The Afghan government has fined a privately run television station 1,000 dollars for broadcasting âunIslamicâ material, including raunchy clips from Bollywood movies, officials said on Saturday. A committee within the ministry of information and culture that monitors private television stations ruled against the Afghan TV channel last week, committee secretary Zia Wazir said. Wazir declined to give details of the offending material, saying only: âThey had broadcast stuff that was against Afghan culture and it was unIslamic, but mainly it was unIslamic.â âThe channel was fined 50,000 afghanis (1,000 dollars),â he said. Another ministry official said the channel had been accused of showing footage of half-naked people, including clips from Bollywood movies. Officials at Afghan TV declined to comment. Afghanistanâs post-Taliban constitution grants freedom of expression but conservative circles within the judiciary often pressure the government to adhere to what they call âIslamic valuesâ
#2
The smart thing for this TV station to do is fill its programming with all sorts of references to neurotic, sexually incapable, immature censors who hate and fear women and *anything* new.
If that is too blunt, then show them to be utterly ignorant of what is in the Koran, misquoting and making stupid errors, for which everybody on the street corrects them--which makes them mad. So instead they demand that the government *makes* everybody else follow their wrongheaded beliefs.
This same basic idea could be repeated in dozens of ways, but in the public mind should equate censors with buffoons. That is the weakness in their armor, and if done properly will eliminate much of the censorship in their society.
Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir underlined on Saturday that the core issue is success not chairmanship of the African Union (AU) summit. Speaking to the Sudanese News Agency, he underlined the role of the sixth AU summit slated here on Monday, in massing together people of the African continent through activation of cultural and scientific activities.
"Cos here in the Sudan, we're all about the culture and the scientific progress. You could look it up."
Turning to the Darfur issue he said this not just an internal issue but regretfully a major world issue with off border forces involved in. He said the other parties to the conflict are not yet ready for sealing a peace agreement, despite the efforts made so far to unite the factions in Darfur. He underlined his country's keenness to keep the Darfur file in the hands of Nigeria because shifting the file to any other party would mean starting from zero.
Read as: Nigeria will stay bought.
Sudan's drive to head the AU gathered pace yesterday with no rival bid emerging despite concerns that a Sudanese presidency would hurt Africa's reputation and AU-sponsored peace efforts in Darfur. Sudan is hosting a summit of the 53-nation body on Monday, and by tradition the host takes over the chairmanship.
Critics say this would undermine AU-mediated talks to end the conflict in Sudan's west where AU troops are monitoring a ceasefire.
Sudan, under fire for its human rights record, says it already has the backing of 12 East African states for its bid to take over the chair from Nigeria. Meanwhile Minister of foreign Affairs, Dr. Lam Akol, has criticized before the meeting of the AU's Ministerial Council today the report of the AU's Commission on the conflicts in Africa, including the situation in Darfur. Dr. Akol has described the AU Commission's report as contradictory and did not give regard to the positive developments in the country. He said, the AU Commission's report has neglected the great change in Sudan which resulted from the signing of the comprehensive peace agreements and the efforts of the government and Sudan People's liberation Movement (SPLM) toward implementation of the agreement's items. He refuted the report's claim that the committee for the border between North and South Sudan was not yet established, explaining that this committee was already set up in November 2005.
The Cabinet held an extraordinary meeting on Saturday headed by His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah in which it discussed the current situation of the country after the passing of the late Amir, His Highness Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. Following the session Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs and Minister of State for National Assembly Affairs Mohammed Dhaifallah Sharar stated that the Cabinet reviewed local and foreign reactions to the passing of the late Amir.
The Cabinet said that the late Amir was the symbol of the country who dedicated his life for the service for his country and people, and to the Arab and Islamic nations, adding that his legacy would remain in the memory of Kuwaitis and humanity forever. On this, the Cabinet expressed its deep appreciation and thanks for the Kuwait people and to leaders of brotherly and friendly nations, as well as for expatriates living in Kuwait for their sentiments and prayers on the great loss of the passing of the late Amir.
Yeah, yeah, get on with it.
The Cabinet also discussed the constitutional situation that came with the passing of the late Amir, and commended the unity of the ruling family and its keenness on national interests. It reaffirmed its full confidence in the ruling family, its wisdom, and its ability to evaluate what would best serve the country and people at present and in the future, pushing forth in the footsteps of the forefathers and their distinctive relations with their leaders, as well as their keenness on unity in the interest of the country. The Cabinet expressed its appreciation and pride at the historic role played by His Highness the Amir, Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah, in all fields, and his efforts to elevate the status of his country and maintain its sovereignty.
It noted the heroic role played by His Highness Sheikh Saad during the Iraqi invasion and up to the liberation of Kuwait, as well as his efforts for reconstruction. It highlighted the high regard accorded to him by the people, which was consolidated with his history of serving Kuwait and Kuwaitis in all fields.
Via Western Resistance
COPIES of the Koran were handed to the jurors in the Abu Hamza trial yesterday as his defence argued that some of the cleric’s “offensive” statements were drawn directly from Islam’s holy book.
Which doesn't make them any less offensive.
Edward Fitzgerald, QC, for the defence, said that Abu Hamza’s interpretation of the Koran was that it imposed an obligation on Muslims to do jihad and fight in the defence of their religion. He said that the Crown case against the former imam of Finsbury Park Mosque was “simplistic in the extreme”.
He added: “It is said he was preaching murder, but he was actually preaching from the Koran itself.”
"Which was preaching murder. Yer honor, this is an entirely different thing! Any litigator can see that!"
Mr Fitzgerald cited two verses of the book that Abu Hamza would rely on, among many others, as theological justification for the words that had led to him being charged. They were Chapter 2, verse 216 and Chapter 9, verse 111. He said that all the great monotheistic religions had scriptures that contained “the language of blood and retribution”.
Which doesn't make blowing up stuff right today.
Abu Hamza’s remarks, which the prosecution alleges amount to an attempt to stir up racial hatred against the Jewish people, were, Mr Fitzgerald said, a reference to the Hadith — sayings of the Prophet Muhammad — in which fighting between Jews and Muslims is predicted. The Hadith says that the trees will call out to the Muslims “there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him”.
The defence counsel said this was “a highly unusual case” because unlike most prosecutions for incitement to murder it did not involve someone telling a specific person to kill an identifiable individual.
Abu Hamza’s sermons had to be viewed in context, coinciding with conflicts in Afghanistan, Algeria, Bosnia, Kosovo and the Palestinian territories. Mr Fitzgerald said that the West had initially been on the side of the Mujahidin in Afghanistan when they were fighting the Soviet Union army. There had even been a James Bond film, The Living Daylights, in which 007 fought alongside the Mujahidin.
He added: “Mr Hamza has said things that most people will find deeply offensive and hateful. But he is not on trial for describing England as a toilet. There is no crime of simply being offensive.”
Posted by: ed ||
01/22/2006 00:19 ||
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#1
"There is no crime of simply being offensive.â
You just wait! We're workin' on that in the great U S of A! We're gonna fix it so NOTHIN's offensive to NOBODY!
Sigh...
Posted by: Bobby ||
01/22/2006 8:22 Comments ||
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#2
I didn't see this and attempted a duplicate post.
#3
It is said he was preaching murder, but he was actually preaching from the Koran itself.
This should put a major dent into the "Religion of Peace" meme. The defense is on very dangerous ground here.
It is true that there is lots of blood and thunder in old scriptures. However, religions adapted to the modern world have outgrown advocating the murder of unbelievers and don't consider killing infidels a central tenent of belief.
#5
Oooooo, what HE said! This puts Islam itself on trial. We now have direct proof that it's the religion that preaches hate, and the Imams just repeat it. Not a smart move for Hazma or his defence lawyers. Wake the world up to just what we're up against, why don't you?
Yes, there is blood and gore in all religious teachings, but only ONE religion is based solely on blood and gore - Islam. It's time to quit playing games and eliminate such a wicked and unrepentant murderous blood cult. As someone mentioned on my blog a couple of days ago, Christianity is the religion of loving thy neighbor, Judiasm is the religion of redemtpion of God's Chosen, and Islam is the religion of hate. Yet they're all supposed to derive from the same God, and the same origin. Something got twisted, and I don't think it's Christianity or Judiasm. Time to clean out the sewers.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/22/2006 15:52 Comments ||
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The United States has said that British police can board and search rendition flights carrying terrorist suspects if the authorities can produce evidence of a crime and officers turn up with a search warrant. The US has been criticised for not allowing routine inspections of aircraft at UK airports amid allegations it is flying suspects to be tortured.
We could certainly demand to search all British Airways flights on some pretext.
But yesterday Cecile Shea, the US consul in Scotland, told The Scotsman that if UK authorities had evidence that a crime had been committed then under British law police could seek a search warrant and if succesful board the aircraft. "If the crown prosecutor does believe a crime is being committed they should file a warrant and search the plane," she said. "If the crown prosecutor was to obtain a search warrant we would honour it."
However she again ruled out allowing routine searches of US aircraft, as requested by opponents of the US policy of extraordinary rendition. "These people are asking to search every plane and the answer to that is no," she said.
The CIA should be flying baby duck chow on every plane for the next few months.
Colin Boyd, the Lord Advocate, has previously stated that he has no evidence to justify the issuing of a search warrant to inspect US flights and yesterday the Crown Office said police would not be able to board flights without a warrant. A Crown Office spokeswoman said that aircraft were treated as private property. She said police could board a plane if they believed there was "evidence that there is an ongoing dangerous situation", but said that would not cover the movement of terrorist suspects. "In the case that someone was being taken somewhere, that would not be enough to board immediately because the torture was not happening then and there. The immediate risk to life is not there," she said.
The SNP yesterday urged the US to voluntarily allow British investigators to board flights suspected of being involved in rendition without warrants. Angus Robertson, the party's foreign affairs spokesman, said: "If we are going to work together and maintain the highest human rights standards we need to show that none of these activities are going on." Human rights campaigners have argued that the UK has a duty under international law to investigate allegations that its airports are being used by aircraft transporting prisoners to be tortured.
But the Crown just said there was insufficient evidence to get a warrant, which means the allegations are just piffle.
#1
Angus Robertson, the party's foreign affairs spokesman, said: "If we are going to work together and maintain the highest human rights standards we need to show that none of these activities are going on."
No, Angus, if we are going to work together and maintain the highest human rights standards you need to get off your effete, over-civilized ass and concentrate on the REAL threat to your human rights: Muslims who want to take away ALL of those rights and make you live under sharia.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
01/22/2006 5:40 Comments ||
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Scottish Nationalist Party. TRANZI clowns. Typical of the politicians and media of Scotland. These people can out moonbat 99% if the wankers we have here.
Could al Qaeda terrorist operatives be teaming up with the MS-13 gang?
No, federal investigators say. There is little, if any, evidence of such a link, and it is highly unlikely that the radical Muslim organization would align itself with a predominately Catholic gang, they say.
But questions linger. In September 2004, The Washington Times reported that a top al Qaeda lieutenant, Adnan G. El Shukrijumah, had been spotted two months earlier meeting at a Tegucigalpa, Honduras, cafe with MS-13 leaders. Then-Attorney General John Ashcroft confirmed that the meeting was being investigated.
In 2004, U.S. authorities suspected that the Saudi-born Shukrijuman had sought meetings with MS-13 leaders who they said control immigrant smuggling routes into the United States through Mexico. Ashcroft later confirmed that Shukrijumah had attempted to acquire radioactive material for the production and smuggling of a "dirty bomb" into the U.S. Federal officials subsequently downplayed and then refuted the reports about the Honduran meeting.
In February 2005, a U.S. diplomat in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, renewed concern that al Qaeda and MS-13 might be working together. Consul John Naland's comments came after the arrest of an MS-13 member in Matamoros who was accused of trying to smuggle three immigrants into the United States and a week after federal officials confirmed the arrest of Ebner Anibal Rivera-Paz, the reputed head of the Honduran MS-13 organization outside Falfurrias, north of McAllen.
MS-13 "might be just the kind of group which would take money to smuggle an honest-to-goodness terrorist into the United States," Naland said.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/22/2006 11:18 ||
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Entertainer Harry Belafonte, one of the Bush administration's harshest critics, compared the Homeland Security Department to the Nazi Gestapo on Saturday and attacked the president as a liar. "We've come to this dark time in which the new Gestapo of Homeland Security lurks here, where citizens are having their rights suspended," Belafonte said in a speech to the annual meeting of the Arts Presenters Members Conference. ??? Shouldn't someone whack him in the head to justify this garbage?
"You can be arrested and not charged. You can be arrested and have no right to counsel," said Belafonte. Nice anti-Ciklis, he'd kick your ass thru your mouth, you decrepit piece of Fidellista SH*T
Belafonte's remarks on Saturday _ part of a 45-minute speech on the role of the arts in a politically changing world "pay us to insult you" were greeted with a roaring standing ovation from an audience which included such unemployed as singer Peter Yarrow of the folk group Peter, Paul and Mary, and members of the arts community from several dozen countries. several dozen? Zimbabwe in there? Turkish Kurdistan? Afghans? I didn't think so...
Laplanders, Samoans, Esquimaux, the whole bunch. Can't trust none of 'em.
Messages seeking comments from Homeland Security and White House officials were not immediately returned. "we're in the toilet wiping creating our response "
He had called President Bush "the greatest terrorist in the world" during a trip to Venezuela two weeks ago. Belafonte, 78, made that comment after a meeting with Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez.
Right on cue, too.
The Harlem-born Belafonte, who was raised in Jamaica, said his activism was inspired by an impoverished mother "who imbued in me that we should never capitulate to oppression." she was twisted, so I am as well...
He acknowledged that the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks demanded a reaction by the United States, but said the policies of the Bush administration were not the right response. "Fascism is fascism. Terrorism is terrorism. Oppression is oppression," said Belafonte, who served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. I am the egg man goo goo ga joob!
Bush, he said, rose to power "somewhat dubiously and ... then lies to the people of this nation, misleads them, misinstructs, and then sends off hundreds of thousands of our own boys and girls to a foreign land that has not aggressed against us."
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/22/2006 00:00 ||
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#1
The image of Harry Belafonte, 78, that comes to mind is not a pleasant one. He's basically an embittered old man literally sitting on a park bench and screaming at kids playing in the park to "stop making all that noise!" A Stalinist with a dwindling fan base.
#3
There was a recent pic of him on Drudge, next to Hillary in a different pic. Unfortunately it was too small to use. He was wearing headphones, and more than anything else, he looked like Darth Vader after his helmet had been taken off.
#6
..I thank God Mr. Belafonte can say things like that here. Because quite frankly, if he ever saw what the REAL Gestapo was capable of, he'd sh*t himself.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
01/22/2006 11:38 Comments ||
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Way-O Way-O
Alzheimer come an I can' fin' ma home!
Edited 'cause I haven't finished it yet
Maybe later
NEW YORK, Jan. 21, 2006 (AP Online delivered by Newstex) -- Entertainer Harry Belafonte, one of the Bush administration's harshest critics, compared the national Homeland Security department to the Gestapo and attacked the president as a liar during a fiery Saturday speech.
"We've come to this dark time in which the Gestapo of Homeland Security lurks here, where citizens are having their rights suspended," Belafonte told thousands of people at the annual meeting of the Arts Presenters Members Conference. No sooner had he equated Bush with Hitler then his lips fell off.
"You can be arrested and not charged, you can be arrested and have no right to counsel," said Belafonte, who called President Bush "the greatest terrorist in the world" during a trip to Venezuela two weeks ago. Belafonte, 78, made that comment after a meeting with Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez. Chávez, who does everything that Belafonte dishonestly accuses Bush of doing, approved.
The Harlem-born Belafonte, who was raised in Jamaica, said his activism was inspired by an impoverished mother "who imbued in me that we should never capitulate to oppression." So you support oppressors. Way to honor her, moonbat.
He acknowledged that the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks demanded a reaction by the United States, but charged that the policies of the Bush administration were not the right response "The right response is to let them kill us all."
Bush, he said, was a president "who has risen to power somewhat dubiously and ... then lies to the people of this nation, misleads them, misinstructs, and then sends off hundreds of thousands of our own boys and girls to a foreign land that has not aggressed against us."
#2
Have these idiots noticed that only foreigners and fruit loops are bitching about this? Most Americans are accepting that this is a result of them desperately trying to keep us alive. Who really stands to have their rights infringed here anyway? People who are quite probably guilty of terrorism but we cant prove it under the old laws. Oh, be still my beating heart!
#3
I take exception to using the photo of an American Greater Loon for Belafonte. Loons are nice, clean birds. A sh##-eating buzzard would be more appropriate.
Belafonte has reached the point where his BDS has overtaken his Alzheimers as his primary source of energy and intelligence. He was once a halfway decent entertainer. Now, like most of Hollywierd, he's just a mindless flake. The most fitting response to his latest tirades should be to force him to live in Chavez' Venezuela, anonymously.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/22/2006 16:20 Comments ||
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Sea, found an extended version of this article here.
He hits all of Osama's talking points and isn't the least bit displeased by his newest fan or the attention he's getting. Why am I not surprised he was part of the State Department??
Blum said his lifeâs mission has been this: "If not ending, at least slowing down the American Empire. At least injuring the beast. Itâs causing so much suffering around the world."
Can you imagine how the American public would have reacted toward an author who had been endorsed by Hitler during WW2, and who had made comments like the one above? I find it difficult to understand the indifference to the best interests, or even the survival, of our civilization by so many today.
The recent attempt to kill al Qaedaâs number two guy, Ayman al Zawahiri, in Pakistan, is threatening to damage intelligence operations in Pakistan. It all began when good intel was received that Ayman al Zawahiri, and some of his staff, were going to have dinner at the compound of some Pakistani tribal supporters. Al Zawahiri was late, but the Hellfire missiles from the Predator UAVs overhead were not. While several al Qaeda officials were killed, so were some Pakistani civilians.
Pakistani Islamic radicals, who are a potent political force in the country, promptly made this Hellfire attack into a major political issue. Many Pakistani military and intelligence officials support the Taliban, and some even back al Qaeda. The Islamic radicals in Pakistan have enough clout to turn the al Zawahiri into a political issue, not so much because civilians were killed, but because Americans were operating on Pakistani soil. This has not been a secret, but there were, until now, few obvious examples of this American presence. Now there is, and the Pakistani government is under a lot of pressure to âexpel the foreignersâ (not al Qaeda, but the Americans.) How about the sqeeky wheel gets the Hellfire? That wonât happen, because president Musharraf needs U.S. support to stay in power. While Musharraf is the latest in a long line of Pakistani military dictators, he is not, like some of his predecessors, into Islamic fundamentalism. This has put Musharrafâs life in danger, from Islamist Pakistanis as well as al Qaeda foreigners. In self-defense, Musharraf may curb some American intel activities. This would hurt Musharraf, as U.S. UAVs and intel agents have been a major assist in keeping local Islamic militants from causing more damage. But in the short term, surviving an outraged public may become a higher priority. Long term, the U.S. intel operations will continue in Pakistan, and more Hellfire attacks are likely.
Posted by: ed ||
01/22/2006 13:44 ||
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Article implies that an Islamic leader who is "into fundamentalism" is somehow safer than one who isn't. Not so -- every Muslim (no matter how fundamentalist) is an apostate (therefore deserving of the death penalty) to some other Muslims. It all depends on who wants to grasp for power.
#2
the mere fact that ISI and MMA support terrorists means we should worry about blowback? What a handwringing load of crap. I expect better from Strategypage. We need to support Perv, and taking out foreigners, welcomed among tribesmen who are clearly not Perv supporters, is an illumination on the ISI/MMA/tribal links to terrorists that they can't stand. Keep the spotlight (or UAV infrared...heh heh) on!
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/22/2006 14:14 Comments ||
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Frank, It not the US that worries about it. It's Musharraf and the Pakis who are willing to cooperate with us. The Pakis gov has already said the US must get approval from them before any more strikes. Of course that is for the consumption of the peasants since the Pakistanis were informed before the Damadola hit.
Instead of worrying about aggrieved Pakistani sensitivities, I think the US should assassinate the Pakistani islamist and jihadist leaders. When they should Deat to Infidels, Deat to America, they should be the first to pay with the their lives.
Posted by: ed ||
01/22/2006 14:59 Comments ||
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Deat = Death
Posted by: ed ||
01/22/2006 15:00 Comments ||
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Perv is the real fool here. Instead of trying to triangulate his fundie enemies, he should be slowly and methodically eliminating them.
First he needs a brigade equivalent of a death squad, that is totally loyal and secular, and then he needs to scheme and execute a program of extermination scheduled for many years. Start with the most radical, disloyal and dangerous, and work their way to the least troublesome.
His assassins need to use tools that make death look natural or accidental. No anger here, just cold-blooded killing. There are many readily available poisons and pathogens that wouldn't raise suspicions outside of a top laboratory in the US.
If done properly, hundreds could be exterminated every year. And since there is a limited supply of really dangerous villains, in a decade Pakistan would be as peaceful as all get out.
#6
Ed - I'm OK with that. I get pissed at the pussyfooting around the seething and outrage of those who are avowedly our enemies. If your enemies aren't pissed, you're not doing your job. A bunch of tribal rustics are handling the Pak forces deployed? Let the clusterbombs fall. Who's to say who's innocent when an entire tribal area is your enemy?
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/22/2006 15:41 Comments ||
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The one thing that all Muslims understand, and that we've failed to articulate, is raw power. We need to show Waziristan that WE are the most powerful, meanest, nastiest, brutish, hellish power on the face of the planet. We need to schedule some 3000 aircraft over Waziristan within a 24-hour period, each with a maximum load of iron bombs, and show them what POWER is. The friends of my enemies is my enemy. We need to show them that if they want to make nice with Taliban, we'll make nasty to them, in a way they cannot refute. Screw "world opinion". It's time to wage WAR, not an externally-controlled parlor game. If "Europe" doesn't like it, we can follow up with a strike on Brussels. I think they'll get the message THEN.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/22/2006 16:27 Comments ||
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#8
Actually Old Patriot, Europe would do in your scenario what they have always done : Condemn us in public, while kissing us in private afterwards. Look how much Europe screamed about the Israelis taking out Saddam's nuclear plant in the 1980s, and how much has come out recently about how glad they were that the Israelis did their thing.
#9
perhaps we need to tell them to save both public and private motions. They are irrelevant at best when it comes to OUR national security, including defending the only democracy in the ME with a track record (Iraq may be #2). Europe needs to learn their place. Without our overwhelmingly (cost/men/materials) expensive shield they'd have been Soviet. Now, they bite that hand. F*&k them.
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/22/2006 18:07 Comments ||
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Balochistan, a word that has little resonance for the ordinary American, may present yet another challenge for the United States as it increasingly becomes the launching pad in Pakistan for Islamic terrorism, according to a new paper published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
"...Baluchistan seems to be heading toward another armed insurrection," says Grare, one that comes 30 years after one of the most violent conflicts ever.
A rising number of attacks against army and paramilitary forces during 2004 and 2005, signify rising frustration among a people whose nationalistic aspirations have been suppressed by Islamabad without any economic or social development, and an exclusionary policy, says Grare.
The paper accuses the establishment in Pakistan of finding military rather than civil solutions. And warns that Islamabad must negotiate with leaders in that country otherwise an incendiary situation was developing that would have consequences not just for Pakistan, but for the world.
"To achieve unity, the army rule of the country has almost always favoured military solutions over political ones and has tended to reinforce separatist tendencies", and concealed the real Baluch problem, says the author. The Baluch crisis is not just the unintended outcome of more or less appropriate decisions. The crisis epitomises the army's mode of governance and its relation with Pakistan's citizens and world public opinion.
Balochistan, which straddles three countries (Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan) and borders the Arabian Sea, is a vast and sparsely populated province (6,511,000 people occupying 43 percent of Pakistan's territory) that contains within its borders all the contradictions that affect the region, including conflict between the United States and the Taliban, the paper points out.
A large part of US military operations in Afghanistan are launched from the Pasni and Dalbandin bases situated on Baluch territory. The Taliban, backed by both Pakistan and Iran, also operate out of Balochistan.
"If the pressure on Western forces in Afghanistan were to become unbearable, Washington and its allies could conceivably use the Baluch nationalists, who fiercely oppose the influence of the mullahs and also oppose the Taliban, to exert diplomatic pressure on Islamabad as well as Tehran."
Balochistan also contains rich mineral resources, including 36 percent of its total gas production, large quantities of coal, gold, copper, silver, platinum, aluminium, and, above all, uranium and is a potential transit zone for a pipeline transporting natural gas from Iran and Turkmenistan to India.
Meanwhile, the Baluch coast is critical not just to Pakistan but also China which is involved with the development of the important Gwadar port which is designed to bolster Pakistan's strategic defences by providing an alternative to the Karachi port.
"Some even consider this isolated township in the southwest of Pakistan as a Chinese naval outpost on the Indian Ocean designed to protect Beijing's oil supply lines from the Middle East and to counter the growing US presence in Central Asia," the author notes.
"Islamabad has always denied the existence of Baluch nationalism, but the Baluch lay claim to a history going back two thousand years," reminds the author, and have secretly campaigned for independence during the final days decades of the British Raj. And since 1947, the Baluch's have fought Pakistan's army on more than one occasion, the latest from 1973 to 1977 in a guerrilla war and similar to what is happening today.
The author accuses Pakistan's press of constantly referring to a possible "foreign hand" in Baluchistan as a cause for the crisis today, including pointing at India which has opened consulates in neighbouring Afghanistan's Jalalabad and Kandahar cities, and sometimes accusing Iran or the United States.
Charges by Pakistan that the Baluch rebels are financed abroad are part of Islamabad's efforts to discredit Baluch nationalism, the author contends.
"Following the policies adopted by Zia ul-Haq in the 1980s, Pakistan's government continues through its Ministry of Religious Affairs to encourage the setting up of madrassas in the province in order to penetrate deeper into the ethnic Baluch areas stubbornly opposed to the mullahs," he says.
Attempts to colour a largely secular environment in Balochistan as a risky fundamentalist bastion by the Pakistan government, says the author, is an attempt by Islamabad "to draw the attention of foreign powers to the risk of the spread of fundamentalism in the region and to launch a systematic disinformation campaign equating the Baluch resistance with Islamic terrorism."
Pakistan's intelligence services have linked nationalist militancy to the terrorism of Al Qaeda and the Taliban, emphasizes the author. "The same attempt at disinformation dictates the identification of Baluch nationalism with Iran's Islamic revolution at a time when the United States and Western Europe are protesting Tehran's nuclear ambitions."
He warns against any temptation India may have to see the dismemberment yet again of Pakistan expecting it to help toward resolving the Kashmir issue, "but a change of regional boundaries could revive fears of irredentism in Kashmir and in the territories of the Northeast that a vengeful Pakistan would be only too eager to exploit."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/22/2006 11:32 ||
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Pakistani politicians on Saturday criticised the armed forces, the Punjab province and intelligence agencies in a meeting with Nicholas Burns, the US deputy secretary of state for political affairs. Burns said he supported democracy in Pakistan but refused to comment on the countryâs internal matters. The visiting US official held a meeting with the leaders of opposition and ruling parties. The politicians raised internal matters like unequal distribution of resources and lack of consensus on Kalabagh Dam. âMeeting Pakistani politicians is a learning experience for me. Apparently, the whole lot of them is stark raving bonkers. When does my plane leave, again? We (the US government) want to play a role in the promotion of democracy in Asia. And Pakistan is fundamentally important to us,â sources privy to meeting quoted Burns as saying.
MNA Fauzia Wahab of the Pakistan Peopleâs Party Parliamentarians questioned how the US could promote democracy in Pakistan when it supported a military dictator. She said political parties had been marginalised by the military regime. She told the US official that former prime minister Benazir Bhutto was being threatened with court cases if she returned to Pakistan. Abdul Hayee Baloch, a Baloch nationalist, briefed Burns about the Balochistan situation. He claimed the Balochistan had suffered a lot from âmilitary dictatorsâ. Nasreen Jaleel, a leader of the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM), complained that Sindh was not given its due share by the federal government. Sources said the MQM leader criticised President Musharraf for announcing Kalabagh Dam and launching an operation in Balochistan.
Sources said Burns refused to comment on Pakistanâs internal issues. He said provincial autonomy and the distribution of resources were purely internal issues.
Human rights activist Asma Jehangir said that Musharrafâs policies were âdamaging the federation of Pakistanâ. âElections are held in ISI offices rather than in towns,â sources quoted her as telling the US official. MNA Sheikh Waqas Ahmed, who belonged to the ruling PML, claimed intelligence agencies and military officials were patronising banned religious outfits.
WASHINGTON - US leaders are expected to call for more intensive efforts by Pakistan to flush out Osama bin Laden and his number two from their sanctuary in meetings with Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz here this week. akistani President General Pervez Musharraf, who is facing an increasing litany of tribulations at home, has sent Aziz, among his most trusted lieutenants, to meet with President George W. Bush and other leaders.
Bring gifts.
Counter-terrorism is widely expected to hog the agenda, as the back to back release of bin Laden and Zawahiri’s recordings has sent a chilling reminder to Americans that the masterminds of the September 11, 2001 attacks remain at large, experts said.
Another additional US concern is the jump in suicide bombings and roadside blasts in Afghanistan, attributed to an influx of foreign militants from the border with Pakistan, said Strategic Forecasting Inc. (Stratfor), a private US intelligence firm. “While Washington continues to get cooperation from Pakistan, it is always concerned about the quality of the cooperation and its longevity, if you will,” said Kamran Bokhari, Stratfor’s senior analyst for Middle East and South Asia.
Which means we're not getting cooperation the way we want.
Stratfor believes bin Laden and Zawahiri are in northwestern Pakistan. “To the best of our understanding, our company places them somewhere in northwestern Pakistan, we don’t even think they are in the tribal areas.
“How they have survived this long? Definitely, there is evidence to suggest that in certain quarters of the military and security apparatus, there are sympathisers,” Bokhari said.
Brilliant guys, I could do this from Chicago.
Pakistan could be harbouring Al Qaeda leaders “as something that can be traded for American goodwill,” said Frederic Grare, a visiting scholar with the Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he is leading a project assessing US and European policies toward Pakistan. “The earlier they get rid of them, the lesser their leverage. So, they have an interest in keeping them as long as possible,” he said. “Not that I suspect any ideological sympathy, let’s be clear on that.”
"No, no! Certainly not!"
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/22/2006 00:43 ||
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From the Rantburg Diplomacy Desk:
NEW DELHI, Jan 21 (KUNA) -- Saudi Ambassador based here, Saleh Al-Ghamedi, said on Saturday his country and India would sign a number of cooperation protocols during the visit of The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdul-Aziz Al-Saud. He told a press conference, held to mark the opening of the "Saudi Products in India Expo", that the king, whose multi-day visit would commence on Jan 24, will sign agreements to cancel double taxation and protect investments.
A high-level delegation comprising the finance and oil ministers is accompanying the monarch. A group of over 80 Saudi businessmen were invited to attend a joint business council that will be held here during the king's visit. The two countries trade exchange is valued at over USD 7 billion a year, while over 1.7 million Indian nationals work in Saudi Arabia. King Abdullah will be the Chief Guest at the Republic Day 2006 celebrations set for Jan. 26.
The Indian president will hold a state banquet in honor of King Abdullah, who would also meet and hold talks with Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. The king would inaugurate a Saudi Exhibition at Pragati Maidan and address a Business Summit hosted by the apex Chambers of Indian Commerce and Industry. The King would also visit Jamia Millia Islamia where he would receive an Honorary Doctorate.
An interview with Mukhtar Mai in the United Nations scheduled for Friday night has been cancelled because of pressure from Pakistanâs government, according to the New York Times.
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, currently on an official visit to the US, said he was not aware of the planned interview or cancellation. âI have no Idea. I donât know how the place functions.â
Aziz said he supported Mai. âI have supported her and her efforts. She is a great proponent and champion of women rights,â he said.
The New York-based charity Virtue Foundation and the Asian American Network Against Abuse of Human Rights had set up several interviews with Mai at the United Nations on Friday. âFaced with pressure from Pakistanâs mission to the United Nations, which asked them to cancel the event, it was cancelled at 8 pm last night,â said Joseph Salim, founder and executive director of the foundation, Reuters reported. UN sources said Pakistani envoys did not want to detract attention from the prime ministerâs visit. Pakistani diplomats were not immediately available for comment.
Shashi Tharoor, the under general secretary for communications, said he could not comment on this specific case. âAs a general principle, indeed there are written instructions guiding the holding of any event on UN premises in which we are obliged to take into account views formally expressed by member states. This is a building and an organisation that belongs to member states,â the NYT quoted him as saying.
#2
So have it in Madison Square Garden. He$$, have it in the middle of Pennsylvania Station. Either one would torque the jaws of the radical islamonazis in Pakiwackiland to the point a couple would die from lockjaw. Of course, hellfires are faster and more efficient. I think it's time to put the screws to Pakistan and its militant islamo-nutcases. The faster, the better.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
01/22/2006 16:53 Comments ||
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Italian and Iraqi officials will on Sunday inaugurate a new business centre in the southern Iraqi city of Nasirya where Italy's military contingent in Iraq is currently deployed. The Bab Tahir International District includes an "industrial hotel' which aims to provide a venue where Italian and Iraqi business people can display their products and discuss investment and trade opportunities. Sunday's inauguration will be held under the auspices of the Italian Foreign Ministry which has organised the visit by a delegation of industrialists from Italy to coincide with the centre's opening.
The event will also mark the signing of a memorandum of understanding by officials of two Italian state companies - Marco Castellett, CEO of SUDGEST, and Giancarlo Lanna, president of SIMEST (a company which provides support to Italian private companies which invest abroad) - which will manage the business district. Sudgest which is already active in several local development projects in the Iraqi province of Dhi Qar, will also be responsible for training activities at the centre.
SUDGEST will also finalise an accord with the University of Dhi Qar for the construction and traing centre funded by the foreign ministry in Rome. The centre will provide vocational training for Iraqis to improve their employment prospects, and will be situated near the university. The centre will be fully computerised and equipped with a satellite link to Italy for distance learning.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/22/2006 11:58 ||
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#1
This looks like a good idea. Italy's enlightened self-interest is here helpful to us and to Iraq.
With all the ballots from last month's election finally counted, the leader of Iraq's largest Sunni alliance telephoned his Shiite rival on Friday night to wish him well in the weeks ahead.
"I was hoping we could build a good relationship," said Adnan Dulaimi, the Sunni leader, of his chat with the leader of the Shiite alliance, Abdul Aziz Hakim.
The warm feeling may not last very long.
With the results now in, most Iraqi political leaders say they want to form a "national unity" government, a coalition that would include the three main alliances of Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds. With none of the major blocs capturing a majority of the 275 parliamentary seats, the talks to form such a government are already under way.
The stakes are high. Anything short of a unity government, Iraqi and American officials here say, would be tantamount to disaster, with the Sunnis the most likely losers. Leaving them out of the government could very well prompt them to turn away from democratic politics again, and give the insurgency a fresh shot of energy.
Zalmay Khalilzad, the American ambassador here, has made it clear that he intends to involve himself directly in the negotiations - as forcefully as is necessary - to make sure the Sunnis are given a significant role.
But for all the expressions of solidarity, most of the political factors now in play seem weighted against a broad-based government. Many Iraqis suggest that the most likely government will be an alliance between the Shiites and the Kurds, with the Sunnis cut out altogether.
In the vote totals announced Friday, the Shiite coalition and an alliance of the two largest Kurdish parties fell just three seats shy of the two-thirds parliamentary majority needed to form a government.
With 181 seats in all, the Shiites and Kurds would need to pick up just three additional seats from the 10 other groups that won seats in the election. If they can do that, they will not need the Sunnis to form a government or to pass laws.
It seems clear that the Shiite leadership is considering going ahead without the Sunnis. Shiite leaders are petitioning the Iraqi election commission for a re-interpretation of the vote counting rules that would, if it were accepted, grant the Shiites 10 additional seats.
The same arithmetic would also come into play in the mechanism to amend Iraq's new Constitution. The Constitution, which would create a weak central government and give the state an Islamic cast, was approved by a majority of Iraqis in October but rejected by most Sunnis. The Sunnis were coaxed into the democratic process by the promise that the new government would consider amending the Constitution.
Under the mechanism set up, any change would require a two-thirds vote of the assembly. Early this month, Mr. Hakim, with a rough outline of the election totals already in hand, declared that the Shiite coalition would oppose any significant changes in the constitution.
American officials, as well as some Iraqi leaders, interpreted Mr. Hakim's remarks as little more than an opening bid in what are expected to be difficult negotiations. But in any talks over the new Constitution - as over the new government - the Shiites and the Kurds already hold most of the cards.
Even a vigorous effort by Mr. Khalilzad, who helped the Iraqis complete the Constitution in October, might not be enough. At times, the old hatreds that divide Sunni, Shiites and Kurds here seemed too daunting even for diplomacy.
For the moment, the leaders of the Shiite and Kurdish blocs are saying that they will make every effort to bring the Sunnis into the government. They say they are aware of the dangers - and the futility - of trying to impose their will on an embattled and often violent minority.
"We are not living in a country where a party with a two-vote majority in Parliament can rule - this is not Iraq," Jalal Talabani, the Iraqi president and Kurdish leader, said in an interview. "If the Shiites and Kurds will cooperate, there will be a majority, but this is not right, and not the correct way to rule the country."
But Mr. Talabani made it clear that his tolerance would reach only so far. One thing he would not brook, he said, was any hint that the Sunni parties were acting as a political front for the insurgents. In an interview earlier this month, a prominent Sunni political leader said that he was in contact with guerrilla leaders, and that he had asked them to hold their fire in December to allow the Sunnis to go to the polls.
That raised the possibility that the insurgent violence was being calibrated to help the Sunni parties.
"They must be clear they are with the terrorists, or with the political process," Mr. Talabani said, referring to the Sunni leaders. "We will never accept this dirty game. If they are with the political process, they are welcome. If they are with the terrorists, they will lose everything. That is my advice to them."
"We, the Kurds and the Shiites and the democratic elements among the Sunnis, will never never, never accept this role," Mr. Talabani said. "They will be out of the government, they will be out of the state, we will rule the country in a democratic way. And we will impose peace and freedom on the country."
For now, the Sunnis are hoping that, whatever the arithmetic, they will be granted a role in the new government if only because the consequences of leaving them out are so dire.
"They cannot form a cabinet without us," said Mr. Dulaimi, the Sunni leader. "And if there is no consensus, the new cabinet will not be able to solve the Iraqi problem."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/22/2006 11:46 ||
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#1
Politics -- everyone who's anyone in Iraq is playing this hot, new game! ;-) Seriously though, even overwrought threats are good when it means they didn't first reach for the armaments.
Tehran plans a nuclear weapons test before March 20, 2006 – the Iranian New Year, moves Shahab-3 missiles within striking range of Israel
January 22, 2006, 9:30 AM (GMT+02:00)
Reporting this, the dissident Foundation for Democracy in Iran, a US-based watch group, cites sources in the US and Iran. The FDI adds from Iran: on June 16, the high command of the Revolutionary Guards Air Force ordered Shahab-3 missile units to move mobile launchers every 24 hours instead of weekly. This is in view of a potential pre-emptive strike by the US or Israel.
Advance Shahab-3 units have been positioned in Kermanshah and Hamad within striking distance of Israel, reserve launchers moved to Esfahan and Fars.
The missile units were told to change positions “in a radius of 30-35 kilometers” and only at night.
DEBKAfile’s Iranian sources add: FDI reporting has a reputation for credibility. Western and Israeli intelligence have known for more than six months that Iran’s nuclear program has reached the capability of being able to carry out a nuclear explosion, albeit underground. It would probably be staged in a desert or mountain region and activated by a distant control center. Tehran would aim at confronting the Americans, Europeans and Israelis with an irreversible situation.
At the same time, an explosion of this sort would indicate that Iran is not yet able to produce a nuclear bomb that can be delivered by airplane or a warhead adapted to a missile. The stage Iran has reached is comparable to Pakistan’s when it conducted its first nuclear tests in the nineties and North Korea’s in 2001. All the same, an Iranian underground nuclear blast, which will most probably be attempted on March 22, would turn around the strategic position of all the parties concerned and the Middle East as whole.
The question now is: will the United States, Israel or both deliver a pre-emptive strike ahead of the Iranian underground test - or later? Or will Washington alternatively use the event to bring the UN Security Council round to economic sanctions? Tehran is already organizing to withstand economic penalties. For Israel, the timing is getting tight in view of its general election on March 28. Acting prime minister Ehud Olmert must take into account that a ruling party which allows an Iranian nuclear explosion to take place six days before the poll would draw painful punishment from the voter.
#1
Acting prime minister Ehud Olmert must take into account that a ruling party which allows an Iranian nuclear explosion to take place six days before the poll would draw painful punishment from the voter.
Starting to look like a strategy. Booom a country at election time and watch the populace tumble to the left at the polls. Watch the lefties's run screaming to get out of the "War on Terror" once their hit and watch the new government do just that.
Worked in Spain and in France. Some success in Britain...
The EU certainly tumbles left. Somewhere over the mid-Atlantic though, things change. I'd suspect a sharp tumble back right with a hit in North America. Same goes for Israel.
#7
If they move the missiles there will be heat emissions from the trucks pulling them, right? And our satellites can see in the infrared? So we'll know where the things have been moved from and to. Thanks ever so much for being so sharp you cut yourself, Mullah-mad idiots!
Inspectors from the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency will come to Iran in the next two days to continue the process of verifying Iranian nuclear program. A Tehran-based official told IRNA on Saturday that the upcoming visit to Iran of IAEA team indicates Iranian determination to work with the UN nuclear agency to verify the civilian nature of the national nuclear program.
Iran signed Additional Protocol to Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in 2003 to give 'objective guarantee' to IAEA that Iranian nuclear program will not be deviated from civilian use. IAEA Charter specified the Additional Protocol to NPT as 'objective guarantee' to ensure that nuclear programs of the member states are not be diverted to military purpose.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in a press conference in Tehran last Saturday that Iranian nuclear program is in line with Safeguards Agreement of the IAEA. Asked about Russian proposal for cooperation in the production of fuel, he said that Iran is studying the offer and negotiations on the issue will be held in Moscow on February 6.
Commenting on extraordinary meeting of IAEA Board of Governors on February 2-3, he said that the Islamic Republic of Iran will proceed with diplomatic drive with the UN nuclear agency and Non-Aligned members and other nations of the governing board. He said that Iran is also ready to go ahead with negotiations with the European Union.
Just as long as it doesn't mean answering too many questions.
On reported mediation efforts to tackle strains in the Syrian-Lebanese ties, Al-Assad indicated that some influential Lebanese figures rejected ideas, put forward by Damascus to thrash out some of the thorny issues, namely the demarcation of the Lebanese-Syrian border. Al-Assad questioned the timing of raising the issue of identity of the border Shebaa farms, while they have remained under Israeli occupation. "The objective of raising the issue of the Shebaa farms now is against the Lebanese resistance and the sole benefiting party is Israel and the demarcation there now will benefit neither Lebanon nor Syria," he said.
On Iraq, the Syrian president said, "We have expressed the desire to establish a relationship based on brotherhood and coordination and expressed readiness to aid the Iraqi people." Al-Assad reiterated that Syria was being targetted by super powers as part of a larger scheme to alter conditions in the region, and re-affirmed Damascus' support for establishing a just peace in the Middle East.
Oops, Assad is catching on to Dubya's game. Getting a little hot in the kitchen there, Bashar?
The voice was muffled, labored, weakâas you might expect from a man who has spent the past four years on the run. If it didn't belong to one of the world's most feared men, it would hardly scare a child. Having disappeared from view, sheltering in the mountains of Afghanistan and Pakistan, Osama bin Laden may have lost the ability to send a chill down the world's spine. Governments don't shut down airports or send security forces into red alert. Even when he makes the direst threats, we no longer feel compelled to slow down, much less stop, the course of our daily lives.
But bin Laden's re-emergence last Thursday was� still a jolt, coming after a 13-month silence that raised questions about whether the al-Qaeda boss was incapacitated or even dead. The U.S. believes the 10-minute taped message, which aired on the Arab TV channel al-Jazeera, was probably recorded sometime since November, partly because of a reference to British newspaper reports from that time about a purported proposal by President Bush to bomb al-Jazeera. The tape suggested that bin Laden is alive, if not quite well. A longtime bin Laden watcher, French terrorism expert Roland Jacquard, speculates that the decision not to release a videotape may reflect a desire to conceal the deterioration of his physical condition. And if bin Laden's voice sounded more muted than in his last message, in December 2004, so did his rhetoric. He warned of forthcoming attacks on U.S. soil but didn't convey a sense of immediacy. "They are in the planning stages, and you will see them in the heart of your land as soon as the planning is complete," he said. He floated the idea of a cessation of hostilities with America if the U.S. withdraws troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. "We do not mind offering a long-term truce based on just conditions that we will stick to," bin Laden said. The White House didn't bite. "We do not negotiate with terrorists," spokesman Scott McClellan said. "We put them out of business."
That claim, of course, is undermined every day that bin Laden and his deputy and chief tactician, Ayman al-Zawahiri, remain on the loose. But bin Laden's resurfacing has come at a time when the leadership of al-Qaeda appears to be under as much strain as at any time since the fall of the Taliban in 2001. Antiterrorism experts say the Saudi-born terrorist is no longer in active contact with field commanders, and his ability to plan and direct specific operations is hampered by his isolation. In Iraq, scene of al-Qaeda's deadliest strikes since 9/11, the group's leader, Abu Mousab al-Zarqawi, is fighting battles with some Iraqi insurgent groups who want him dead almost as badly as the U.S. military does (see box). Meanwhile, an intensified U.S. push to hunt down al-Qaeda leaders has scored a series of apparent successes; just last week Pakistani intelligence officials claimed that a Jan. 13 U.S. air strike on the village of Damadola had killed as many as four senior operativesâalthough it may have missed its chief target, al-Zawahiri, whose voice was heard on an undated audiotape last Friday. Among some U.S. counterterrorism experts, there was speculation that the release of the bin Laden tape was al-Qaeda's attempt to boost the morale of its foot soldiers amid the run of bad p.r. Says an intelligence official: "The question is, Is this someone's way of changing the topic?"
It might be, but no one is confusing misdirection for surrender. While improved cooperation between the U.S. and Pakistan has apparently helped the U.S. zero in on bin Laden's lieutenants, credible intelligence on the main target's whereabouts is sketchy at best. Law-enforcement officials say that bin Laden's message aside, there are no signs of heightened al-Qaeda activity in the U.S., but they don't discount the possibility of a terrorist attack. "The threat's still real," says a U.S. intelligence official, "but because of this tape, does that make it any more real than it was before the tape? No." Today, the official says, al-Qaeda is not the same outfit it was on 9/11; it has morphed from a command-and-control organization into a philosophy that has "inspired cells around the world ... It's harder for them to coordinate, but it also makes them very dangerous."
Some terrorism experts believe that the perception that bin Laden is vulnerable may make jihadists more determined to carry out attacks. "I'd be worried over the next 60 to 90 days," says a former fbi counterterrorism official. "I believe if we don't hear from al-Qaeda in the near term, some will paint bin Laden as weakened and unable to deliver on his threat"âa possibility that may motivate terrorists to try to strike soon, to make good on the promises of their leader.
The reappearance of bin laden came at a moment when U.S. intelligence officials felt pretty good about themselves. Even as the cassette tape was making its way out of bin Laden's secret lair, his pursuers were sending out signals across the borderlands between Pakistan and Afghanistan, where he may be hiding. In recent weeks U.S. and Pakistani intelligence agencies have stepped up their search for top al-Qaeda leaders, with the skies above the mountains buzzing with spy planes and unmanned Predator drones, and a network of local spies and informants has been scouring the landscape for information. A Pakistani security officer told Time the cia has installed sophisticated surveillance equipment in several offices of the isi, Pakistan's spy agency, to monitor any radio and Internet communications between al-Qaeda and its sympathizers.
The objective is to tighten the net around bin Laden and his deputies. In December a U.S. guided-missile attack in North Waziristan, based on intelligence from agents on the ground, reportedly killed Hamza Rabia, an Egyptian believed to have been the latest occupant of al-Qaeda's No. 3 spot. Then, in early January, the U.S. and Pakistan seized on the chance to bag even bigger prey. Details of the Damadola operation are beginning to emerge, and they provide a tantalizing glimpse into the intensifying hunt for bin Laden. A Peshawar-based official told TIME that in the past month, Pakistani-intelligence field agents had been tracking two groups of men who had crossed the border from Afghanistan into Bajaur, a small, often restive tribal region that borders Afghanistan's Kunar province. In the days before the attack, the search zoomed in on the group headed for Damadola; counterterrorist officials believed that some top al-Qaeda figures, including possibly al-Zawahiri himself, might have been in that group. "We knew there were going to be some vips, and any of those were worthy" targets, says a U.S. official.
The infiltrators sheltered in a small compound of three houses just outside Damadola. Shortly after 3 a.m. on Jan. 13, locals say, several missiles fired from Predators crashed into the compound, practically obliterating the houses. According to news reports, Pakistani officials initially said it was possible that al-Zawahiri had been killed, then backed away from the claim. Villagers told journalists who arrived at the scene that 18 civilians had died (the number was later revised down to 13); they denied that any bodies had been removed or that any foreigners had been in the compound. But some Pakistani intelligence officials began telling media outlets last week they believe as many as four leading terrorists, including al-Zawahiri's son-in-law and Abu Khabab al-Masri, a top al-Qaeda bombmaker, died in the strike. The U.S. is still uncertain if DNA� was recovered from the scene to allow experts to positively identify any terrorists killed there or how the IDs were made. Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz told Time late last week that so far investigators have recovered only bodies of civilians, "but our security forces are there in large numbers to get the facts. These things just cannot evaporate and disappear, if there is anything."
Although the missile strike provoked a round of protests in Pakistan's tribal areas that forced President Pervez Musharraf to distance his government from the operation, cooperation between the U.S. and Pakistan in the hunt for bin Laden has quietly deepened. A Peshawar-based Pakistani intelligence official speaking on condition of anonymity says Washington has an understanding with Islamabad that allows the U.S. to strike within Pakistan's border regionsâproviding the Americans have actionable intelligence and especially if the Pakistanis won't or can't take firm action. Pakistan's caveat is that it would formally protest such strikes to deflect domestic criticism.
Some ranking Pakistani officials deny such an agreement exists. The territory in which bin Laden may be hiding remains forbidding to outsiders. In pockets of Pakistan's borderlands, a resurgent Taliban has begun to impose its extreme brand of Islamic law, including a ban on music and the Internet, and the summary execution of criminals. Some counterterrorism experts, though, are cautiously optimistic that the turmoil in al-Qaeda's high command they hope was caused by the strike in Damadola may force its leaders to expose themselves. "You got to presume that all the al-Qaeda guys are asking each other who got smoked," says a former U.S. intelligence official. "When they stick their heads up to see who got whacked, it presents opportunities."
While the hope of finding al-Qaeda's bosses anytime soon remains just thatâhopeâthe hunters have shown indications that they may be closer to picking up their targets' scent. A Pakistani intelligence official says Pakistani intelligence agents and cia drones are searching the mountainsides for the second group that crossed from Afghanistan. In the message delivered last week, bin Laden signaled he would not allow himself to be captured alive. "I swore that I will not die except free, despite the bitter taste of death," he said. On that much, both bin Laden and his pursuers seem to agree: one way or another, his end will come.
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/22/2006 11:28 ||
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AUSTRALIA and the United States must be prepared for the likelihood that al-Qaeda will one day get its hands on a nuclear weapon, former NSW premier Bob Carr says.
Mr Carr has told the Australia-America Leadership Dialogue in Los Angeles that the terror group had been trying for five years to get hold of a nuclear weapon and it was likely it would succeed.
"In 2001 al-Qaeda chatter tracked by US intelligence was about one of their primary goals...to produce what they called an American Hiroshima," Mr Carr said.
"Western cities must have comprehensive evacuation plans drawn up and there have to be detailed plans for communicating with the people about what they should do."
Former Californian governor Pete Wilson, also speaking at the forum, said the US Department of Homeland Security was focused on prevention rather than a response to a nuclear attack.
"The consequences in terms of communications breakdowns and pressure on medical facilities would be unimaginable," Mr Wilson said.
"So concentrating on prevention makes sense, but we still have to consider and plan for what we would do if it did happen."
Posted by: Dan Darling ||
01/22/2006 11:13 ||
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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 Afghan government has fined a privately run television station 1,000 dollars for broadcasting âunIslamicâ material, including raunchy clips from Bollywood movies, officials said on Saturday. A committee within the ministry of information and culture that monitors private television stations ruled against the Afghan TV channel last week, committee secretary Zia Wazir said. Wazir declined to give details of the offending material, saying only: âThey had broadcast stuff that was against Afghan culture and it was unIslamic
Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir underlined on Saturday that the core issue is success not chairmanship of the African Union (AU) summit. Speaking to the Sudanese News Agency, he underlined the role of the sixth AU summit slated here on Monday, in massing together people of the African continent through activation of cultural and scientific activities. 
The Cabinet held an extraordinary meeting on Saturday headed by His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah in which it discussed the current situation of the country after the passing of the late Amir, His Highness Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. Following the session Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs and Minister of State for National Assembly Affairs Mohammed Dhaifallah Sharar stated that the Cabinet reviewed local and foreign reactions to the passing of the late Amir.
The United States has said that British police can board and search rendition flights carrying terrorist suspects if the authorities can produce evidence of a crime and officers turn up with a search warrant. The US has been criticised for not allowing routine inspections of aircraft at UK airports amid allegations it is flying suspects to be tortured. 
Entertainer Harry Belafonte, one of the Bush administration's harshest critics, compared the Homeland Security Department to the Nazi Gestapo on Saturday and attacked the president as a liar. "We've come to this dark time in which the new Gestapo of Homeland Security lurks here, where citizens are having their rights suspended," Belafonte said in a speech to the annual meeting of the Arts Presenters Members Conference.
NEW YORK, Jan. 21, 2006 (AP Online delivered by Newstex) -- Entertainer Harry Belafonte, one of the Bush administration's harshest critics, compared the national Homeland Security department to the Gestapo and attacked the president as a liar during a fiery Saturday speech.
Pakistani politicians on Saturday criticised the armed forces, the Punjab province and intelligence agencies in a meeting with Nicholas Burns, the US deputy secretary of state for political affairs. Burns said he supported democracy in Pakistan but refused to comment on the countryâs internal matters. The visiting US official held a meeting with the leaders of opposition and ruling parties. The politicians raised internal matters like unequal distribution of resources and lack of consensus on Kalabagh Dam. âMeeting Pakistani politicians is a learning experience for me. 
WASHINGTON - US leaders are expected to call for more intensive efforts by Pakistan to flush out Osama bin Laden and his number two from their sanctuary in meetings with Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz here this week. akistani President General Pervez Musharraf, who is facing an increasing litany of tribulations at home, has sent Aziz, among his most trusted lieutenants, to meet with President George W. Bush and other leaders.
An interview with Mukhtar Mai in the United Nations scheduled for Friday night has been cancelled because of pressure from Pakistanâs government, according to the New York Times. 
Tehran plans a nuclear weapons test before March 20, 2006 – the Iranian New Year, moves Shahab-3 missiles within striking range of Israel
Inspectors from the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency will come to Iran in the next two days to continue the process of verifying Iranian nuclear program. A Tehran-based official told IRNA on Saturday that the upcoming visit to Iran of IAEA team indicates Iranian determination to work with the UN nuclear agency to verify the civilian nature of the national nuclear program.
