[ToloNews] US Defense Secretary Mark Esper at a presser on Thursday, the second and final day of the NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the cut of the American pants... defense ministers meeting in Brussels, announced that the Trump administration and the Taliban ...the Pashtun equivalent of men... had negotiated a seven-day reduction in violence proposal.
"The United States and the Taliban have negotiated a proposal for a seven-day reduction in violence. I am here today consulting with allies about this proposal and we had a series productive bilateral and collective meetings about the path forward," said Esper.
"Progress has been made on this front and we will have more to report on that soon," said Esper.
"The only solution in Afghanistan is a political agreement; progress has been made on this front and we’ll have more to report on that soon, I hope," Esper said.
Meanwhile, ...back at the fist fight, Jake ducked another roundhouse, then parried with his left, then with his right, finally with his chin... top Pentagon officials have told CNN that The United States is seeking to seal a peace deal with the Taliban as soon as this week.
The signing of a potential peace agreement will pave the way for the withdrawal of US forces from the country, CNN quoted the US defense officials as saying.
When asked if seven days are enough to evaluate the Taliban’s sincerity for ending the conflict, Esper said that in Washington’s perspective the seven days' reduction in violence, for now, is enough, but, it's a "conditions-based" process.
"In today’s NATO defense ministers meeting, all allies reiterated their commitment to support Afghan cops, particularly the Afghan National Army, until 2024," Khalid told TOLOnews in Brussels.
[ToloNews] While President Ghani has acknowledged the decision to reduce the violence as acceptable, so far, the Afghan government reportedly has no plans for a reduction in violence in practical terms.
Sources at the Ministry of Defense say that the plan for a reduction in violence is not yet clear and that the country's military on the battlefield do not have a clear vision of reducing violence.
President Ghani late Wednesday said that after a telephone conversation with the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, President Donald Trump ...Perhaps no man has ever had as much fun being president of the US... 's decision to reduce violence is acceptable.
But no government official has yet elaborated on the plan for a reduction in violence.
"The president has expressed satisfaction with the reduction in violence that will lead to a ceasefire, but we hope that our talks start with the lead to a ceasefire before that," said Waheed Omer, President Ghani's senior advisor in public and strategic relations.
Analysts believe that a lack of clarity in the violence reduction plan will make it more difficult for troops on the battlefield.
"What lethal weapons would be reduced? A landmine? An Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... ? Which one? " said Attiqullah Amarkhail, a former military officer.
Sources familiar with the Doha peace talks say the reduction in violence plan is, in fact, an undeclared ceasefire.
"The reduction in violence takes place a week before the agreement is signed, and if implemented properly, the agreement will be signed, and the reduction in violence will continue until the inter-Afghan talks, and that is an undeclared ceasefire," said Khalilullah Safi, former head of Pugwash in Afghanistan.
Forming a consensus on a plan to reduce violence is another suggestion by the country's former militaries.
"Politicians and governments formulate a joint plan for a reduction in violence but can they clarify what reduction in violence means?" said Abdul Wahab Wardak, former Afghan air forces commander.
Earlier, bigwigs in the country said that a reduction in violence means the Taliban ...mindless ferocity in a turban... are not attacking cities, and not conducting suicide kabooms or blocking highways.
Significant: #Sudan Gov. Agrees to Pay $30 Million for Families of sailors in USS Cole bombing.
Comes 2 days after agreeing to hand Omar Bashir to ICC. Both steps help case of removing Khartoum from State Sponsor of terror: https://t.co/IkwrwXxO5D
The Saudi-led coalition fighting Huthi rebels will put on trial military personnel suspected of being behind deadly air strikes on civilians in #Yemenhttps://t.co/vOJwp8RWB7
Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan has been charged with raping two women besides two others he was already facing accusations over, says his lawyer.https://t.co/ZJF6AprCvo
Russia’s foreign ministry calls on Turkey to refrain from making provocative statements about events in Syria amid rising tensions over the Syrian province of Idlib.https://t.co/Mbk6EhAS5T
The Senate approves a bipartisan measure limiting President Donald Trump’s authority to launch military operations against Iran.https://t.co/jcddvQXQV7
#3
Doesn't really hold legal water and can't override a presidential veto if it goes that far.
If they really wanted to rein in the President's power to wage undeclared war, they would roll back the laws they passed after 9/11 giving the executive branch authority to pretty much attack any country he thinks might have terrorists.
But they won't. They want to have the power of unlimited war when their guy gets back in.
[DAWN] Families of students martyred during the Army Public School (APS) massacre on Thursday approached Chief Justice of Pakistain Gulzar Ahmed over the reported escape of former Tehrik-e-Taliban ...the Pashtun equivalent of men... Pakistain (TTP) front manEhsanullah Ehsan ...formerly the front man for the Pak Taliban, then the lips and tongue of the Jamaatul Ahrar splinter group in Mohmand Agency... In their application, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, the families of 15 students said: "We the families of Shuhada-e-APS are under severe shock and completely traumatised after hearing of the said news of release/fleeing of the known terrorist and spokesperson of TTP from the custody of the army along with his family after spending three years with them. The cruel terrorist has already confessed [to] the gruesome attack on [APS], killing 147 students and staff and many more terrorist incidents in the country."
In the application, the parents questioned how the former holy warrior was able to leave the country. "How could he flee from custody or whether he is released with some conditions," the application read, adding that "what kind of agreement was made with [Ehsan] to keep him alive for three years despite his confessional statement for being involved in many killings of students and staff of APS."
The application urged the authorities concerned to explain "why the state failed in bringing [Ehsan] to justice".
Posted by: Fred ||
02/14/2020 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11131 views]
Top|| File under: TTP
#1
It's not surprising. I was in the 'Stain recently. Everything is for sale right now. More so than was six years ago, when I last visited. You could buy a mullah to deliver a generic fatwa then. Now, you can buy a bloody suicide bomber.
It's cheaper too. An AK 47 for $70, an IED for a little more than twice that. And it's like a garage sale of bureaucrats and cops. Judges are somehow the only upstanding citizens right now. Maybe they're being watched closely. Imran cannot control anything right now; people are really wondering how it's running at all. The Baloch rebels and others are tearing them new ones, and they're actually begging Turkey to send some guys over. Our guess is, the ISIS will try to come in through that route.
I predict, in the coming decade the disintegration of the 'Stain is imminent.
#3
I can't presume so much. Beyond the creation of 3-4 separate states and intense muslim calvinball I can't say. But their military-theocracy combine was the only thing keeping things together. It's failing now, thanks to foreign pressure and the need to act mature for their several sugar daddies. We're doing our best too.
#6
Totally separate - before I forget, and should I depart this video of tears before my fingertips can reach my keyboard, here's a link to something I think you'll enjoy and derive much benefit from - an amazing Dante expert at Columbia who delivers the best explication I've ever seen of the Divine Comedy. (I wanted to link to it a couple of months ago when it was a propos if things you said at the time, but I missed my chance and the window closed).
[Rudaw] Members of Erbil's 80th Command Forces graduated from a three-month advanced weapons training course in Soran, Erbil province in a ceremony on Wednesday.
Arazoo Omed was one of 21 women who graduated from the course, for which training was provided by Kurdish and French personnel.
"We were trained in [the use of] explosives, RPJs, Kalashnikovs, machine guns and BKC rifles. I would like to see every woman undergo such training, because it is very important," Omed said.
Course trainers, Coalition personnel and French Consul General Olivier Decottignies were all in graduation ceremony attendance.
The 80th Command Forces, under Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) control, consists of at least 58,000 Peshmerga troops.
This is the first time women have been made part of the 80 Command. The 21 women graduates made up a tiny fraction of the 1,281-strong cohort.
[JPost] - Numerous reports in the Arab press have accused the US and Israel of being behind the creation and spread of the deadly coronavirus as part of an economic and psychological war against China, the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) reported.
One report in the Saudi daily newspaper Al-Watan claimed that it was no coincidence that the coronavirus was absent from the US and Israel, though this is despite America having 12 confirmed cases at the time of writing.
#4
interestingly, Gilead Sci (GILD) has a product that was developed for Ebola (it was only minimally effective for that) and which seems, based on some early results, to be an effective treatment for COVID 19.
of course, while GILD is an Israeli company, it is publicly owned and a lot of the large shareholders are, I think, Chinese.
Posted by: lord garth ||
02/14/2020 12:15 Comments ||
Top||
#5
Saudi Arabia has had zero cases. I think we have found the origin point. Probably leapt off a particularly virulent Koran page.
Posted by: Theamble Spawn of the Brontosaurs5870 ||
02/14/2020 15:51 Comments ||
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#6
Now is the time Trump could offer some sort of assistance. This is a world hurt in progress. Otherwise the event could go beyond human manageability.
Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab and all 18 cabinet members pledge “not to run or support any candidate” in upcoming parliamentary elections.https://t.co/dMalhmW2yC
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] A poster in Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan, the abbreviation IRGC is a cognate form of Stürmabteilung (or SA), the term Supreme Guide is a cognate form of either Shah or Führer or maybe both, and they hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... showing slain military commander Qassem Soleimani in heaven with three male angels became the subject of ridicule among Iranians on social media.
The poster, put up by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), shows Soleimani reading in heaven with three men with wings dressed in white standing next to him. A rainbow is also seen in the background.
Iranians responded to the poster with sarcastic posts on social media.
"Was there not supposed to be female virgins in heaven? Why have you given Soleimani young men instead?" tweeted one user sarcastically. "Cuz that's the way he rolled IYKWIMAITYD"
"Did you know Soleimani was a defender of LGBTQ rights? In this picture you can see him in a gay pride parade," satirical twitter account "Ayatollah Tanasoli" tweeted, referring to the rainbow behind Soleimani and his three male angels.
Soleimani, who headed Iran’s elite Quds Force ‐ the overseas arm of the IRGC ‐ was killed in a US Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... in Baghdad on January 3.
Iran is ready to strike the US and Israel if they give it any reason to do so, says the head of the Revolutionary Guards during a speech at a ceremony marking the 40th day since the death of Qassem Soleimani.https://t.co/YEciyssMmt
Lebanon’s government forms a committee to study how to deal with looming sovereign debt maturities, including a $1.2 billion Eurobond maturing in March, according to local media. https://t.co/sSULFKv0iq
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
...
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
...formerly the front man for the Pak Taliban, then the lips and tongue of the Jamaatul Ahrar splinter group in Mohmand Agency...
