approved, the newspaper quoted an unnamed figure close to the negotiations as saying in a report from London. The Jerusalem meeting is all about arranging logistics, making final arrangements and getting the announcement out. The FT said there was speculation in London that Blairs long-serving chief of staff Jonathan Powell could accompany him in the new role but no independent confirmation. It added that Russias Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is thought to have discussed the appointment with President Vladimir Putin, who has not opposed to it.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/26/2007 00:00 ||
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[3 views]
Top|| File under: Global Jihad
Stolen Muslim land drives the hatred of Indonesia-based extremist network Jemaah Islamiyah for the west, the groups jailed military boss told CNN in an interview broadcast on Monday. Abu Dujana, one of Southeast Asias most wanted men, was arrested by Indonesian anti-terror police on June 9 as he rode a motorcycle with three of his four young children. Police say he is linked to several major bombings that have rocked Indonesia in recent years, including the 2002 Bali attacks. Analysts however have said they are sceptical of his involvement in that bombing, which left 202 dead. He has claimed he was against the 2003 bombing of the Marriott hotel in the Indonesian capital Jakarta. In the interview with CNN at a police station in the central city of Yogyakarta, Dujana, shown handcuffed and smiling, said he thought Americans or other civilians can become a target - thats how I see it. Asked where the hatred of the west came from, he replied: Many lands owned by Muslims have been taken away by our enemies.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/26/2007 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Jemaah Islamiyah
#1
Bali has been Hindu for thousands of years, as was all of the archipelago until Arab missionaries convinced local tyrants that they could unite under an imamate, and perpetuate abuse of power. Return Indonesia to the Hindus.
#3
They forget easily all the lands that their barbarians raped and pillaged!!!!
Posted by: Paul ||
06/26/2007 6:33 Comments ||
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#4
It took the US Marines to end the white slave trade.
A trade run by muslims for several hundred years, accounting for up to a million whites in 200 years.
Interesting photo accompanies the article.
Gen. Claudio Graziano, commander of the U.N. peacekeepers in this conflict-ridden country, said Lebanon is not yet like war-torn Iraq or Afghanistan where suicide attacks and car bombs are regular occurrences.
Graziano said the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) does not know who was behind Sunday's car bombing that killed six members of the Spanish contingent -- three Spaniards and three Colombians. But the Italian general told The Associated Press in an interview from Ibl el Saqi in south Lebanon that he was sure the attackers aimed to undermine peace in Lebanon and the region. That limits the number of suspects, somewhat.
The car bomb that blew up an armored personnel carrier was the first attack against U.N. peacekeepers in southern Lebanon since an expanded force deployed almost a year ago to monitor a cease-fire that halted last summer's war between Israel and Hizbullah. That attack carried some similarities to the roadside bombs targeting U.S. and allied forces in Iraq and Afghanistan -- attacks that were carried out by militant groups, including al-Qaida.
Asked whether he foresees a similar situation in south Lebanon, Graziano replied: "Not yet."
"Now there are some elements -- minor for sure -- some small elements who want to hamper the peace process for many reasons that we don't know yet. At this point, it is very difficult to mention that it is becoming something similar to Iraq and Afghanistan while the situation is completely, totally different," he said. I can imagine that it's very difficult for an Italian general operating under a UN mandaate to mention that the situation is becoming something similar to Iraq and Afghanistan.
"That doesn't mean they are not trying because a terrorist has to carry on his agenda," he said at the Spanish contingent's base in this southern town just after the commemoration ceremony for the six fallen peacekeepers. Unlike the NYT or the Washington Post, Graziono has no problem calling his enemies "terrorists".
Graziano would not speculate whether it was al-Qaida or other groups behind the attack, saying it was too early to tell. "I'm not in a condition to speculate ... There are a lot of people working and investigating." But he added: "For sure, we can say we have to look maybe to who has interest in keeping disorder in the south of Lebanon." Actually, that's pretty bold talk, considering the circumstances. I doubt we'd be hearing even that much if Chirac were still in power.
Since the arrival of the reinforced UNIFIL force last summer, Graziano said the peacekeepers received many threats, "and we took all the threats very seriously, even if they were not direct."
"But of course we can understand there are people who don't like at all 1701 (the cease-fire resolution), don't like at all the peace process, to see a stable south Lebanon. So we took always (the threats) very seriously," the general said. A truly ponderous exercise in circumlocution when everyone knows that he's pointing all ten fingers at Syria and Iran
He said security measures were taken but "it's very difficult to make any preventive action when such kind of terrorist action happens."
Graziano would not say what security precautions peacekeepers were taking after Sunday's attack, saying they would remain confidential. However, those familiar with the UNIFIL movements say that since Sunday, troops have donned helmets and flak jackets all the time, in contrast with the more relaxed atmosphere before the attack.(AP-Naharnet)
Spain's defense minister arrived in southern Lebanon Monday to collect the bodies of six U.N. peacekeepers slain in a car bombing, as the U.N. commander stressed the force remained committed to keeping the peace between Lebanon and Israel.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/26/2007 00:00 ||
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[6 views]
Top|| File under: Fatah al-Islam
Iran's energy minister said Monday the country would launch its first nuclear power plant in October, state-run television reported.
A Russian company leading construction of the plant near Iran's southern port of Bushehr, earlier this year delayed its launch, which had been set for September, saying Teheran was behind schedule on payments.
But Atomstroiexport said in April that it had agreed on a financing plan with Teheran, setting the stage for Monday's announcement. "Bushehr nuclear power plant will be launched in October, according to schedule," Iranian television quoted Energy Minister Parviz Fattah as saying. "Power substations and lines for supplying electricity, which would be produced by the plant, are ready to use."
Iranian officials had earlier denied any payment delays, and accused Russia of caving in to Western pressure.
Moscow has cultivated close ties with Iran, but has supported limited UN sanctions against Teheran, while warding off US efforts to level harsher punishments. But Iran has irritated Moscow by turning a cold shoulder to its efforts to resolve the persistent confrontation over its nuclear program, including an offer to enrich uranium for Iranian plants in Russia, which could provide Iran with nuclear fuel while easing concerns it might develop weapons.
Construction of the Bushehr plant began in 1974 with help from then-West Germany. Work was then interrupted during the 1979 Islamic revolution that toppled the pro-Western Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and brought hard-line clerics to power. Iraq also bombed the plant during its 1980-88 war with Iran. When Iran tried to resume the project after the war, the Germans refused to help. Iran turned to Russia, signing a US $1 billion contract to build the 1,000-megawatt Bushehr plant in 1995. It was first scheduled to open in 1999, but has suffered many delays.
Posted by: lotp ||
06/26/2007 00:00 ||
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[6 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
It was first scheduled to open in 1999, but has suffered many delays.
More delays you say? More required? Ye, ye, ani mevin bediyuk! No problem.
#6
The smart betting is on the Iraqi dialect of Arabic, RD. I think Besoeker is still what it amuses him to call a fobbit over there... although it's been an awfully long time.
#7
It's Hebrew if I remember correctly. Been a logn while and my Hebrew is very partial. But I think it means, "I understand (you) perfectly." or more colloquially, "I got your meaning ...."
#9
You're absolutely right, lotp. I'm ashamed of myself -- I should have recognized that -- and quite impressed with Besoeker and you, both. So much for the smart betting. :-(
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.
KABUL - Sophisticated laboratories inside Afghanistan are now converting 90 percent of the countrys opium into heroin and morphine before smuggling it around the world, the United Nations said Monday. 
Saudi Arabia urged Monday Palestinians to observe national unity and avoid division through prioritizing general interest over personal goals.
A Rajshahi court yesterday recorded depositions of two witnesses in the case against BNP leaders Aminul Haq, Ruhul Kuddus Talukdar Dulu and Nadim Mostafa for aiding the JMB militants. The witnesses -- Ayub Ali Pramanik, a victim of brutalities by JMB militants at Bagmara, and Abbas Ali -- told the court that militants including Bangla Bhai mentioned the BNP lawmakers as their patrons during their operations. They claimed that they had seen Bangla Bhai, Jalil Amin and Murshid having talks and receiving directions from the BNP bigwigs frequently over cellphone while torturing Ayub.
Spanish 
The Interior Ministry will ensure the safety of Chinese citizens living in Pakistan, said Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao on Monday.
AHMADABAD, India - A court sentenced nine Muslims to life in prison on Monday for murdering a Hindu nationalist leader to avenge the killing of Muslims in one of Indias worst Hindu-Muslim riots, a prosecutor said. Haren Pandya, 43, a former home minister in the western Gujarat state government, was shot dead after finishing his morning workout at a park close to his residence in Ahmadabad city on March 26, 2003.
Iran's energy minister said Monday the country would launch its first nuclear power plant in October, state-run television reported. 
