WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama will announce the critical next steps in America's decade-long war in Afghanistan on Wednesday, outlining both a plan to start bringing thousands of U.S. troops home next month and a broader withdrawal blueprint aimed at giving Afghans control of their own security in 2014.
But even as Obama finalizes those plans, there are divisions in his administration, with military leaders favoring only a gradual reduction in troops but other advisers advocating a significant decrease in the coming months.
So that they can start gutting the military to save their favored social programs.
Administration officials say Obama is still working through the details on how many troops will start leaving Afghanistan in July, his self-imposed deadline for beginning the drawdown. He is considering a range of options presented to him last week by Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan.
"He's finalizing his decision. He's reviewing his options," White House spokesman Jay Carney said Monday.
Last-minute Charlie, that's our man...
Obama is expected to make Wednesday's announcement in Washington. While much of the attention is focused on how many troops will leave Afghanistan next month, the more telling aspects of Obama's decision center on what happens after July, particularly how long the president plans to keep the 30,000 surge forces he sent in 2009 in the country.
The AP goes on from there, but it's all fluff and speculation.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/21/2011 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11129 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
AAAAWWWWW, such a cute schitzo nibbly mad Mousey.
Sniff, sniff, He'll can make a fine Human-eating, Cannibal ZILLA MOUSE = "RODENTUS" on the SYFY Channel one day, starring Debbie Gibson + Tiffany.
* Ala TOPIX > seems GEN. PETRAEUS may agree to bringing 30,000 US troops home for 2012.
Read, POTUS BAMMER NEEDS ONE OR MORE NEW "BOUNCE(S)" TO WIN RE-ELECTION.
A different source than the one NYer4WOT found for us yesterday. Worth repeating.
The outgoing U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan warned Sunday that the American people are growing weary of being viewed as "occupiers" by the leaders of a country where so much American blood has been spilled.
It would have been better if Bambi had said all this at a White House presser...
Let's not ask for the impossible.
Karl Eikenberry's candid and impassioned remarks came a day after President Hamid Karzai in a televised speech accused U.S.-led foreign troops of being in the country "for their own national interests."
On Sunday, Karzai met with Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi -- on the first ever official visit by Iran's top defense official -- and the two discussed problems arising from "the presence of foreign forces" in Afghanistan, according to reports in Iranian state media. Last week Karzai held talks with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on the sidelines of a Eurasian summit in Kazakhstan, and similar sentiments were expressed.
More than 1,500 U.S. troops have lost their lives in Afghanistan -- some 177 this year alone -- since U.S.-led forces invaded to topple the Taliban regime following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. More than 900 military personnel from other nations have been killed over that period.
There are around 100,000 American troops deployed in Afghanistan, and the first in a series of phased withdrawals is due to take place in the coming weeks.
Without mentioning Karzai by name, Eikenberry took aim Sunday at the increasingly harsh anti-coalition rhetoric emanating from the president, calling it "hurtful and inappropriate." The ambassador, who will leave his post over the summer, made the remarks at the end of a speech on the future of U.S.-Afghan relations, delivered to several hundred students at Herat University.
"When Americans, who are serving in your country at great cost in terms of lives and treasure, when they hear themselves compared with occupiers, told that they're only here to advance their own interest, and likened to the brutal enemies of the Afghan people, my people in turn are filled with confusion and they grow weary of our effort here," Eikenberry said.
"Mothers and fathers of fallen soldiers, spouses of soldiers who have lost arms and legs, children of those who've lost their lives in this country -- they ask themselves about the meaning of their loved one's sacrifice," he continued. "I have to tell you, when I hear some of your leaders call us occupiers, I cannot look at these mourning parents, these mourning spouses, these mourning children, and give them any kind of comforting reply."
Eikenberry conceded that that the "learning curve has been steep" in what is a "complex" situation. "But -- in spite of our mistakes -- we are a good people whose aim is to help improve our mutual security by strengthening your government, army and police, and economy."
He went on to list some of the accomplishments, including the building of schools, clinics, roads, power stations, investment in educational training and in the agricultural field, promoting trade and reviving culture, music and sport.
"Yet, when we hear ourselves being called occupiers and worse, our pride is offended and we begin to lose our inspiration to carry on," he told the Herat University students. "At the point your leaders believe that we are doing more harm than good, when we reach a point that we feel our soldiers and civilians are being asked to sacrifice without a just cause, and our generous aid programs dismissed as totally ineffective and the source of all corruption ... especially at a time our economy is suffering and our needs are not being met, the American people will ask for our forces to come home."
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/21/2011 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11130 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
I believe most Afghans DO think of the USA as an occupying infidel force. It's not just the Karzai gov't with that idea. The only armed foreigners Afghans will tolerate are jihadis. Which is why we're there in the first place.
#3
I believe most Afghans DO think of the USA as an occupying infidel force.
Well sure. That's because that's what we are. But there are benefits as well -- schools, wells, roads, power plants, bio-gas home power designs... I'm seeing things which indicate that, like in Iraq, thinking Afghans are starting to realize the downside of us leaving them to the tender mercies of their neighbors.
#4
This kind of thing always makes me think of The Mouse That Roared. There are real advantages to losing to America, once one gets over the humiliation.
#5
Why should Western troops be obliged to die for the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan? This is a country that has the death penalty for ideological deviation, a country that officially demands the abolition of non-Muslim's civil rights in the West, a country that wants to make peace with the sponsors of 9/11?
The problem is that the ambassador is right, there is no occupation but there should have been an occupation.
Had Bush followed his own doctrine (no distinction between terrorists and state sponsors) he would have requested a declaration of war ON the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
Afghanistan would have been defeated and the Afghans would have been forced (at gunpoint) to abide by minimal standards of decency as defined by Western Civilization.
Instead the Bush administration made sure that Western military superiority could not be used to gain political and cultural influence in Afghanistan. That would have been insensitive, feelings would have been hurt.
Instead we are paying danegeld in the form of aid, and our troops are fighting one faction of islamofascists at the behest of another faction of islamofascists. And if some citizen of any Western nation dares to exercise his civil rights in a way that displeases any of the islamofascists he or she will be roundly condemned, legally harassed and told to shut up and voluntarily obey Sharia.
/rant
#6
the Afghans would have been forced (at gunpoint) to abide by minimal standards of decency as defined by Western Civilization. That probably had a chance of succeeding, had it been initiated in the fall of 2001. However, it would have necessitated an imperial army on Afghan soil for about 50 years, with a matching cash outlay and casualties (a squad a month) going on that whole time. The USA electorate never would have tolerated that. The US did something like that in defeated Japan & Germany after WWII, but that was probably a once in a country's history type thing.
#7
Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany were once civilized. That hasn't been true for Afghanistan since the Mongols build pyramids of severed heads there in the 13th century.
#8
My two-cents: We started off on the right foot, but after the Taliban were toppled we really should have let the Afghans fight for themselves. I think the reason we stayed was to drain the swamp of all the Jihadis in the area. They enemy cannot field an Army or capture territory so they can only win the public opinion battle. Declare victory, hand the key to Kazai, and get our troops out.
BEIRUT -- Ousted Tunisian leader Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who is facing trial in absentia, said on Monday that he had been duped into leaving his country and had not simply abandoned his post.
"I did not abandon my post as president nor did I flee Tunisia, as some media have falsely reported," read a statement released by Ben Ali's attorney, Akram Azoury.
Not that it really matters much in the end, Mr. Z, but feel free to console yourself...
Azoury told AFP that Ben Ali's statement did not mean he still considered himself president.
Ben Ali in his statement said he had been advised by his security chief Ali Al-Soryati to leave Tunisia on January 14 because of fears of an assassination plot. He said he had bundled his family onto a plane which took them to Saudi Arabia and had explicity instructed the pilot to wait for him at Jeddah airport.
"But after arriving in Jeddah the plane turned around and headed back to Tunis, disobeying my instructions," he said.
Since the pilot figured you were no longer in charge, he didn't have to listen to you. But look at this way, live in Jeddah beats dead in Tunis.
"I was duped into leaving Tunis," he added, saying that his departure was part of a plot against his presidency.
Look at what happened to the Mubareks of Egypt and is happening to the Selahs of Yemen and the Khaddafys of Libya and be grateful.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/21/2011 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11128 views]
Top|| File under:
MUSCAT - Ten of 29 protesters accused of rioting in Ibri during the unrest in the country earlier this year have been sentenced to three years in jail. Nine were acquitted.
The Ibri Criminal Court found the 10 guilty of preventing authorities from performing their duties, vandalising government buildings and not allowing employees to leave offices until late in the night, as well as damaging vehicles and obstructing traffic. Eight other accused were handed one year imprisonment, while another two will spend three months in jail. Charges against them included manhandling government employees.
The court freed nine defendants because of lack of evidence.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/21/2011 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11127 views]
Top|| File under:
[Iran Press TV] Republican US Senator Lindsey Graham ... the endangered South Carolina RINO... calls on his fellow politicians at US Congress to "sort of shut up" and not interfere with US-led military operations in Libya.
"Congress should sort of shut up and not empower [Libyan leader Muammar] Qadaffy," Graham said on the nationally broadcast NBC TV's "Meet the Press" Sunday news show.
Graham said any efforts to debate President Barack B.O. Obama's decision to launch military air strike on Libya would play into the hands of Muammar Qadaffy and would only empower him, antiwar reported on Sunday.
This came after congressional critics of the move floated the possibility of defunding US military operations in Libya, or invoking the War Powers Act in order to put an end to the conflict there.
Last week, a bipartisan group of ten US Congressmen, led by Ohio Democratic Representative Dennis Kucinich, ...far lefty representative-for-life from Ohio, the former mayor of Cleveland when the city defaulted on its debt. His policies on a national level are on about the same par... filed a lawsuit charging President B.O. waged an illegal war against Libya.
The War Powers Resolution passed by the US Congress in 1973 "gives the [US] president the power to use the US military for up to 60 days without seeking congressional authorization.
Obama's deadline to seek authorization from Congress was May 20. Even though his administration had insisted before this that the War Powers Act did apply, he changed course over the past week, insisting it is a special case.
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 style of the American pants... launched a major air campaign against forces of the Libyan regime in mid-March under a UN mandate to "protect the Libyan population."
Had it not been for the NATO intervention, the Libyan conflict would be over, said Webster Griffin Tarpley, an author and historian in the State of Maryland, in a Press TV interview earlier in April.
Tarpley said that NATO claims it is carrying out the Arclight airstrikes to protect the civilians from massacres in Libya while it is actually killing both pro- and anti-government forces.
The United States, La Belle France, and Britannia say they will not stop their military operation until Libyan ruler Muammar Qadaffy is removed from power.
Libyan revolutionary forces have also frequently criticized NATO for its failure to prevent Qadaffy's troops from killing civilians.
This article starring:
Webster Griffin Tarpley
Posted by: Fred ||
06/21/2011 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11128 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Um... that is kinda your job, Senator dipshit.
Congress was designed to debate and question everything that the other branches did. Sometimes very loudly and cantankerously. It is all part of the checks and balances, chum.
Otherwise you get a body that just rubber stamps everything the emperor puts in front of them.
#3
this light-in-the-loafers McCain buttboy needs to be primaried out. Sorry Opie. You no longer represent your citizens
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/21/2011 11:57 Comments ||
Top||
#4
I wish more of Congress would stand for something and speak up. We need a second round of cleaning come election time. We need to keep doing it until we get representatives who actually do that.
Louis Farrakhan, speaking at the American Clergy Leadership Conference on May 28, lambasted President Barack Obama over the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and U.S. military intervention in Libya, calling him an assassin and a murderer.
"We voted for our brother Barack, a beautiful human being with a sweet heart, Farrakhan said, in a video making the rounds on the internet. But he has turned into someone else, Farrakhan told the crowd. Now he's an assassin.
America puts her trust in her weapons of war, he continued. She threatens the nations of the earth and has my brother calling for the assassination of brother Muammar Gaddafi. What has he done? I can defend that man. You don't know that man.
My poor brother. They said they were only going over there for humanitarian reasons -- and we believed that. You've been deceived.
Farrakhan draws a comparison between U.S. intervention in Libya and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
You talk about a man killing his own people, Farrakhan told the crowd. When you lie to the American people saying that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. When you lie and then take innocent young men who come to serve their country, and send them to die in Iraq, in Afghanistan, over lies, that's a murderer in the White House."
#4
"...'An Oreo', 'A Poopypants', 'An Uncle Tom', 'A Worfless, Dice Throwin', Heavy Eatin', No Good, Cornfield N*****', 'A Shufflin' An' Jivin', Two Bit Hustlin', Pool Playin', Glad Rag An' Alligator Shoe An' Gold Toofed Rack Wearin' Pimp'!"
#6
Wow! Now if Zero would own and sells slaves (black of course), commit Piracy and Robbery, and of course fondle six year old girls to consummate the marriage at nine. he'll be just like Mohammad and Farrakhan would love him.
That's what you get for voting based on race, dipshit.
I'd tell you to grown a brain, but that would be a miracle impossible.
Posted by: Barbara ||
06/21/2011 15:55 Comments ||
Top||
#9
Mabey this will keep you rednecks happy
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/under-god/post/jon-huntsman-joins-romney-as-second-mormon-to-announce-presidential-bid/2011/06/21/AGKDIgeH_blog.html
The acting director of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is poised to step down because of a controversial operation that allowed the sale of weapons to suspected agents of Mexican drug cartels, according to sources inside the agency. At a House hearing last week, internal government documents showed that the ATF's Kenneth E. Melson was closely involved in overseeing the controversial operation.
Melson became acting director in April 2009 and remains in place because of political opposition to the proposed permanent director. President Obama has nominated Andrew Traver, who heads the ATF's Chicago field office, but the National Rifle Assn. and other gun rights groups have held up his confirmation.
Better not let the Senate go into recess; Champ will do a recess appointment to put Traver in place.
"Melson is out," one source said. "Traver is flying into Washington to meet with the Justice Department. The administration still favors him because he will do what the Department of Justice instructs him to do." But the source said that Traver, although close to Obama through their Chicago connections, does not have "the rank and file" support from agents around the country.
Falling on his sword or did someone suggest he needs to spend more time with his family? This deadly buffoonery smells like something that was hatched high up in the organization. I wonder just how high it started.
#2
I'm sure he'll get a big fat consulting contract deep in the bowels of some department or other and never have to work again for the rest of his life since he'll 'take one for the zero!'.
#6
Say there Ken ole boy...maybe it's time to take one for the team. Da boys over at the department say it's prolly for the best. Hell, even Big Sis says it's time. And you know what that means. Yep, shes talked to the big guy himself. Yeah, it'll suck for awhile. No one that's ever perched from the under-carrige said it's the proverbial cat-bird seat. But that congressional testimony in official capacity ain't no picnic either - not in a shit storm. So take the little lady on a Va-kay. Chill for awhile. Look, it's not that bad. Just lay low, maybe do some think-tank bullshit for awhile and Lanny says he'll pull some strings and get you a cushy corporate gig.
#8
People in charge need to be arrested, tried and put in prison. Well sure, but reality dictates no governmental employee or officer of a state or federal court will have this happen to HIM, rather there are promotions and fat pensions in their future. BATF will wind up sticking it to some gun retailer or whatever convenient bag holder or Sad Sack they can stick an indictment on. Those really to blame will instead be awarded one way or the other.
#12
Melson is a fall guy. Keep going higher. Holder needs to go too. O'Bummer also knew about Project Fast and Furious. If he did not know then he is incompetent. IMO that O'Bummer and Holder did exactly what was on their agenda--weakening the Second Amendment through the back door. Special prosecutor time.
Pakistain Mohammedan League -- Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Müslim League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... on Monday said that the current government had broken all records of corruption and that the country's national treasury was being looted ruthlessly, DawnNews reported. Nawaz is afraid there won't be anything left by the time he's back in office...
Addressing an election rally in the Bhimber district of Azad Kashmire, Sharif said former military ruler Pervez Perv Musharraf ... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ... was responsible for bringing a bad name to the state's institutions.
The PML-N leader further stated that the country does not belong to President Zardari or his associates but to the people of Pakistain.
Nawaz said that in the future, there would be fairness and progress in all political spheres and no one would be allowed to remove any elected government. He moreover said that no one would have the audacity to arrest the judges.
And unicorns and rainbows, too.
He said his efforts to resolve the Kashmire dispute had nearly materialised but were wasted with Musharraf's Kargil ... three months of unprovoked Pak aggression, over 4000 dead Paks, another victory for India ... move.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/21/2011 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11130 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#1
For a minute there I thought he was talkin' about the US.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
06/21/2011 16:27 Comments ||
Top||
[Dawn] The Supreme Court on Monday directed the government to form a judicial commission to probe the killing of journalist Syed Saleem Shahzad.
Of course! Why didn't anyone else think of that?!?
Earlier, the court had ordered the submission of the entire record of investigations into Mr Shahzad's killing and asked the government functionaries concerned to explain their position on a petition moved by the Pakistain Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) seeking appointment of a high-powered judicial commission to investigate the case.
On June 17, a bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, Justice Tariq Parvez and Justice Amir Hani Mohammedan took up the petition filed by the Supreme Court Bar Association's chief Asma Jehangir on behalf of the PFUJ and asked the secretaries of interior, information and law to submit comments and answer the questions raised in the petition.
A commission set up earlier by the government to investigate Mr Shahzad's killing was mired in controversy, similar to the one which had erupted after the formation of committee on the covert US attack on Abbottabad.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/21/2011 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11124 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
[Dawn] Intelligence authorities have rounded up more than 30 people and questioned several others as part of the Abbottabad probe, Islamabad's ambassador in Washington Husain Haqqani said Sunday.
Haqqani revealed that Pak intelligence jugged or questioned several people to identify members of eliminated al Qaeda chief the late Osama bin Laden's ... who no longer exists... support network.
"Even if some people were tossed in the clink for collaborating with a foreign intelligence service, that would not be different from the United States arresting Jonathan Pollard for spying on behalf of America's friend Israel. Allies share intelligence. They should not be found conducting espionage on one another," he wrote in special article, put on the CNN website.
The envoy argued that the bin Laden episode is a moment of introspection for both Pakistain and the United States.
In an appearance on ABC channel's This Week program Sunday morning, the ambassador pointed out that it is unfair to say that bin Laden was allowed to be in Pakistain and made it clear that the al Qaeda chief "just happened to be there."
"It is now time for all of us to take a deep breath and objectively evaluate the realities of the relationship between America and Pakistain in a way that furthers our shared goals and objectives."
The ambassador said that al Qaeda is a common enemy for both the US and Pakistain. The arrest of Ayman Al-Zawahiri, ... Second in command of al-Qaeda, occasionally described as the real brains of the outfit. Formerly the Mister Big of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Bumped off Abdullah Azzam with a car boom in the course of one of their little disputes. Is thought to have composed bin Laden's fatwa entitled World Islamic Front Against Jews and Crusaders. Currently residing in the North Wazoo area. That is not a horn growing from the middle of his forehead, but a prayer bump, attesting to how devout he is... he added, is a top priority, and Pakistain will assist the United States in capturing the Death Eater leader.
"The fear that the United States will desert Pakistain once again, as it did at the end of the war against the Soviets in Afghanistan in 1989, is widespread."
"America asks whether Pakistain is an ally and can be trusted. And of course, the same questions are being asked about the United States in Pakistain."
Pakistain has paid an enormous price in its fight against extremism and terrorism: 35,000 civilians killed, more Pak soldiers lost than all of 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 style of the American pants... combined, 2000 police dead, the liquidation of our leader Benazir Bhutto and massive losses to our economy in investment, trade and infrastructure, he wrote.
"We appreciate America's help, but the notion that America has 'given' Pakistain $20 billion since 9/11 needs to be seen in context. About $12 billion of this figure is Coalition Support Funds, reimbursements for expenses incurred by Pakistain in counterterrorism operations. They covered the cost of the fuel, ordnance, training and execution of counterterrorist operations.
"The blood, sweat, effort, grit and guts are those of a Pakistain that bears the brunt of the battle against terrorism, a battle clearly in the national security interests of the United States."
Posted by: Fred ||
06/21/2011 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11127 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
WASHINGTON - The United States on Monday said it wanted to see action, not words from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who pledged political reforms within months.
Oh, the irony...
Bashar al-Assad has been making promises to his people for years, for weeks. Whats important now is action, not words, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters.
She also dismissed Assad blaming saboteurs for the unrest.
With regard to Bashar al-Assads allegation that whats going on in his country is the result of foreign instigators, were just not buying it, Nuland said.
She said the Syrian people continue to protest, which shows that for them his words are not enough.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/21/2011 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11130 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Not our problem. Let the Turks handle this pile.
TEHRAN Iran has set a date of July 31 for the next hearing in the trial of two American hikers who have been held for around 22 months in the Islamic republic on espionage charges, their lawyer told AFP on Monday.
I have received official notification to be ready in court on July 31 at 10 am (0530 GMT) to defend my clients, Masoud Shafii told AFP, adding that the new hearing date coincides with the second anniversary of their arrest.
Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, both 28, were arrested along with Sarah Shourd, 32, on the unmarked border between Iran and Iraq on July 31, 2009. Iran has accused the three hikers of spying and illegally entering the country.
They have pleaded not guilty to spying charges, saying they were hiking in Iraqs northern province of Kurdistan when they innocently strayed into Iran from across the unmarked border.
Shourd is being tried in absentia after she returned to the United States when she was freed on humanitarian and medical grounds in September 2010, paying bail of around 500,000 dollars.
The trial has been hit by a number of delays since November 6, 2010, but then postponed to February 6, 2011 due to what was termed an error in the judicial proceedings. Another hearing scheduled for May 11, 2011 was cancelled after Shourd and Bauer were not brought to court, Shafii said then.
Shourd, who failed to attend the February 6 hearing, told AFP in Washington that she will not return to join the other two in the dock. She said she had sent Irans revolutionary court a five-page evaluation by a clinical forensic psychologist, who concluded she was at high risk of psychological problems if she returned to face espionage charges.
That's a polite way of putting it...
Shafii said that he is yet to meet Bauer and Fattal as the court has not authorised meeting with his clients yet. He has only met Bauer and Fattal twice, last on February 6, 2011 when they appeared in court for their first hearing.
Shourd, a teacher, writer and womens rights activist, grew up in Los Angeles and later moved to Damascus where she met Bauer and reportedly worked on a project to help Iraqi students attend US colleges.
Bauer is a fluent Arabic-speaking freelance journalist who met Shourd while helping to organise anti-US demonstrations in Syria aimed at criticising the war in Iraq. They were engaged while in jail in Tehran.
Fattal, who grew up in Pennsylvania, is an environmentalist and teacher and had travelled to Damascus in 2009 where he met Shourd and Bauer.
Notice the common thread...
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/21/2011 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11129 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
So Iran is now cocky enough to put useful idiots on trial? Seems too early in the game. But that's how it always is with tyrants.
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.
Lindsey Graham
Nawaz Sharif
Zawahiri,
TEHRAN Iran has set a date of July 31 for the next hearing in the trial of two American hikers who have been held for around 22 months in the Islamic republic on espionage charges, their lawyer told AFP on Monday.
