CAIRO - The Moslem Brüderbund on Monday voiced its strongest criticism yet of Egypt's army-appointed government, saying it was failing to deal with crises in security and the economy, and reiterating a call for a new national unity cabinet.
The Freedom and Justice Party, the Brotherhood's political wing and the biggest group in the newly elected parliament, also stated its opposition to the government's request for a new World Bank loan.
"Egypt is suffering from escalating economic and security crises which confirm the failure of the government," the FJP said in a wide-ranging statement on domestic and foreign policy issues. "There is a desire that has become clear to export more crises to any future government."
Brotherhood leaders have this month made repeated calls for a new coalition government representing the parties in parliament. The existing cabinet is led by Prime Minister Kamal al-Ganzouri, a 79-year-old who served in the post under Hosni Mubarak ...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011... and was appointed by the military council in November.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
02/21/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
Translation: The Moslem Brotherhood wants the power.
Algeria has uncovered a large cache of weapons believed to originate from Libya, including dozens of shoulder-held missiles that can be used to shoot down airliners, newspapers said Monday.
According to the French-speaking el-Watan, 15 SA-24 and 28 SAM-7 Russian-made man-portable surface-to-air missiles were found at a location in the southern desert called In Amenas. Such missiles require no specific training to operate and maintain and can be used to shoot down planes or helicopters in mid-air, the newspaper said.
The cache, 43 kilometers from the Libyan border, also included large amounts of ammunition. The weapons were buried in the sand and discovered at an unspecified date thanks to information provided by smugglers operating in the area.
"SAM-7 missiles are a serious threat to civil aviation. They can strike aircrafts flying at an altitude of 11,000 to 13,000 feet," el-Watan said, quoting an anonymous official. "It's a threat to planes landing and taking off from the region's airports, notably the Zarzaitine airport in In Amenas."
Algerian and other officials have repeatedly voiced concern that the chaos in Libya last year had scattered slain leader Muammar Qadaffy ... who is now deader than a rock... 's considerable arsenal across the region.
According to the Ennahar daily, the new Libyan government's defense ministry has handed over maps retrieved from the ousted regime's offices showing the location of weapons caches in Algeria. Qadaffy, who was killed in October shortly after Western-backed rebels toppled his regime, had allegedly hidden away more weapons in Mali and Niger in anticipation for a long battle to reconquering power, the paper said.
Ennahar, quoting another unnamed official, said Algiers has reportedly agreed to hand the weapons back to Libya.
SEOUL: South Korea conducted live-fire military drills near its disputed sea boundary with North Korea on Monday despite Pyongyangs threat to respond with a merciless attack a threat it did not immediately make good on.
Analysts said North Korea was unlikely to respond with more than words because it is focusing on internal stability two months after the death of leader Kim Jong Il. North Korea is also days away from its first nuclear disarmament talks with the US since Kims death.
Washington and North Koreas neighbors are closely watching how Suet Face Kim Jong Un, Kim Jong Ils son and successor, navigates strained ties with rival South Korea and a long-running standoff over the countrys nuclear weapons programs. In another potential point of tension, US forces will be conducting annual military exercises with ally South Korea over the next few months.
South Koreas drills took place Monday in an area of the Yellow Sea that was the target of a North Korean artillery attack in 2010 that killed four South Koreans and raised fears of a wider conflict. North Korea didnt threaten similar South Korean firing drills in the area in January, but it called the latest exercise a premeditated military provocation and warned it would retaliate for an attack on its territory.
A North Korean officer told an Associated Press staffer in Pyongyang on Sunday that North Koreans would respond to any provocation with merciless retaliatory strikes.
North Korea is fully prepared for a total war, and the drills will lead to a complete collapse of ties between the Koreas, the Norths Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea said in a statement carried Monday by the official Korean Central News Agency.
Such rhetoric has been typical of North Korean media in the past.
Later Monday, South Korean troops on five islands near the disputed sea boundary fired artillery into waters southward, away from nearby North Korea, a South Korean Defense Ministry official said on condition of anonymity, citing department rules.
North Koreas military maintained increased vigilance during Mondays drills, which ended after about two hours, though Seoul saw nothing suspicious, a South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff officer said on condition of anonymity, citing department rules.
South Korean military officials said they were ready to repel any attack. Residents on the front-line islands were asked to go to underground shelters before the drills started, according to South Korean officials.
A series of military exercises between the United States and South Korea will extend over more than two months. Seoul and Washington say their long-planned annual drills are defensive in nature, but North Korea calls them preparation for an invasion.
South Korea began joint anti-submarine drills Monday with the United States, but the training site is farther south from the disputed sea boundary, South Korean military officials said. About 28,500 US troops are stationed in South Korea as what US and South Korean officials call deterrence against North Korean aggression.
South Korean and US troops will start 12 days of largely computer-simulated war games next week, and two months of field training drills in early March.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/21/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
ION WMF > "NEW CHINA PRESS" JAPAN: CHINA TO "PURCHASE" US OKINAWA BASE AT KADENA? MANY CHINESE BUYING UP LAND AROUND KADENA FROM JAPANESE OR OKINAWAN OWNERS. EXAMPLE FOR CHINESE TO DO SAME TO OTHER OKINAWA BASES?
Perhaps the ultimate threat to South Korea from the North - Nippon economically surrendering to DPRK overlord China's $$$ "threat".
As usual, use your own judgement on how much of this is Israeli psyops and how much is real.
After a high-ranking US delegation headed by White House National Security Adviser Tom Donilon failed in three days of tough talks (Feb.18-20) to dissuade Israeli leaders to back off plans for a military strike against Iran's nuclear sites, the White House invited Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for talks with President Barak Obama on March 5. He will try and break the stalemate which ended his advisers' talks with Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz.
After all, we all know how persuasive Bambi is. Look at how he's changed behavior all around the world...
The defense minister, addressing his Independence Party later Monday praised Israel's security relations with the US as very good and very important for a strong Israel. The dialogue between the two governments, he said, is marked by openness, mutual respect, understanding and attentiveness. At the same time, Barak hinted at discord by adding, "Both are sovereign nations which are ultimately responsible for their decisions in relation to themselves and their future."
Continued on Page 49
#2
MIL FORUM POSTERS = opine that there is "NO WAY" THAT IRAN CAN PULL OFF ANY POST-INVASION "VIETNAM" STYLE OF ANTI-US/COALITION/ UNCOM ARMED RESISTANCE unless Mama Russia is willing to risk the destabilization of the Stans + Caucasus vee Iran-led BASIJ, MIL OPS CONDUCTED FROM ITS NEIGHBORS' TERRITORIES.
Even iff most or all the ex-Soviet Muslim Stans say "Yes" to Iran as per anti-US, the betting pool is on Mama Russia saying "No" + backing it up wid the threat of mil intervention vee the Russian Armed Forces.
#3
Is there anyone *more* unlikely to convince Netanyahu of anything than our Pres, given their history?
No one with half a brain thinks sanctions are going to work. If I were playing a deep game, I would use these "failed talks" as leverage to move the Iranians. Hey, we tried, but can't talk no sense to them crazy Juices. You know how they are. We can't hold 'em back...
#6
Obama is looking for denyability. Irael will be blamed anyway if they do what has to be done. The US is kind of chicken-shitting this, in my opinion. Better to provide the political cover and any assistance the Israeli's need.
Hell we should have been building a (real or fictious) Iranian exile army for the past decade or so. Take some tomcats out of mothballs and paint them up. Put them into the mix to confuse things.
Malik says 27 terrorist groups involved in Benazir's murder
It occurs to me that any country other than Pakistan would be concerned at the thought of hosting twenty-seven terror groups, let alone a large number demonstrably capable of working together. This does indeed look like a job for the ISI.
He blamed Baitullah Mehsud, the Haqqani network and the banned Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) for planning the murder and said 27 terrorist groups helped in executing the plan.
Malik and the Chief of Joint Investigation Team Khalid Qureshi gave a detail presentation with the help of audio/video footage, showing the suspects involved in the case.
The Sindh lawmakers were told that the conspiracy was hatched in Fata and funds for the purpose also came from the same region.
The session was told that al Qaeda and other terrorist organisations had made Bhutto their target since a long time.
Posted by: Water Modem ||
02/21/2012 17:32 ||
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An Indian court has remanded two members of an Italian navy security team accused in the fatal shooting of two fishermen in custody for two weeks.
They were detained on Sunday from the Italian ship Enrica Lexie and produced at the magistrate's court on Monday. The incident took place off the coast of the southern state of Kerala last Wednesday.
Italian officials said the Indian fishing boat had behaved aggressively and ignored warning shots. They said they opened fire, mistaking the fishermen for pirates. India said the fishermen were unarmed.
The incident has sparked a major diplomatic row between the two countries, with Indian police opening a murder inquiry into the deaths.
Posted by: john frum ||
02/21/2012 07:35 ||
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* DPC leaders warn against resumption of NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis.... supplies
* Condemn US Congress resolution on Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... ISLAMABAD: The Difa-e-Pakistain Council (DPC) on Monday staged a sit-in the federal capital to condemn a US Congress bill on Balochistan, terming it a direct interference in Pakistain's affairs.
Speaking on the occasion, the leaders of the DPC expressed solidarity with the people of Balochistan and vowed that they would take them into confidence. An All-Parties Conference on Balochistan will be held in Quetta on February 27 in which at least 30 political parties would participate, they said.
Three prominent leaders of the DPC, Jamaat-ud-Dawa ...the front organization of Lashkar-e-Taiba... chief Hafiz Saeed ...founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba and its false-mustache offshoot Jamaat-ud-Dawa. The United Nations declared the JuD a terrorist organization in 2008 and Hafiz Saeed a terrorist as its leader. Hafiz, JuD and LeT are wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Pak intel apparatus, so that amounted to squat... , Maulana Ahmed Ludhianwi and Dr Khadim Hussain Dhillon did not participate in the sit-in.
According to leaders, the decision was taken to avoid any clash with the government as DPC is purely non-political and peaceful council, aiming at to defend the country on cultural, geographical and ideological basis.
DPC Chairman Maulana Samiul Haq said that the council was working on a three-point agenda; to defend the country from internal and external threats, to safeguard borders of the country and to struggle to transform Pakistain into a welfare state.
"The people gathered at Aabpara Chowk are against the possible resumption of NATO supplies, US and Indian occupation hegemony and to strengthen the country's defence," he asserted.
Condemning the bill moved in the US Congress, he claimed that the US intended to disintegrate Pakistain.
The DPC, comprised of 40 politico-religious parties, was formed after a NATO strike on a border post in Mohmand ... Named for the Mohmand clan of the Sarban Pahstuns, a truculent, quarrelsome lot. In Pakistain, the Mohmands infest their eponymous Agency, metastasizing as far as the plains of Beautiful Downtown Peshawar, Charsadda, and Mardan. Mohmands are also scattered throughout Pakistan in urban areas including Karachi, Lahore, and Quetta. In Afghanistan they are mainly found in Nangarhar and Kunar... Agency that killed 24 soldiers. Since then, the DPC has organised a series of rallies across the country in which it has targeted US and India. However, there's more than one way to stuff a chicken... it is perceived to have been formed in response to the US threats to halt the millions of dollars in economic and military aid for the country.
According to reports, at least 3,500 people attended the rally in the harsh cold weather.
Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... chief Syed Munawar Hussan condemned Defence Minister Ahmad Mukhtar's statement regarding aerial permission for NATO supplies on "humanitarian grounds". Hassan said that Mukhtar had never condemned drone attacks being carried out by NATO on innocent people of FATA.
He said the APC was being organised to express solidarity with the people of Balochistan. "Pakistain belongs to the people of Balochistan and the province was an integral part of Pakistain," he asserted.
"US long had designs to capture Moslem world's resources, and is hatching conspiracies against the illusory sovereignty and solidarity of the country and wants to usurp Balochistan's natural resources," he maintained. The JI chief said the US was facing a defeat in Afghanistan against Taliban and their economy was facing a collapse due to this war.
Hassan claimed, "The US wants to create anarchy in the country and is creating fears about our nuclear assets falling in the hands of beturbanned goons."
He also alleged that President Asif Ali President Ten Percent Zardari ... sticky-fingered husband of the late Benazir Bhutto ... was following the US policies, adding military operations against the countrymen are also being conducted on Washington's orders.
The JI chief alleged that the ANP government was taking dollars from the US against its cooperation. He also expressed solidarity with missing persons and said Punjab government was proving to be a silent spectator in this regard.
"The Pak nation will not allow the resumption of supplies to NATO troops in Afghanistan. If the rulers side with US aggression, the nation will rise against them," he warned.
BAGHDAD: Iraqs embattled Sunni vice president on Monday slammed government charges that he ran death squads as politically motivated and called on all honest Iraqi people to rise up in his defense.
In a half-hour speech, Tariq Al-Hashemi vigorously defended himself against charges that he said were based on coerced statements. He also questioned why he was being singled out by the Shiite-led government, noting that many insurgents and militias are still free after killing thousands of people in the years Iraq teetered on the brink of civil war.
His comments starkly underscored the divisive sectarian tensions the case has injected into Baghdads already turbulent political system. The charges are politically motivated, Al-Hashemi said in the speech broadcast from the northern Iraqi city of Irbil, where he has sought haven from arrest in the autonomous Kurdish region. The aim has become very clear: to tarnish the political picture by using lies, forgery and deceit.
I have no suspicious activities, he said. This is the truth and anything other than that is false.
Last week, a judicial panel in Baghdad concluded that Al-Hashemi was behind at least 150 bombings and assassinations since 2005. The conclusions stemmed from a review of a December warrant for Al-Hashemis arrest accusing him of paying his bodyguards $3,000 to kill security forces and government officials. At the time, state TV broadcast television footage showing purported confessions by men said to be Al-Hashemis bodyguards.
On Monday, Al-Hashemi said his bodyguards were tortured into giving the confessions, and still have been unable to see lawyers in the case. We have pictures of bruises on their faces and bodies, Al-Hashemi said.
He lashed out at the judicial panel, which was appointed by Iraqs highest court to investigate the charges. The panels results arent legally binding but they have been passed along to a criminal court which could choose to charge Al-Hashemi with even more crimes. The panel touted its findings as the first independent review of Al-Hashemis case, but critics and some experts said its judges were named by officials sympathetic to Al-Maliki.
Our judicial system is still working to satisfy some influential people, said Al-Hashemi, who is Al-Malikis longtime political foe.
Al-Hashemi also called on Iraqis to stand behind him and reject the charges, although he did not specifically call for demonstrations or other specific displays of support.
The issue of Al-Hashemi is the issue of every citizen who does not tolerate humiliation and who rejects oppression, the vice president said. Confronting the conspiracy against Al-Hashemi and defending him has become an obligation and a duty that must be carried out by all honest Iraqi people hoping for a country clear of injustice and corruption.
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02/21/2012 00:00 ||
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Iraq's runaway Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi said his bodyguards and other employees are being held in secret prisons and subjected to torture, in an interview broadcast on Monday.
Authorities have charged Hashemi, a Sunni, with running a death squad. He has been hiding out since December in the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq, where the authorities have so far declined to hand him over.
However, a poor excuse is better than no excuse at all... members of his bodyguard and employees of his office have been jugged in connection with the case.
"All the nabbed people from my bodyguards and the employees of my office are being held in secret prisons over which the ministry of justice has no authority, and confessions are being taken from them through torture," Hashemi said in the speech, which was broadcast on various Iraqi channels.
"We have pictures and evidence proving that the bodyguards were tortured, physically and psychologically," Hashemi said.
Alleged confessions by Hashemi's guards have been broadcast on television.
Hashemi also called on Iraqis "not to believe what the front man of the Higher Judicial Council said regarding the accusations."
The Higher Judicial Council "became a partner in influencing public opinion" over a case that should be investigated in secret, he charged.
Hashemi said he wants "to appear in front of a fair judicial system, and in circumstances that can lead to the truth."
The judicial council's front man, Abdul Sattar Birakdar, has said "there are more than 150 crimes mentioned in the confessions of Hashemi's bodyguards" and called on Kurdistan authorities "to move to hand over the vice president."
Khader Adnan, the Palestinian detainee who has been on a hunger strike for 65 days, said through his lawyer Tuesday that he has agreed to end his hunger strike in light of a deal struck between the state and his lawyers. The announcement came just before a scheduled High Court of Justice hearing on his petition demanding that he charged or released.
Shortly before the scheduled hearing, the state attorney's office submitted a request to the court to delete Adnan's petition. In its request, the state gave the court with a copy of an agreement which says that after the matter was brought before the attorney-general, the state agreed to offset the days in which Adnan was held under arrest in order that a criminal investigation could take place, and transfer them to his detention. The agreement says that, barring any significant new material being added to the case, it will not extend his detention beyond April 17.
In the light of events, Adnan's lawyers say that he has ended his hunger strike, according to the agreement.
#1
You have to be pretty darn fat to starve for 65 days and still be able to negotiate. Hopefully, he celebrates his victory sensibly with a Chicklet or one of those tiny marshmallows from a pack of hot chocolate.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
02/21/2012 22:09 Comments ||
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RAMALLAH, West Bank -- Egypt has agreed to help ease Gaza's chronic power shortages as part of a three-stage plan that would eventually hook up the isolated territory to the regional grid, a Palestinian energy official said Monday.
Such a deal would represent a major leap in Cairo's involvement in Hamas-ruled Gaza, and another step away from Egyptian cooperation with the Israeli blockade imposed after the militant group's 2007 takeover.
Gaza has suffered frequent blackouts and fuel shortages since the blockade was imposed. Rolling power cuts intensified last week when Gaza's only power plant shut down because of a growing shortage in black market fuel reaching the territory through underground tunnels.
Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak had sided with Israel in enforcing the Gaza blockade, trying to isolate the Islamists on his doorstep. However, since taking over last year, Egypt's new rulers have eased Gaza's isolation.
Since the new rulers and Hamas are from the same extended family...
The Gaza energy deal, outlined by Palestinian officials on Monday, was struck between Egypt and the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority of President Mahmoud Abbas, a longtime Hamas rival. An Egyptian intelligence official said Hamas was also involved in the contacts.
The Egyptian official confirmed plans to gradually increase the Gaza power supply, both by sending more power from Egypt and by repairing the power plant, and to hook up Gaza to the regional grid.
Omar Kittaneh, head of the Palestinian Energy Authority, said Egypt proposed a three-stage plan for the power shortages, to be funded by the Islamic Development Bank. In the first stage, Egypt would increase its electricity flow to Gaza by three to five megawatts in coming days.
In all, Gaza's 1.7 million people need about 360 megawatts per day. Of that, Egypt supplied about 17 megawatts, Israel provided 120 megawatts against payment while the local power plant produced about 70 megawatts, Kittaneh said.
In coming weeks, engineers will set up a new transmitter and try to restore the Gaza power plant -- hit in an Israeli air strike in 2006 -- to full services, Kittaneh said. The repairs and the new transmitter should increase electricity output by at least another 140 megawatt, he added.
In the final stage, Gaza would be linked to the regional grid that includes Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Turkey, Iraq and Lebanon.
The Egyptian official said the energy deal is part of a wider Egyptian effort to cut down on smuggling to Gaza.
Or to let the tunnel rats focus on moving weapons, ammo and cash...
Most of Gaza's fuel came through the tunnels, along with cement and other items Israel still won't allow to pass through its crossings. In recent weeks, black market fuel being shipped to Gaza through Egypt's Sinai Peninsula largely dried up, prompting the current energy crisis in Gaza.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/21/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
How much more popular will the Palestinian cause become to the Egyptian on the street when his family sits in the cold darkness to support the cost of light and heat in Gaza?
Schools across the country took part in a Home Front readiness drill on Monday, held to practice emergency procedures in the event of an earthquake.
Colonel Efi Mashov of the Home Front Command said Sunday evening that the drill is part of this year's theme of preparing students for the case of an earthquake. Such natural disaster preparedness is important , he said, "because the more they practice the more they will be prepared in real life as well."
Those who were on the ground floors of the buildings were asked to evacuate and gather in outdoor areas, while those on higher floors were asked to gather in safe areas within the buildings.
A similar Home front drill was held at schools across the country last spring, to simulate not only an earthquake, but also a missile strike on the home front.
Police investigating the failed plot to bomb Israeli diplomats in Bangkok by a group of Iranians have discovered stickers posted on mile-long stretch of road that officers believe could have marked spots where attacks might be carried out.
The stickers bearing the word "SEJEAL" were also found in a room in the Bangkok house where one of the "sticky" bombs accidentally exploded, leading to the capture of three of the ring.
A Thai court issued an arrest warrant for a fifth Iranian, Nourzi Shayan Ali Akbar, 57, who was seen on CCTV footage leaving the house hours before the blast and was found to have caught a flight to Tehran. An arrest warrant was also issued for Leila Rohani, 31, who rented the Bangkok house but left for Tehran days earlier.
#1
Had to look up who this is. Has a decent resume...until one does the math and realizes he was a child extra in daddy's movies. His post-18 flicks are laughable, with two being behind the scenes stuff.
#4
So Ahmadinejad is misunderstood. So was Hannibal Lecter. But then Hollywood types are more "understanding" than you and me.
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
02/21/2012 15:03 Comments ||
Top||
#5
he almost sounded marginally plausible until he invoked GeeMe Carter's name.
Posted by: jack salami ||
02/21/2012 16:24 Comments ||
Top||
#6
His agent told him it would be good for his career. Probably was right. Michael Moore scoffs at his play; Cindy Sheehan is probably mulling the possibilities.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
02/21/2012 22:05 Comments ||
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Two warships that Iran sent last week to the Mediterranean, arrived in the Syrian port of Tartus for a mission of "training" with the Syrian navy, reported Monday an Iranian TV channel. These two ships, the destroyer Naghdi and tanker Kharg , "should participate training with Syrian navy under the agreement [of military cooperation] " between Tehran and Damascus, said the report. It gave no details on the nature of this "training" .
However, Egyptian security sources and members of the Syrian opposition are claiming that the two ships docked off the Syrian coast are equipped with "military communications jamming devices that are disrupting communications made by the Syrian opposition via satellite," the London-based newspaper Asharq al-Awsat reported Monday.
#1
I guess jamming capability is possible on a corvette from the 60's and an oiler from the 80"s. Seems unlikely to me. Why not throw the equipment on a truck and drive it to where it will be used.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
02/21/2012 0:30 Comments ||
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#2
More liklihood that they are early warning and ADA platforms for Iran to cover one of the air corridors for the upcoming strike. Perhaps the air tanker corridor for the returning strike aircraft. In any case, when the strike comes, they are probably toast.
#3
Interesting thought. In that scenario the Israelis would have to take these ships out very early. No matter how they did it, the Iranians would know something is coming their way.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/21/2012 7:44 Comments ||
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#4
I understand accidents happen in that part of the world all the time.
Two Iranian warships have docked at the Syrian port of Tartus, state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
reported on Monday, adding that their crew would be training Syrian sailors.
"The two ships, one which is a supply vessel and the other a destroyer have docked in Tartus, a port city north west of Damascus ...Capital of the last overtly fascist regime in the world... , and as per a bilateral agreement they will be involved in training the Syrian navy," the report said, without indicating when the vessels went into port.
Iran's navy chief, Admiral Habibollah Sayari, said on Saturday that Iranian ships "have passed through the Suez Canal for the second time since the (1979) Islamic Revolution."
Their passage was to show Iran's military "might," he said, without giving details of their mission.
On Monday, Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi said the transit of the two ships through the Suez Canal into the Mediterranean "is a symbol of our nation's marine capability."
"The presence of Iranian warships in the high seas is Iran's natural right," Vahidi was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency.
#1
just what the Syrian military needs right now - naval power. Hopefully the training will cover "abandon ship."
Pretty lame destroyer by the way. Using faux destroyers that are really corvettes as a show of force is not very impressive to anyone except primitive screw-heads. Hard to explain the heroic end what to two of four ships in the corvette class as well.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
02/21/2012 0:43 Comments ||
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A delegation from Hizbullah held talks on Monday with Sunni Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammed Rashid Qabbani on the various local and regional developments.
The Mufti stressed after the talks the need to "fortify Leb against the developments in the region."
The delegation included Sheikh Abdul Majid Ammar and former MPs Amin Sherri and Mohammed Saleh.
Qabbani stressed the importance of dialogue to resolve disputes, in addition to Islamic and national unity to thwart strife. "All sides should adhere to the state and its institutions and ease the concerns of all parties," he noted.
"Wise political rhetoric should be adopted because it will reflect positively on the people and alleviate sectarian tensions," he continued.
For his part, Ammar reiterated the Mufti's statements that Leb should be fortified against the developments in the region. "We were in agreement on the need to bolster Islamic and national unity to confront all challenges."
"We should therefore cooperate in order to support security and stability in Leb to allow it to avert the repercussions of the regional developments," he remarked.
"We don't consider Leb to be an open ground for foreign powers," he said.
"Hizbullah seeks to maintain contact with all sides ... and we do not fear the eruption of Sunni-Shiite strife," added Ammar.
The Syrian National Council and other opposition groups will take part in an international conference on the Syrian crisis in Tunis on Friday, Tunisian Foreign Minister Rafik Abdessalem said.
"The Syrian National Council and other opposition groups will be represented at the Tunis meeting," Abdessalem told news hounds after a meeting of foreign ministers from Mediterranean states in Rome.
Iran's military announced on Monday it has launched four days of maneuvers in the south of the country aimed at boosting anti-air defenses protecting nuclear sites.
"These exercises aim to reinforce the integrated abilities of the country's anti-air defenses," said a statement from the Katem-ol-Anbia military air base coordinating Iran's anti-air and ballistic missile systems.
Missiles, anti-aircraft artillery, radars and warplanes were being deployed, it said.
The declaration, reported by the official news agency IRNA, came as officials from the U.N. nuclear watchdog were holding talks in Tehran on Iran's suspect nuclear program which has unsettled the West and Israel.
It also coincided with increasing speculation that Israel was mulling air strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities.
"These maneuvers aim to reinforce the coordination between the military and the Revolutionary Guards for a total coverage of the country's sensitive facilities, especially nuclear sites," the statement said.
The exercises, named "Sarollah" (a word borrowed from Arabic meaning "God's vengeance"), covered a zone of 190,000 square kilometers in southern Iran, it said.
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.
Algeria has uncovered a large cache of weapons believed to originate from Libya, including dozens of shoulder-held missiles that can be used to shoot down airliners, newspapers said Monday.
Asif Ali 
RAMALLAH, West Bank -- Egypt has agreed to help ease Gaza's chronic power shortages as part of a three-stage plan that would eventually hook up the isolated territory to the regional grid, a Palestinian energy official said Monday.
? 
