[ToloNews] The US Defense Department has not withheld $1 billion in funding from Afghan cops despite Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s vow on March 23 to cut that sum "immediately," five sources familiar with the matter said.
The Pentagon has been reluctant to shave the funds announced by Pompeo and Defense Secretary Mark Esper has not provided guidance to his agency on how to carry it out, three sources told Rooters.
It was unclear why the cut has not been made, whether President Donald Trump
Continued on Page 49
#1
From an electoral standpoint, Afghans hanging onto the skids of US helicopters would not be a good visual for November. If cuts are to be made, they should be implemented upon Trump's re-election, if that materializes. Biden would certainly carry them out to make room for the progressive wish list.
[KhaamaPress] The Department of Defense (Pentagon) released its latest report outlining Pakistain’s continued support to Taliban ...Arabic for students... and the notorious Haqqani terrorist network.
The Pentagon report, prepared by the Inspector General, complied with the helip of the Department of State and United States Agency for International Development, covers the period from January to March of Operation Freedom’s Sentinel, the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan.
"Pakistain continues to harbor the Taliban and associated murderous Moslem groups in Pakistain, such as the Haqqani Network, which maintains the ability to conduct attacks against Afghan interests," the report said.
The report also added that Islamabad has encouraged the Afghan Taliban to participate in peace talks but that it "refrained from applying coercive pressure that would seriously threaten its relationship with the Afghan Taliban to dissuade the group from conducting further violence."
This comes as Pak leaders have repeatedly assured Washington that they support peace and stability in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, ...back at the Senate, Odius Sepulcher called for war against the Visigoths... Pentagon stated in its report that Islamabad’s primary strategic objective in Afghanistan is to counter its regional archrival, India, and prevent the spillover of instability from the neighboring country.
"Pakistain likely views increased Taliban influence in Afghanistan as supporting its overall objectives and will seek to influence intra-Afghan peace talks in a direction favorable to Pakistain," the report noted.
[IsraelTimes] Hungarian minister laments closure of so-called transit zones, where rights groups allege migrants colonists were kept in inhumane conditions.
Hungary said Thursday it would close "transit zone" camps where hundreds of asylum seekers and migrants colonists were held, following a ruling by EU’s top court against their detention.
The decision by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) earlier this month is the latest clash between EU authorities and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government, which has taken a hard line on immigration.
Continued on Page 49
Didn’t Jordan recently get some hand-me-downs from Israel for their army? F-15s or tanks or something... Go for it, Your Kingness.
[IsraelTimes] Jordan threatens to review its relationship with Israel if the Jewish state goes ahead with controversial plans to annex parts of the West Bank.
"We will not accept unilateral Israeli moves to annex Paleostinian lands and we would be forced to review all aspects of our relations with Israel," Prime Minister Omar al-Razzaz tells the official Petra news agency.
The deal underlying Israel’s new unity government, sworn in on Sunday, allows it from July 1 to initiate moves to implement US President Donald Trump ...the Nailer of NAFTA... ’s controversial peace plan for the Israeli-Paleostinian conflict.
The plan, rejected by the Paleostinians, gives the green light from Washington for Israel to annex Jewish settlements and other territory in the West Bank — including the valley running along the border with Jordan.
Razzaz accuses Israel of taking advantage of the world being "distracted" by the coronavirus (aka COVID19 or Chinese Plague) ...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men... crisis to implement "unilateral moves on the ground."
His comments came days after Jordan’s King Abdullah II warned that if Israel "really annexes the West Bank in July, it would lead to a massive conflict with the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan."
[IsraelTimes] Israeli officials confirm Paleostinian Authority 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.... has followed through on his threats and halted all security coordination with Israel.
The ramifications of the decision are far-reaching, with Israeli and Paleostinian forces setting up for a military clash in the West Bank.
Abbas, in a speech earlier this week, said all agreements with the US and Israel were off due to the talk of Israeli annexation of parts of the West Bank.
[IsraelTimes] Paleostinian security forces have begun withdrawing from the West Bank’s Areas B and C to Area A, which is under full PA control, the Haaretz daily reports, citing Paleostinian sources.
The sources say Israel has been updated about the development, which comes as the PA threatens to end all coordination with Israel over ramped up talk of annexation.
The report says the retreon the lamly affects the Paleostinian civilian populations in Areas B and C.
The report is not immediately confirmed by Israel.
The ramifications of such a withdrawal are not immediately clear.
[IsraelTimes] The Paleostinian security services will stop sharing information with the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA),
I’m speechless. When did this start, and what did the CIA give them to get them to agree?
in protest of Israeli plans to annex parts of the West Bank, a bigwig says.
"It has been 48 hours that the American Intelligence Service have been notified that the agreement with them is no longer in force," chief Paleostinian negotiator Saeb Erekat ...negotiated the Oslo Accords with Israel. He has been chief Paleostinian negotiator since 1995. He is currently negotiating with Israel to establish a de jure Paleostinian state... says.
"Security cooperation with the US no more. Security cooperation with Israel no more."
The Paleostinian government cut all ties with the Trump administration in 2017, accusing the US President of pro-Israel bias.
Certain non-political relations were maintained, however, including between the Paleostinian security services and the CIA.
[IsraelTimes] After Etihad Airways made history with first direct flight from Abu Dhabi to Ben-Gurion Airport, Ramallah sources tell Arab media the shipment wasn’t coordinated with Paleostinians.
The Paleostinian Authority government has refused to accept medical aid from the United Arab Emirates after it arrived on the first known direct commercial flight between Israel and the UAE, PA sources told multiple Arab media outlets.
The UAE-based airline made history Tuesday, as the plane loaded with 16 tons of coronavirus (aka COVID19 or Chinese Plague) ...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men... aid for Paleostinians flew directly from Abu Dhabi to Tel Aviv.
Paleostinian media, as well as Russia Today Arabic, quoted a government source Thursday saying the aid had been rejected, explaining Ramallah was refusing to be used as a "tool for normalization" between Israel and the UAE. The two countires do not have diplomatic relations.
The source reportedly said the transfer of the medical aid had only been coordinated with Israel and the World Health Organization (WHO), and not with the Paleostinian Authority which governs Paleostinians in the West Bank.
That, the source claimed, indicated that the UAE intended to use the aid to improve its ties with Jerusalem on the "pretext" of aid to Paleostinians.
The source said any assistance to the Paleostinian people must be provided through coordination with Paleostinian authorities.
The Etihad cargo jet, painted in all white and lacking any marking, landed at Ben-Gurion Airport after seemingly flying a roundabout route through Iraq and either Jordan or The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the occupiers of Greek Asia Minor... Etihad, a state-owned long-haul carrier, confirmed the flight to Ben Gurion Airport. Emirati government officials did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
The flight struck a rare moment of public cooperation between the UAE, home to Abu Dhabi and Dubai on the Arabian Peninsula, and Israel. The two emirates have no formal diplomatic ties to Israel, but have begun to increasingly cooperate openly after years of rumored back-channel discussions between them over the mutual enmity of Iran.
An Israeli official said the flight was delivering humanitarian aid provided by the UAE to the Paleostinians through the World Food Program, and that the cargo flight was coordinated with the Israeli government. The official spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the subject.
The UAE’s state-run WAM news agency issued a statement saying it delivered 16 tons of protective gear, medical items and ventilators "to curb the spread of COVID-19 pandemic and its impact in the occupied Paleostinian territory." It did not acknowledge the flight or its significance.
Iran’s top leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ...the very aged actual dictator of Iran, successor to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini... called the act a betrayal of the Paleostinians.
"Today, some Persian Gulf states have committed the biggest treachery against their own history and the history of the Arab world," Khamenei tweeted. "They have betrayed #Paleostine by supporting Israel. Will the nations of these states tolerate their leaders’ betrayal?"
[IsraelTimes] 300 sites defaced with clip of Tel Aviv burning; while security agencies are bracing for Iran-linked attack for Quds Day, after port hack blamed on Israel, expert sees no 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 the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... role.
Numerous Israeli websites were targeted Thursday morning in a cyberattack, with hundreds of websites estimated hit, including some belonging to major firms, political groups and other organizations and individuals.
Continued on Page 49
#1
initial investigation had indicated it was a "superficial defacing of websites of private bodies in Israel done via a single storage firm hosting those websites."
[Jpost] The number of Iranians asking Israel for help has spiked in recent months, in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.
“Thousands of people are asking to come to Israel for medical assistance or to emigrate,” according to Yiftah Curiel, head of Digital Diplomacy at the Foreign Ministry.
The requests have arrived mostly through private messages on the Foreign Ministry’s social media accounts in Persian, as well as from e-mails. Some have been made openly, in public comments on social media, but by accounts using pseudonyms.
Curiel said many of the messages are serious asylum requests.
“Sometimes they are from people who have been forced to flee and are refugees in other countries, or people who had to flee after expressing solidarity with Israel,” he stated.
One of the messages they received was from a 31-year-old man who said he “had to escape Iran because of the corrupt regime. I asked for asylum in Turkey, and my wife and 4-year-old daughter and I are in unlivable conditions; there is no one who can help. We have been abandoned and our lives are in danger.”
Another is from a soldier in the Iranian army who said he is Jewish: “Because of my political and religious crime, I have to flee Iran. Please direct me how to receive asylum in Israel? Please answer me. My life is in danger and I cannot stay in Iran.”
Avginsaz moved to Israel from Iran in 1988, and said she thinks Iranians see Israel much differently than they did then, when they could only hear about Israel from official regime propaganda channels.
“Today, there is the Internet and our platforms, and more awareness,” she said. “These messages prove the Iranians see that anti-Israel propaganda is a lie.”
She used to answer every message the Persian accounts received, but now there are too many to respond to all of them.
“I try to answer as many as I can… but we don’t really have the ability to help them. I try to answer positively and wish them luck,” she said.
The Foreign Ministry’s Persian accounts are among their most successful, with a higher rate of engagement than some of their English channels, Curiel said.
“We have a very receptive audience,” he said. “There are lots of Iranians in Iran and in the Diaspora that support Israel, reject the regime and want to see a different future between the two countries.”The Foreign Ministry has accounts on five social media platforms at its Jerusalem headquarters – Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Telegram and YouTube – in English, Hebrew, Spanish, Russian, Arabic and Persian. The Persian Twitter account has 220,000 followers and there are almost 500,000 on Instagram.
Posts on the popular Instagram account vary, from announcing the opening of beaches in Israel this week to recommending The Spy, the Netflix series about Israeli agent in Syria Eli Cohen.
[AnNahar] 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 the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... will support any nation or group that fights Israel, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ...the very aged actual dictator of Iran, successor to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini... said on Wednesday.
"We will support and assist any nation or any group anywhere who opposes and fights the Zionist regime, and we do not hesitate to say this," Khamenei said in a post on his official English language Twitter account.
[Jpost] The settlement, signed on Tuesday, commits the National Lawyers Guild to refraining from discriminating against Israelis.
In a significant legal victory against efforts to boycott Israelis and the State of Israel, the National Lawyers Guild (NLG),
...founded in 1936 as a Communist front group in competition with the American Bar Association, so they deserve every loss inflicted on them...
a civil rights group in the US which supports such a boycott, has come to a settlement with an Israeli organization for refusing to grant it advertising space in one of its publications.
#2
I had no intention of implying anything, Mercutio — that’s the literal history of the group. I was shocked — I had no idea such ancient groups were not only still around, but active.
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.