A U.S.-funded program to train and arm community members in Afghanistan's most dangerous regions as a way to defend against the Taliban has begun, the country's interior minister said Saturday. The community forces will be armed with the same weapons used by Afghan police - Kalashnikov rifles, said Interior Ministry Mohammad Hanif Atmar. Other officials said the program will begin in Wardak, an increasingly dangerous province on the southwest side of Kabul.
"After training they will have the responsibility of protecting the people, providing security for the highways, schools, clinics and other government institutions," Atmar told a news conference.
Afghan and Western officials have struggled to fight the perception that they are creating regional militias, and officials are even sensitive over the name used to describe the program. Atmar said the program is called the Afghan Public Protection Force.
Atmar said the top U.S. general in the country, Gen. David McKiernan, supports the program. The tactic of engaging local Afghan communities is endorsed by Gen. David Petraeus.
US begins program to train and arm villagers to fight join Taliban?
Posted by: Abu do you love ||
02/01/2009 0:51 Comments ||
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#2
I am glad the messiah came along...I would have never have thought of it
Posted by: Bill Uneang8288 ||
02/01/2009 1:09 Comments ||
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#3
I wonder if the next step will be to announce the "strategic hamlet" program? CIDG revisited, +40 years.
As far as I know, every village in Afghanistan has always been armed to the teeth, and village boys have always been trained to wage war as soon as they can walk.
Warfare has actually been a prime form of conducting routine business in Afghanistan, virtually forever. The way to harness the warrior spirit and turn it to productive pursuits is to frame "security" activities into the context of profitable business.
And - the benchmark ti beat is the profitability of opium/heroin production and smuggling.
#4
Actually the Civilian Irregular Defense Group (CIDG) program worked pretty well in Southeast Asia until NVA regulars moved south and things became a bit more conventional. In 2001 elements of US Army Special Forces were used somewhat clandestinely in Operation Enduring Freedom (AFIE) in the Afghan Northern Alliance. General Dostum was quite proud of his advisors. Photo at link here.
#5
As far as I know, every village in Afghanistan has always been armed to the teeth, and village boys have always been trained to wage war as soon as they can walk.
Who are routinely chewed up and spit out by professional soldiers. This 'warrior' from birth mythology works when they fight each other or draftees/conscripts or chop up women, but falls flat on its face when primitive warfare meets modern warfare.
#6
Actually the Civilian Irregular Defense Group (CIDG) program worked pretty well in Southeast Asia until NVA regulars moved south and things became a bit more conventional.
I don't argue the direct point - but the failure of the CIDG program in Vietnam was ultimately because the people in the villages really did not identify with the SVN government. This is the same problem that exists in Afghanistan - there is no central government for which the villages have any respect - or with which they can identify. There is no national identity outside of Kabul.
This 'warrior' from birth mythology works when they fight each other
But - they will be fighting each other - the Taliban are basically the same as they are.
Afghanistan is a waste of blood and treasure. It will be three orders of magnitude more difficult to stabilize than was Iraq - perhaps one order of magnitude tougher than Somalia. Draw a line from those starting points - and get the hell out of Afghanistan.
#7
isn't this part of how the taliban started. the US trained ppl the mujahadeen too fight the soviets then a few years later the ISI turns alot of them into the taliban movemenet. And i believe they all have weapons so why are we gonna pour more of them into the area when the pakistanis can't even keep aid and supplies too ANTO safe
Link modified because the article led to this. Either the AP re-used the link, screwed up, or blind-sided everyone (same mis-directed article shows up at other news sites).
#9
rw, no, that is not how the Taliban got started. They were a bunch of kids in Pakistani madrassahs armed by the Paks and sent to Afghanistan to take control of the civil war.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
02/01/2009 12:33 Comments ||
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#10
isn't this part of how the taliban started. the US trained ppl the mujahadeen too fight the soviets then a few years later the ISI turns alot of them into the taliban movemenet.
Not exactly. The Taliban originally was formed from the refugees who fled the Soviets, then both went into religious studies and efforts to form a resistance group. It's probably more correct to say the Taliban were formed and trained from the religious elements of these refugees by the ISI, with funding from Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
The problem is not so much the training as it is ensuring the indigenous defense forces have proper backup and supervision.
Arming villagers, giving them minimal training and then leaving them to fend for themselves is a good way to either get them killed off or subject to Taliban pressure. The Pakistanis have been masters of that with their own people in the northwestern territories.
#11
See also PAKISTAMI DEFENCE FORUMS > SIR JOCK STIRRUP: NOT EVEN A SURGE WILL DEFEAT THE TALIBAN [best ultimately for US-NATO/Allies to dev a strong and prosperous local Govt].; + INDIA LAGS BEHIND PAKISTAN IN [strategic BM]MISSLES. INDIA has only the "PRIVTHI" SHORT-RANGE STRATMISS???;
* SAME > INDIA > NEPAL RECLAIMS LANDS FROM INDIA [100,000-KM **2 in VARIOUS INDIAN STATES LOST DURING ANGLO-NEPALESE WARS + Treaty of 1816, etc.] + INDIA'S BJP WILL CARRY OUT MILITARY SURGICAL STRIKES AGZ MILITANT-TERROR CAMPS INSIDE PAKISTAN AS NEEDED IFF NDA GOVT WON'T, + HINDU EXTREMIST GROUP SRI RAM SENE CLAIMS PRO-INDIA/INDIAN ARMY SUICIDE BOMBERS ARE READY TO LAUNCH ATTACKS AGZ MUSLIMS!?
* SAME > TARGET PAKISTAN: WAHINGTON'S NEXT WAR
[Undeclared] MAY HAD ALREADY STARTED?, by Order of now-former POTUS Dubya last 9-11-2008 [MYT]???
+ GLOBALRESEARCH.CA - CONTROL OF THE WORLD'S OCEANS: A PRELUDE [Catalyst] FOR WAR? THE PROLIFERATION SECURITY INITIATIVE (PSI)AND THE US 1000-SHIP NAVY [OWG-Global Multi-Mation "Task Force"]???
A special force will be formed to boost security in areas hit by a Taliban-led insurgency, Afghan Interior Minister Mohammad Hanif Atmar said on Saturday. The paramilitary-style force, to be funded by the US government, would operate under the command of the Interior Ministry, the department responsible for the Afghan police force, Atmar told reporters. "Considering the special situation in the country, we've decided to... create public protection forces with a special security mission within the Interior Ministry frame," Atmar said. Their tasks would include protecting communities, schools, other government installations and highways that "are threatened by an ongoing Taliban-led insurgency", the minister added.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/01/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
'Suggest they outsource to the Gurkhas. I've never herd of Gurkha's being undermined by corruption.
An American aid group has been thrown out of Sudan's Darfur region after officials found thousands of Arabic-language bibles in its office, state media reported on Saturday.
Sudanese authorities told the offical Suna news agency they found 3,400 copies of Christianity's sacred book in the office run by water charity Thirst No More in North Darfur, a region that is almost entirely Muslim. Officials told Suna they had decided to expel the Texas-based group "for its violation to the Voluntary Work Act, the Country Agreement and the regulations on registration of organizations in Sudan."
Regulations dictate all aid groups have to give details of their activities to the Sudan government's Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC) and are not allowed to start new projects without state approval.
Suna said Thirst No More was supposed to be in the war-torn region supplying drinking water. It had "failed to provide justification" for its ownership of so many bibles, North Darfur's HAC commissioner Osman Hussein Abdalla told the agency. Thirst No More's website describes its work in Darfur as focused on repairing and drilling water wells and makes no mention of evangelism or other faith-based work.
The vast majority of aid groups in Darfur, including ones with religious foundations, voluntarily sign up to a Red Cross code of conduct that says aid should not be used "to further a particular political or religious standpoint".
Freedom of religion is enshrined in Sudan's constitution, created after a 2005 peace deal ended two decades of war between the mainly Christian and animist south and the mostly Muslim north, which includes Darfur, however apostasy is banned in the Darfur region.
Aid groups are running the world's largest humanitarian operation in Darfur where, international experts say, more than 2.5 million have fled their homes in almost six years of fighting.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/01/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Preying on shipping is ok, but praying with bibles is a no-no.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
02/01/2009 15:32 Comments ||
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An Egyptian opposition politician will face military prosecutors on Monday for going to the Gaza Strip in a highly publicized trip last week, his lawyer told Deutsche Presse- Agentur (DPA) on Sunday.
The Egyptian military detained Magdi Hussein, a fiery orator from Egypt's suspended Labour Party, on Saturday on charges of crossing Egypt's borders illegally, Hussein's lawyer, Hassan Ali, told DPA on Sunday. Military prosecutors will interrogate Hussein on Monday before deciding whether to try him before a military tribunal, Ali said.
Hussein chronicled his trip in daily entries posted to the Labour Party's website after he crossed into the Gaza Strip through a hole in the border fence on January 23. In an interview published in London's pan-Arab daily al-Quds al-Arabi the day before his arrest, Hussein said that expected to be detained or sent back to Gaza when he attempted to return to Egypt. 'I know I will face more troubles when I go back to Egypt next week,' Hussein told the daily. 'They might prevent me from entering Egypt from Rafah.'
Hussein told al-Quds al-Arabi that he thrice failed to enter Rafah legally before 'a friend' helped him to enter the territory through a hole in the border fence created, he said, when Israeli warplanes bombed the area. The Egyptian politician said he went with no clear idea what he would do when he arrived in the salient. Once there, he joined a Moroccan parliamentary delegation and Kuwaiti MP Walid Al-Tabatabai on a tour of the destruction in the territory.
Al-Tabtabai said he visited Gaza on January 22, arriving 'by special ways' after Egypt stopped him from entering via the Rafah crossing, London's pan-Arab daily al-Hayat reported last Wednesday. The newspaper hinted that Tabatabai might have used one of the tunnels connecting Rafah with the Gaza Strip.
In articles posted on the Labour Party's website, Hussein said he had met with politicians and militants from Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza, and that he had preached the virtues of armed struggle in Gazan mosques.
Egyptian security forces last detained Hussein in October, when they intercepted a convoy carrying medical supplies into Gaza and found him and five other Egyptian Islamist opposition politicians traveling into the strip to protest the Egyptian and Israeli blockade of the salient.
Dhaka Central Jail authorities are apprehending that the banned militant outfit Jam'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) and other linked groups may be trying to carry out "subversive' acts within the jail premises to embarrass the government.
Towhidul Islam, senior superintendent of the jail, told The Daily Star that acting on specific reports received from intelligence sources on the matter, they have taken actions to avert the situation. A cultural programme inside the jail, scheduled for January 29, was cancelled a day earlier for the same reason, he said.
State minister for home Tanzim Ahmed Sohel was supposed to attend the the programme.
Over 100 prisoners from 67 jails across the country were scheduled to perform in the cultural programme at Dhaka Central Jail. Jail authorities have already sent back the prisoners gathered at the central jail on the occasion, sources said.
Sources said the tension began after unrest between the jail guards in Rajshahi jail on January 17 and clashes that took place between Dhaka Central Jail guards and students of Alia Madrasa on January 24. Islam said that over 150 members of the banned Jam'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) are currently being held at the central jail itself. Intelligence reports warned that a vested quarter was attempting to create chaos at the jail to damage the government's image, the jail superintendent added.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/01/2009 00:00 ||
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One senior official in the former Bush administration is bemused by how "you only see British officers wearing their uniforms when they come to visit Washington, not in London."
"The British army is like an engine running without oil. It is still going, but it could seize up at any moment," argues Michael Clarke, director of the Royal United Services Institute, a think-tank.
These troubles are made worse by a chronic shortage of manpower. On October 1st the trained strength of the British armed forces was 173,270. This is 3.2% below the official requirement, but it understates large gaps in some areas--especially infantry units. Most battalions are 10-20% short of their required numbers; if those deemed unfit to deploy (due to, say, battle injuries) are factored out, they are as much as 42% under strength. So when battalions are preparing for war, they often regroup soldiers from their four scrawny companies into three, and then bolt on a fourth from another unit. To support current operations, the army has cut back training and lowered readiness.
Withdrawing from Iraq will relieve some of the strain. But operations in Afghanistan alone, involving some 8,000 British troops, arguably are already more demanding than the structure permits--and many expect Britain to send another battle-group to support the American reinforcement there. Generals want the army to grow. Yet it struggles to recruit, train and keep enough soldiers to fill its existing quota. An acute problem is the large "wastage" of recruits. Last year 38% of those in training either gave up or were thrown out--a bigger share than in the American army. (For comparison, "wastage" in the USMC is 9% for males and 18% for females)
Britain gets by in part thanks to foreigners: Commonwealth citizens (who made up more than 6% of soldiers in 2007), Irish recruits and Gurkhas.
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
02/01/2009 15:24 ||
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#1
"Irish recruits and Gurkhas."
Probably better off it were a majority of those 2 groups.
The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees does little to check whether its staff or clients are terrorists, its former chief attorney, James Lindsay, says in a newly published report. Allegations linking terrorists to UNRWA are not new. Israel has said many times its troops were fired on by gunmen using UNRWA facilities, that UNRWA vehicles transported weapons and that some of its staff members were terrorists.
UNRWA has denied those charges and Israel has often retracted them or found them hard to prove.
This latest claim against UNRWA, contained in a 67-page critique of the organization published at the end of January by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, has more authority behind it, because Lindsay was a senior lawyer for UNRWA from 2000 to 2007.
The issue, Lindsay wrote, is not intention but oversight. "UNRWA has taken very few steps to detect and eliminate terrorists from the ranks of its staff or its beneficiaries, and no steps at all to prevent members of terrorist organizations such as Hamas from joining its staff," he wrote. "These failings have occurred not because UNRWA consciously supports terrorism but rather because it is not particularly concerned about the issue.
why anyone should be concerned about supporting terrorism is completely lost on UNRWA
Its main focus [is] the provision of services and protection of Palestinian refugees," he wrote. another focus is criticizing Israel; still another is getting its senior alumni placed in high level positions when they return to home country
UNRWA's Jerusalem spokesman Chris Gunness said in response that his organization had "a rigorous approach to ensuring that its staff are not involved in militant or political activity" we rigorously define all terrorism as non terrorism
and that it took the matter very seriously.
#3
#2 I thought that's what they were being paid for. Posted by: Nimble Spemble
No, NS, they're being paid to ensure there continues to be a "refugee problem" among the "palestinian people", so they can continue their existence. I don't remember who said it, but "There's nothing quite as permanent as a 'temporary' government agency." is the quote that explains everything about the UN, including the UNRWA. Israel needs to drive all the ARABS in Gaza and the West Bank into the neighboring territories, and threaten to nuke the capitals of the countries surrounding it if those governments don't accept them. That is especially true of Lebanon, where the "refugee" problem is created and continued by ARABS as a weapon against Israel.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
02/01/2009 13:57 Comments ||
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It's a quagmire out there!
If the security situation in Iraq continues to improve, the number of refugees and displaced people returning to their homes could more than double this year to 500,000, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Thursday.
Iraq is now experiencing markedly improved security, said Daniel Endres, Baghdad representative of the Geneva-based agency. "Although this security remains fragile, last year we saw a significant return as a result," he told journalists in Brussels.
More than 220,000 Iraqis who fled abroad or were displaced within the country after the US-led invasion returned home in 2008, according to UN statistics. I don't remember any mention of this in the MSM. Could it be that no one wanted to give credit to George Bush? Say it ain't so!
International refugee organisations have been encouraged by the government's recent moves to normalise the situation and encourage returns. This includes setting up a special army unit charged with evicting militia members and others who moved illegally into homes owned by people forced to flee the violence. This wasn't mentioned by the MSM either. Will Obama get the credit?
While we're at it, why do I have to go to a Dubai newspaper to get this information? Can't the NYT or WAPO find this stuff?
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
02/01/2009 14:45 ||
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Aswat al-Iraq: Spokesperson for the Sadr parliamentary bloc on Saturday said that he has fears of rigging the results of the elections in that some voters' registration folders went missing in some provinces, attributing the responsibility for this issue to political sides that he did not name.
"There are some indications of election rigging by withdrawing some voters' registration folders from some polling stations in a number of provinces, to prepare for rigging the elections," Ahmed al-Masaodi told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
For his part, the Iraqi Minister of Interior, Jawad al-Bolani, announced that the election security plan that was implemented on Saturday has succeeded, describing Iraqi people's participation in the elections as good.
But the coordinator of al-Hadbaa national list, Atheel al-Nujaifi, said that "forces of the Iraqi army 3rd division arrested today one of the list's monitors, without mentioning the reasons."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/01/2009 00:00 ||
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Washington Post discovers Iraqi elections...
In Iraq's receding but still entrenched sectarian struggle, perhaps the most important votes in the provincial elections Saturday were cast in Diyala, a sometimes picturesque province known for its orchards of oranges and its killing fields.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/01/2009 00:00 ||
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Iraqis streamed past police cordons and barbed wire as they went to the polls on Saturday to vote for the first time in four years. The elections are widely seen as a test of Iraq's stability as the U.S. role here diminishes.
As the polls closed Saturday evening, there were no reports of anyone being injured or killed for political reasons. At polling stations across Iraq, people voted calmly, with many bringing their families to participate in only the second elections since the collapse of former president Saddam Hussein's government. Voter turnout in many areas was lower than expected, according to early reports.
"I am so happy," declared Raad al-Shimari, 30, in Baghdad's Kadhamiyah neighborhood, flashing his forefinger, which had been dipped in purple ink to indicate he had just voted. "I chose the person that will represent me."
The all-important provincial elections are viewed as a key indicator of whether the nation can build upon fragile security gains and address imbalances in power that still plague many areas. More than 14,000 candidates are running for 440 seats to lead councils that are the equivalent of state legislatures in the United States.
The elections are unfolding in all of Iraq's provinces except three in the autonomous Kurdish region and the province that includes the disputed city of Kirkuk, where ethnic groups were unable to reach a power-sharing agreement paving the way for elections.
The voting at 7,000 polling stations opened shortly after dawn following a heavy security clampdown launched on Friday. Those security measures included closing Iraq's borders and airspace coupled with bans on vehicle traffic and the deployment of thousands of security personnel around polling stations. Officials extended the voting by one hour to accommodate last minute crowds.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/01/2009 00:00 ||
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Iraqis went to polls on Saturday to vote in the country's provincial elections, with a massive participation from Sunni Arabs and women, a candidate told Gulf News.
Ammar Al Zobaie, a Sunni Islamic Party's candidate in Fallujah, said many Sunni Arabs participated in the elections. "Sunni Arabs [want] to redress the harm suffered by the Sunni cities because of their non-participation in the previous elections in 2005, which led to the suspension of development projects," Al Zobaie said.
Tribal elders in Al Anbar said that the large Sunni attendance in the elections is also aimed at decreasing in the influence of Al Qaida.
Girl power
Amera Al Baldawi, a member of the Iraqi parliament, told Gulf News that women also turned out in full force at the elections. Al Baldawi said the participation of women in the elections shows "greater political maturity" in Iraq.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/01/2009 00:00 ||
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The top UN nuclear proliferation official refused to take a position on whether Israel should exist as a Jewish state. In an interview with the Washington Post published Sunday, Mohammed ElBaradei argued for establishing trust between the West and Iran, blaming both sides for inflaming rhetoric.
ElBaradei, who directs the International Atomic Energy Agency, likened a positive outcome to such talks to Japan, a country that runs the full nuclear technology cycle without international opprobrium, "because there is trust that this country is not aiming to develop nuclear weapons." The interviewer challenged him, noting that Japan does not advocate the destruction of another country, as Iran does with Israel.
"There have been a lot of offensive statements, frankly, on the part of Iran, although from what I understand, Iran wants a one-state solution -- not, as reported in the media, that Israel should be wiped off the map," ElBaradei responded.
That, the interviewer noted, would end Israel's status as a Jewish state.
"I'm not taking sides on that," ElBaradei replied.
ElBaradei endorsed the call by President Obama for direct talks with Iran. ElBaradei said Iran was violating agreements by enhancing its nuclear cycle and blocking inspections, but that he had no evidence of a nuclear weapons program since 2003. He also expressed anger with Israel for bombing a suspected Syrian nuclear reactor in September 2007; Israel should have presented its information to the IAEA, which would have launched inspections.
"I have been very harsh on Israel because they violated the rules of international law on the use of unilateral force, and they did not provide us with the information before the bombing, which we could then easily have established whether Syria was building a nuclear reactor," ElBaradei said. "To that extent, the blame is also shared with the US, who sat on the information for a year and six months after the bombing."
#1
And they will turn it down, God willing. Peace and Hamas cannot long coexist.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
02/01/2009 18:25 Comments ||
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#2
Theysaid Olmert was interested in completing his tenure with a major agreement such as the release of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit. Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni is interested in the deal "because her popularity is declining", and Defense Minister Ehud Barak wishes "to strengthen his rise in the polls".
he's dead, Jim
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/01/2009 18:30 Comments ||
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#1
At least they don't obfuscate that Hamas' main dispute is with Egypt over the Rafah crossing. Typical Paleo logic - Fight Israel because you have a dispute with Egypt.
He also reiterated Hamas demand that any truce with Israel be conditioned on the reopening of Gazas long-closed border crossings, particularly the Rafah crossing with Egypt. Any other conditions are unacceptable,
(IsraelNN.com) Following a meeting with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on Thursday, newly-appointed American Middle East envoy George Mitchell called for open crossings into Gaza and greater Fatah involvement there.
Talking to reporters after his discussions with Fatah leader Abbas and other PA officials, Mitchell said, "To be successful in preventing the illicit traffic of arms into Gaza, there must be a mechanism to allow the flow of legal goods. And that should be with the participation of the [Fatah-controlled] Palestinian Authority
Fatah is the faction currently heading the Judea and Samaria half of the Authority, while the more jihadist Hamas controls the Gaza half of the PA. Hamas initially took legislative power in a landslide in PA-wide elections, and later carried out a successful coup in Gaza in order to obtain absolute control there.
The U.S. envoy further called for "a sustainable and durable ceasefire" between Hamas and Israel. Mitchell added that he had expressed to Abbas President Barack Obama's "deep concern over the killing of the Palestinians and the humanitarian situation in Gaza." The President is also committed to a Palestinian State and "lasting peace", according to Mitchell.
While Abbas did not address the media following his meeting with Mitchell, senior PA representative Saeb Erekat told journalists that the PA chairman discussed "humanitarian aid to Gaza, the importance of the truce, opening the crossings and lifting the blockade of Gaza." Abbas also claimed that "continued construction of Israeli settlements, creating facts on the ground... and construction of the wall are an attempt to separate the West Bank from the Gaza Strip," according to Erekat. He added that Israel's Operation Cast Lead in Gaza harmed the chances for peace in the region.
Touching on another matter, Erekat said that Abbas told Mitchell of his eagerness to form a unified regime with Hamas. Due to the American boycott of Hamas, which it officially recognizes as a terrorist entity, Mitchell is not going to visit Gaza during his current Middle Eastern tour.
Mitchell met with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Wednesday, after meetings in Egypt. He also met with IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi. On Friday, Mitchell is scheduled to meet with Knesset opposition leader Binyamin Netanyahu.
#3
How is it that the United States, with the most developed education system in the world, cannot come up with a politician with more brains than a rock? George Mitchell, the person who sent him on this idiotic mission (Hillary Clinton), and the person that actually gave Hillary a JOB (Barack Obama) ALL flunk the smell test. God help us over the next four years!
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
02/01/2009 14:21 Comments ||
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#4
He's right of course: let Hamas bring in guns, ammo and rockets openly and there won't be any need for smuggling. Cheez ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/01/2009 14:43 Comments ||
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#5
The very first word that came to mind when I read the headline was "retarded". He is either retarded or is willfully ignoring reality to further his own goals or those of his boss(es).
#6
OP---in the US good people do not go into politics because a good person is not willing to put up with the sh*t and personal attacks on him/herself and the family. Who in their right mind wants to subject themselves to that. Also having to pay $2 mil+ for a $200K job does not make sense, unless you are into baksheesh and related corruption.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
02/01/2009 15:36 Comments ||
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#7
The problem has been around for decades; a long-running domestic dispute in the world's trailer park. The U.S. is supposed to 'do something about it', according to the rest of the neighborhood.
So you send a beat-cop, preferably someone everyone recognizes. Officer Mitchell goes in, talks, gets an agreement, and goes back to the donut shop until the crap starts flying again.
If you look at it from the standpoint that it's a long-running farce, it's much easier to deal with.
#8
Nuclear arms in the Middle East
Israel is attacking the Iraqis
The Syrians are mad at the Lebanese
And Baghdad does whatever she please
Looks like another threat to world peace
For the envoy
Palestinian sources told the Egyptian daily newspaper Al Ahram that the Hamas leadership in the Gaza Strip sought to extend the six-month cease-fire that preceded Israel's military offensive last month and are furious with Hamas' Damascus-based political bureau chief Khaled Meshal's decision to end the truce, Israel Radio reported on Saturday.
According to the report, two senior Hamas officials in Gaza - Mahmoud al-Zahar and Ahmed al-Jabari - warned Meshal that abandoning the cease-fire was "rash" given that the organization had not adequately prepared for an Israeli ground incursion into the Gaza Strip.
#2
Mashaal's gonna be pissed. This might interrupt the Damasacus cocktail hour
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/01/2009 0:38 Comments ||
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#3
This could be fixed.
Kill the surviving "leaders," then kill the "leaders" in Damascus.
Then everybody would be happy.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
02/01/2009 0:45 Comments ||
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#4
So the Gazooks didn't know their place, eh ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/01/2009 0:50 Comments ||
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#5
And the people in Damascus are pi$$ed with the people in Iran. Hey, these are tough and troubling times. Stephen Foster wrote a song about this theme in 1850.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
02/01/2009 15:39 Comments ||
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Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas said on Friday his Hamas rivals will "never" be able to take over the West Bank as they did the Gaza Strip, where they ousted his forces in 2007. "Hamas succeeded in its capture of Gaza because we wanted to avert military confrontation, but what happened there would not be repeated in the West Bank. Never," Abbas told journalists.
Hamas seized power in Gaza in June 2007, ousting forces loyal to the moderate Palestinian president after a week of deadly street battles.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/01/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
gee and i thought they handed your asses to you because you were afraid to fight
Posted by: Abu do you love ||
02/01/2009 0:53 Comments ||
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#2
The Fatah-nics were always a small minority in Gaza, if my recollection is correct. Party loyalty amongst the Palestinians is as much a matter of family/tribe/clan loyalties as it is about personal conviction.
Hamas has dismissed a condition set by Mideast Quartet Envoy Toney Blair that the movement must recognize Israel before starting talks.
Mushir al-Masri, the head of Hamas's parliamentary bloc, said Saturday that raising this "suggestion" testifies that Blair is not familiar with the situation in the Middle East. He termed Blair's suggestion as "utterly foolish and useless."
In an interview with The Times published Saturday, Blair said Hamas must be involved in the Middle East peace process; however, the movement have to recognize Israel's right to exist and renounce 'violence'.
The former British Prime Minister admitted that any effort to exclude Hamas from efforts to establish a Palestinian state would be doomed to failure. "I do think it is important that we find a way of bringing Hamas into this process, but it can only be done if Hamas are prepared to do it on the right terms," Blair said.
Hamas is the supposedly democratically-elected ruler of the Gaza Strip by winning the majority in the 2006 Palestinian elections.
Al-Masri said the Blair remarks reflect "a return to the same obstacles erected by the West, as an excuse to postpone Palestinian democracy, continuing the siege of the Palestinian people and granting the Zionist enemies the cover to commit their crimes - the last of which was the Gaza war and the refusal to recognize the legitimate parliament and government of the Palestinians."
"Tony Blair's words prove that Europe and the world understand that all attempts to uproot Hamas and erase it from the Palestinian scene have failed, and that today we are the first and foremost power" representing the Palestinians, the Hamas official added. "The only gate into the Palestinian issue and its transformation into any agreement cannot occur unless through Hamas - a movement that cannot be ignored."
This article starring:
Mushir al-Masri
Posted by: Fred ||
02/01/2009 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under: Hamas
#1
Hey, for Hamas any mirror is a "mirror of stupidity". I'll be here all week, try the veal.
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni spoke to her Cypriot counterpart Markos Kyprianou by phone and requested that he act toward confiscating weapons aboard the ship that were allegedly on their way from Iran to Syria. Livni emphasized that the passage of the weapons is in contravention of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1747 that prohibits trade in weapons with Iran because of its ongoing nuclear program.
The saga of a ship suspected of carrying arms from Iran to Gaza grew more complicated Saturday as Cypriot authorities searched the ship, then backed away from previous assertions that it was violating United Nations resolutions. Authorities will now conduct a second search, the Cypriot foreign minister said.
Wanna bet they find 'nothing' this time?
Suspicions that the Cypriot-flagged container ship Monchegorsk was ferrying arms from Iran to the militant Palestinian organization Hamas had been raised by the United States. The U.S. military stopped the vessel in the Red Sea last week but could not legally detain it or seize its cargo.
The ship continued on to Port Said, Egypt, then headed for Cyprus, where it arrived Thursday. It remains anchored off the island nation's southern port of Limassol under tight marine police security.
Kyprianou said Saturday that a first inspection of the Monchegorsk was complete. He said authorities were still trying to determine whether the ship's cargo contravened United Nations resolutions.
On Friday, Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias had said without qualification that the ship had violated U.N. resolutions.
The foreign minister refused Saturday to divulge any details about the ship's cargo. "This is a very serious matter concerning the Cyprus Republic's responsibilities as a member of the United Nations and the European Union, but also its relations with the international community," Kyprianou told state radio.
He urged patience for a few days, saying disclosure of information would
hinder the government's handling of the issue.
A European diplomatic source said Thursday that the Cypriot authorities had detained what he called an Iranian arms ship en route to Syria.
The move apparently came after Israel and the United States requested that Cyprus stop the ship, based on suspicion that the boat was carrying a large amount of weaponry, including artillery rounds and rockets that Israel believes are destined for either Hezbollah or Hamas. The vessel left the Persian Gulf a few weeks ago and reached about 60 miles from Cyprus on Wednesday.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/01/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
Tehran, Iran, Jan. 29 - Russia has delivered two Mi-171 helicopters to Iran as part of a $45 million contract to upgrade the latter's rescue fleet.
Under the contract, Russia is to deliver five Mi-171 transport helicopters to Iran before the end of March, the government-run news agency Fars reported. Another three helicopters will be delivered in March, state media said on Thursday.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/01/2009 00:00 ||
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[5 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
low oil prices = desperation to stir things up. Pooty's in bad shape, might as well sell shit to his enemies
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/01/2009 0:46 Comments ||
Top||
#2
I much prefer moving targets to stationary ones.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
02/01/2009 12:20 Comments ||
Top||
#3
what's the difference, we can blast them both equally as well
Remember "Don't run, you'll only die tired".
Posted by: Rednek Jim ||
02/01/2009 15:25 Comments ||
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#4
The Iranian "Insh'Allah" maintenance brigade eagerly awaits the new aircraft.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
02/01/2009 15:40 Comments ||
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Iran paid homage on Saturday to its revolutionary father Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini who landed in Tehran 30 years ago to set off the Islamic revolution, as President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the revolution would extend beyond Iranian borders.
Ahmadinejad joined Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and members of the government and military commanders at Khomeini's mausoleum in southern Tehran to mark his arrival from exile.
The country is holding 10 days of celebrations marking the 30th anniversary of the overthrow of the U.S.-backed shah, who ruled Iran for almost four decades but fled just two weeks before Khomeini's return.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/01/2009 00:00 ||
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[3 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
One year of idiocy repeated thirty times....
Posted by: john frum ||
02/01/2009 16:20 Comments ||
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#2
Did Jimmy Carter show up to pay homage?
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/01/2009 16:27 Comments ||
Top||
#3
PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUM > FORMER US AMBASSADOR/ENVOY TO THE UN JOHN BOLTON SAYS AMERICAN HAS SUFFERED A HUMILIATING DEFEAT TRYING TO STOP IRAN'S NUKES.
IHO the US has LOST ITS BATTLE WITH IRAN, + HIGHLY DOUBTS THAT POTUS OBAMA WILL ATTEMPT ANY MIL STRIKE ON IRAN IFF 3 MOS. OF US-IRAN, etc. NUCLEAR NEGOTIATIONS FAIL.
Egypt on Friday accused Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah of being an "agent of Iran," after his tirades against Cairo during Israel's military assault on the impoverished Palestinian territory. "Hassan Nasrallah's criticism of Egypt confirms once more that he is nothing more than an agent of the Iranian regime and takes his orders from Tehran," it charged in a government statement.
On Thursday, Nasrallah, whose group is wholly owned supported by Damascus and Tehran, slammed Egypt on the grounds it continues to keep its Rafah border post with Gaza closed while claiming to have opened it. Rafah is the only land exit point from Gaza which does not lead into Israel.
Nasrallah accused Cairo of complicity in the Israeli blockade on Gaza and cast doubt on Egypt's neutrality in efforts to mediate a formal ceasefire.
Egypt on Wednesday accused Iran, along with Hamas and Hezbollah, of using Gaza to provoke conflict in the Middle East. "(They tried) to turn the region to confrontation in the interest of Iran, which is trying to use its cards to escape Western pressure ... on the nuclear file," Egypt's Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said, referring to Iran, the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas and the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/01/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Hezbollah
Iran says its newly-built air-defense system would fully protect its nuclear installations as it can engage targets as high as 55,000 feet. Defense Minister Brigadier General Mostafa Mohammad Najjar said on Saturday that Iran's "new 100mm anti-aircraft gun is capable of reaching target enemy aircraft at an altitude of 55,000 feet (about 18 kilometers)."
The manufacturing of Iran's anti aircraft artillery -- also known as Triple-A -- comes as military analysts had earlier made speculations about the potential of Iran's existing anti-aircraft systems, saying that the country's air-defense capabilities would allow Israeli sorties over Iranian nuclear facilities.
Iran's defense development came in line with a June report by the New York Times which said Iran was "taking steps to better defend its nuclear facilities" after it was revealed that Israel carried out a major military exercise as a rehearsal for a potential bombing attack on Iran.
"Two sets of advance Russian-made radar systems were recently delivered to Iran. The radar will enhance Iran's ability to detect planes flying at low altitude," added the report.
Military experts believe the dropping of bunker-busting bombs on targets like Iran's nuclear complex should be carried out from a low altitude, as it requires great precision.
US and Israeli military experts have also expressed concern about the possibility of the sale of sophisticated S-300 air-defense systems by Russia to Iran.
Hawley, a former fighter pilot with more than 3,000 flight hours and 438 combat missions over Vietnam, said the prospects for conventional aircraft would be grim when faced with the SA-20.
According to the Russian producer company of the weapon -- Almaz Scientific Industrial Corporation -- the S-300PMU-1 system is capable of engaging targets from altitudes as low as 30 feet to as high as 90,000 feet, against incoming targets traveling at a velocity of 9,000 feet per second. Its horizontal range allows the S-300PMU-1 to attack targets as close as 3 miles to as far out as 95 miles.
The missile system is also capable of destroying incoming intermediate-range ballistic missiles up to 25 miles.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/01/2009 00:00 ||
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[4 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
Does anybody know how many cruise missiles we have in inventory? Wikipedia says 3,500 TLAM (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BGM-109_Tomahawk).
I wonder what sort of air defense capability would be left standing after about 2,000 Tomahawks finished playing "whack a mole"?
Then again, we are faced with an Obmination of leadership - so, maybe Iran is on track for achieving bullet-proof status.
During a battle an ROK (Republic of Korea) commander, whose unit was fighting with the Marines, called legendary Marine (then Colonel) Chesty Puller to report a major Chinese attack in his sector.
"How many Chinese are attacking you?" asked Puller.
"Many, many Chinese!" replied the excited Korean officer.
Puller asked for another count and got the same answer: "Many, many Chinese!"
"#*#&*!#%!" swore Puller, "Put my Marine liaison officer on the radio."
In a minute, an American voice came over the air: "Yes, sir?"
"Lieutenant," growled Chesty, "exactly how many Chinese you got up there?"
"Colonel, we got a whole s**tload of Chinese up here!"
"Thank God!" exclaimed Puller, "At least theres someone up there who knows how to count!"
#4
The Iranians recently purchased top of the line Russian systems. I recall these are the same Russian systems shredded by the Israelis on their way to take out that NORK "test lab." The Iranian air defense isn't the problem. It's the number of hidden sites that's truly problematic.
Syrian President Bashar Al Assad told a visiting US delegation on Saturday that he wants a "constructive" dialogue with Washington after years of hostility, the official Sana news agency reported.
Al Assad told Congressman Adam Smith of the "importance of the opening of a positive and constructive dialogue between Syria and the United States based on common interests and mutual respect," it said.
Sana said members of the US delegation in turn highlighted "Syria's important role in the Middle East and the desire of the new adminstration to develop American-Syrian relations for the benefit of regional stability."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/01/2009 00:00 ||
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[3 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
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.
Iran paid homage on Saturday to its revolutionary father Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini who landed in Tehran 30 years ago to set off the Islamic revolution, as President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the revolution would extend beyond Iranian borders.
Egypt on Friday accused Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah of being an "agent of Iran," after his tirades against Cairo during Israel's military assault on the impoverished Palestinian territory. "Hassan Nasrallah's criticism of Egypt confirms once more that he is nothing more than an agent of the Iranian regime and takes his orders from Tehran," it charged in a government statement.
Iran says its newly-built air-defense system would fully protect its nuclear installations as it can engage targets as high as 55,000 feet. Defense Minister Brigadier General Mostafa Mohammad Najjar said on Saturday that Iran's "new 100mm anti-aircraft gun is capable of reaching target enemy aircraft at an altitude of 55,000 feet (about 18 kilometers)." 
