Watch out for exploding sunroof handles, Hamid... Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Monday directly accused Pakistan's intelligence agency of being behind a recent wave of deadly attacks in Afghanistan, including the Indian embassy bombing.
In a strongly worded statement, Karzai said it was "clear" who was behind the violence, including a suicide bombing in Uruzgan Sunday that killed 24 Afghans and the embassy blast that killed more than more than 40 people. "The murder, killing, destruction, dishonouring and insecurity in Afghanistan is carried out by the intelligence administration of Pakistan, its military intelligence institutions," he said in a statement. "We know who kills innocent people," the statement said. "We have told the government of Pakistan and the world and from now on it will be pronounced by every member of the Afghan nation."
Afghanistan regularly accuses Pakistan, a long-time rival of India, of supporting militants who have been waging a deadly insurgency in the nation since the 2001 ouster of the Taliban regime in a US-led invasion. US officials also say that Pakistan has allowed Taliban and Al-Qaeda to regroup in its tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan.
Pakistan rejects charges of supporting extremists and says it is doing what it can to stop them. Like how? Making deals with them?
The July 7 attack on the Indian embassy was the deadliest in the capital and Afghan officials were quick to point a finger at Pakistan's Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI). India's national security adviser has also blamed the attack, which killed two senior Indian diplomats, on the ISI. "We have no doubt that the ISI is behind this. The ISI is playing evil. The ISI needs to be destroyed," M.K Narayanan told the NDTV news network on Saturday. Pakistan has insisted it was not involved.
In his statement, Karzai also referred to the Taliban's killing on Sunday in Ghazni province of two women whom the militants alleged were prostitutes and worked for the police. "These ladies were martyred by terrorists who have been trained in terrorist nests and intelligence offices outside Afghanistan where respect of (women's) honour doesn't mean anything," his statement said. And he said the beheading of two Afghan refugees by Pakistan-based Taliban militants in June would be "avenged." The men were accused of being spies.
Kabul and Islamabad are key players in the United States' "war on terror" launched after the September 11, 2001 attacks blamed on Al-Qaeda, which the Taliban regime allowed to operate in Afghanistan.
But Afghan and Western officials allege that Islamic extremists have sanctuaries in Pakistan which helped to create the Taliban as an armed militia and was one of only three countries that recognised the hardliners' government. Islamabad officially dropped its support for the Taliban only after the 9/11 attacks but Afghans allege it still wants the new government in Kabul to fail for its own strategic purposes.
Afghan Foreign Minister Rangeen Dadfar Spanta told the UN Security Council last week that a key factor behind the worsening security in his country was "the de facto truce" in neighbouring Pakistan's tribal areas. He was referring to ongoing peace talks between Pakistani authorities and top Taliban warlord Baitullah Mehsud, blamed by the previous government and US officials for the December assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto.
#1
Belief in the ancient "Pashtoon Code" is ingrained into those savages. Those drug dealing swine believe they are a moral people. Frankly, I believe that Pashtos and Wahabis are equally responsible for 9-11
#2
Crush pakistan and give it to India and Afghanistan. What a worthless "people".
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/14/2008 11:08 Comments ||
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#3
The drug economy is larger than Pakistan's legitimate economy and is "tax free". These people are not about to let that kind of cash slip from their fingers. The Taliban are more about maintaining the flow of cash, and therefore the source of power, than anything else.
Cash flows of billions of dollars are more addictive than the heroin itself.
#4
"Pakistan's General Headquarters in Rawalpindi are thrilled with the Taliban's sweeping military successes"
Nice to see which side they're really on.
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
07/14/2008 12:51 Comments ||
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#5
I listened to Howard Stern this morning. On air comedian, Artie Lange, reported that field troops treat Taliban as drug dealing scum. They destroy tens of thousands of lives each year.
Reminder: Karzai the Pashto has repeatedly condemned the US for conducting air operations in Helmand District.
#7
The Pakistan Daily reads like the New York Times. The Taliban in Afghanistan aren't going to stop causing trouble until we decide to do something about Pakistan--such as crossing the border to take care of scum. The Taliban don't honor sovereignty, why should we? I like the suggestion of crushing Pakistan and dividing it up between India and Afghanistan.
(Xinhua) -- The Arab Lawyers Union on Sunday strongly slammed the International Criminal Court (ICC) for its expected move to issue an arrest warrant against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.
The ICC decision to charge al-Bashir with war crimes in Darfur is "a flagrant violation of international law, norms and human rights," the Arab Lawyers Union said in a statement.
The ICC decision to charge al-Bashir with war crimes in Darfur is "a flagrant violation of international law, norms and human rights," the Arab Lawyers Union said in a statement.
The union also criticized the United States for its alleged role behind the ICC move, saying it's a U.S. decision to punish al-Bashir for "his firm stand in defense of Sudan's just causes."
The United States is in an attempt to drag the ICC into a fight against al-Bashir, which contradicts the aim of the international court, said the statement.
At the request of Sudan, the Arab League has been in consultation with Arab foreign ministers to hold an emergency meeting on the disputes between Sudan and the ICC.
Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department declined on Friday to confirm the reports that ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo would seek the arrest warrant for al-Bashir on alleged genocide charge.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/14/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Really? Arabs refer to blacks as "abds" (slaves), and view them as less than human. The fact that Somalis - including those in the US - remain members of the Arab cult - Islam - speaks volumes for their lack of civility. How many peoples in history have accepted racial inferiority as as aspect of their identity? I have lived in Africa, and local blacks need to wake up to reality: ARABS ARE YOUR WORST ENEMY. Arab Muslims seized 30% more black slaves than the English-French-Spanish-Portugese traders combined. Of course, 1 was too many.
Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh yesterday protested a news report published in yesterday's issue of The Daily Star headlined "Jamaat activists' attack on freedom fighter sparks protest" saying the report was published with a view to tarnish the image of Jamaat.
In a statement, Tasnim Alam, secretary of the central publicity department of Jamaat, said the representatives' meeting of Jatiya Muktijoddha Parishad on Friday was run and managed by freedom fighters.
The statement said question of attacking or humiliating a freedom fighter by Jamaat cannot arise as Jamaat believes in Islam and the freedom fighters are the "best sons of the nation and the nation's pride".
The statement said question of attacking or humiliating a freedom fighter by Jamaat cannot arise as Jamaat believes in Islam and the freedom fighters are the "best sons of the nation and the nation's pride". The allegation of The Daily Star that Jamaat attacked a freedom fighter is "totally false", read the statement.
Meanwhile, Jatiya Muktijoddha Parishad also protested the news published in a number of newspapers and aired on a number of television channels regarding the representatives' meeting of the parishad. In a statement, it said, "We firmly state that there was no such incident of assault on freedom fighters in the meeting."
Mohammad Ali, whose news was published in newspapers and aired on Ekushey Television, is not a representative of the parishad, it said adding that nobody invited him and he even did not collect the entry card to the meeting. It also said a number of politicians are making unfair comments on the incident without examining facts. The statement urged the politicians concerned to refrain from making such comments.
This article starring:
Mohammad Ali
TASNIM ALAM
Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh
Posted by: Fred ||
07/14/2008 00:00 ||
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The freedom fighter who was assaulted Friday by Shibir cadres for demanding the trial of Jamaat leaders responsible for war crimes during the liberation war filed a general diary (GD) yesterday. Sheikh Mohammad Ali Aman, the war veteran, filed the GD with Ramna Police Station on charges of beating and keeping him confined. Police registered the GD as a case following investigation.
Meantime, the Sector Commanders' Forum (SCF) threatened to go for nationwide protests if the government balks at bringing the Jamaat and Shibir men responsible for the attack on Ali Aman to trial. "If the government does not take immediate steps to identify and try the people responsible, we'll go for movement along with all other patriotic people," SCF President Air Vice Marshal (retd) AK Khandker said at a press briefing in Dhanmondi yesterday. "The war criminals were involved in killing hundreds of thousands of people during our liberation war; now they're assembling using the banner Jatiya Muktijoddha Parishad," he said. "If the government does not act to probe into the incident and punish the offenders accordingly, we'll know for sure that the administration is biased towards the Jamaat," he said.
SCF chief coordinator Lt Gen (retd) Harun-ar-Rashid said the government has got to try the attackers, adding that humiliating a freedom fighter amounts to disgracing the whole nation. The freedom fighters will stage nationwide protests if the offenders are not arrested and given exemplary punishment, he said.
Freedom fighter Aman, who was present at the press conference, said, "I went to the Jatiya Muktijoddha Parishad meeting in the hope of meeting other freedom fighters, not knowing that it was actually a Jamaat-backed front." He said he and a few other freedom fighters left the venue soon after the organisers showed their true colours by demanding the trial of sector commanders. "Some people began kicking me as I demanded trial of war criminals in an interview outside the meeting venue," he said, adding that the attackers had kept him confined in a room for about three hours.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/14/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Jamaat-e-Islami
LONDON: Three men accused of plotting to bring down trans-Atlantic passenger jets with liquid explosives pleaded guilty to planning to set off bombs but maintain they did not seek to destroy airliners, prosecutors said Monday. Abdulla Ahmed Ali, 27, Assad Sarwar, 28, Tanvir Hussain, 27, and five co-defendants are charged with a plot to kill hundreds of passengers at the height of the summer vacation season by detonating explosives concealed in soft-drink bottles on flights over the Atlantic Ocean or U.S. cities. The unraveling of the alleged plot led to tough new restrictions on the amount of liquids and gels passengers can take in their carry-on bags.
Prosecutors said Ali, Sarwar and Hussain had admitted to a charge of conspiring to set off explosions but say that they are innocent of the more serious charge of conspiracy to murder. The eight men are still being tried on the murder conspiracy charge, which carries a maximum life sentence.
Ali and Sarwar have told the court they wanted to set off explosions as a publicity stunt to promote an anti-Western documentary. Ali said he hoped a small, nonfatal, bombing -- at Britain's Houses of Parliament, at an oil refinery, or at an airport -- would jolt Londoners and draw attention to his movie, which would be released online. Yeah, regular Spielbergs they were I'll bet..
Ali, Sarwar, Hussain and co-defendants Ibrahim Savant, 27, and Umar Islam, 30, have also admitted to "conspiring to cause a public nuisance" by publishing alleged martyrdom videos, the prosecution said.
The Crown Prosecution Service did not say when the guilty pleas were entered or what sentences the lesser charges carry. Defense attorneys did not address the jury Monday. The eight men are accused of stockpiling enough hydrogen peroxide to create 20 liquid bombs, although they did not create any viable explosives. "We did not want to kill or injure anyone," Ali testified last month. Nah. We're good boys...
Prosecutor Peter Wright scoffed at that idea Monday, calling the defendants' accounts "inherently improbable." He said that the attacks were imminent when the men were arrested in August 2006 in raids in and around London. The defendants had even prepared the martyrdom videos to be shown after the airline bombings.
Kinda hard to 'splain that one away, innit?
Performance art ...
The men were "almost ready to go," Wright told Woolwich Crown Court in London. "This was no propaganda video, no documentary, no exercise or stunt -- this was for real," he said. "Human beings ready, able and willing to commit carnage for the sake of Islam." He accused the defendants of wanting "to murder as many civilian passengers as possible upon as many civilian aircraft as possible. "Each was prepared to kill and to do so on a wholly indiscriminate basis, irrespective of age, belief, sex and to do so without the slightest blink of an eye," Wright said.
The attack "was intended to be an act of terrorism to not only alter aviation history but also to strike a blow on behalf of radicalized Islamists the world over," he said. In his opening statement in April, Wright said officers found a computer memory stick in Ali's pocket with details of flights from London's Heathrow Airport to Chicago, New York, Boston, Denver, Miami and Montreal. He said that there did not appear to be any interest in return flights. There usually isn't...
The government has solid plans to counter extremism and terrorism and will go ahead with its endeavours to establish its writ in the area where it has been challenged, NWFP Governor Owais Ahmed Ghani said on Sunday.
"Oh, yasss! We do intend to assert ourselves! Rilly!"
Talking to reporters after attending several Frontier Constabulary (FC) cops' funerals, the governor said that elements involved in the brutal killings of FC troops in Hangu would be brought to book.
"We will probably demand of their jirga that they be required to go to a mortuary and look at dead people, in the hope this will shock them into more civilized ways. They say they are having great success with this approach in Britain!"
He said that unrest in Tribal Areas has direct bearing on peace in other parts of the province. He added that the government was ready to meet the challenge of establishing peace in the country.
"Surely once we've given them all they want they'll leave the rest of us alone?"
To a question, the governor said that operation against criminals would continue in the Tribal Areas until it achieved the desired results. Earlier, an FC contingent presented guard of honour to the coffins of martyred troops.
This article starring:
NWFP Governor Owais Ahmed Ghani
Posted by: Fred ||
07/14/2008 00:00 ||
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Omar Abdullah, the leader of the pro-India National Conference party, came under attack on Sunday when scores of young Muslims threw stones at his party in a bid to prevent them from holding a ceremony in Srinagar's Martyrs' Graveyard.
Ten people were injured in the attack after police fired live ammunition in the air and used tear gas to disperse the thousands of protesters. Police Chief Kuldeep Khoda said pro-India supporters responded by throwing stones back at the separatists, adding that the police had to step in to separate the two factions. One news photographer was also injured during the clashes, said Bashir Ahmed, a senior police officer, adding that police had no reports of any injured protesters.
"We will not stop anyone from visiting Martyrs' Graveyard to offer homage, but we will not allow the disruption of order," said Khoda. July 13 is observed as 'Martyrs' Day' in Kashmir, and traditionally both separatists and pro-Indian Kashmiris commemorate it. It marks the day in 1931 when the region's Hindu king ordered 21 Kashmiri Muslims executed in a bid to put down an uprising. Later on Sunday, thousands of separatist supporters marched peacefully to the graveyard and chanted slogans of "We want freedom!" and "Long live Pakistan!"
Posted by: Fred ||
07/14/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#1
"pro-India" depends on whether the party is in power at the time.
All Kashmiri parties are in the business of bad talking Delhi while harassing it for more money.
Kashmiris have the highest socio-economic indicators (health, education etc) of any state in India. They benefit from massive federal subsidies.
When in opposition, the party makes common cause with the terrorist supporters, thinking that will gain them votes. In power they act differently.
Omar Abdullah was a deputy Indian foreign minister. His opponent Mufti Sayeed was once the Indian federal home minister.
Both do not hesitate to bad mouth Delhi. Both rush to lay flowers at the graves of terrorists, many of them Punjabis from Pakistan.
Neither will condemn the Muslim bigotry that prevented a few acres of desolate land being used to erect temporary huts and toilets for Hindu pilgrims.
So while Kashmiri Muslims enjoy the lions share of India's Haj subsidy (which actually violates Sharia law), the Hindus endure this...
Posted by: john frum ||
07/14/2008 8:05 Comments ||
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The fate of 29 abducted soldiers would be decided in light of the decision taken by the jirga, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan spokesman Maulvi Omer said on Sunday. He warned the government that if it did not stop actions against the Taliban in Hangu and did not release the arrested Taliban; Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan would launch strikes in Hangu as well as the rest of the country and would start killing the government employees in their custody. The Tehrik Jaish-e-Islami Pakistan (TJIP) Bajaur Agency has warned that those spying for the United States would be executed publicly and made an example for others.
This article starring:
MAULVI OMER
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan
Posted by: Fred ||
07/14/2008 00:00 ||
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Talks between the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam--Fazl (JUI-F) jirga and two warring tribes were suspended for two weeks due to worsening law and order and continued violence in Tirah valley of the Khyber Agency, Dawn News reported on Sunday. According to the channel, the JUI-F's NWFP Secretary General Shujaul Mulk led the party's jirga, while Ansar-ul-Islam (AI) chief Qazi Mehboob represented his group in the talks. Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) chief Mangal Bagh assured the JUI-F jirga of his support in maintaining peace in the Tirah valley, it said. Meanwhile, the fighting between LI and AI continued on Sunday. The fresh clashes claimed 5 more lives, bringing the death toll to 112 in 17 days of clashes.
This article starring:
MANGAL BAGH
Lashkar-e-Islam
QAZI MEHBUB
Ansar-ul-Islam
SHUJAUL MULK
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam--Fazl
Posted by: Fred ||
07/14/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Jaish-ul-Islami Pakistan
The United States should avoid talks of "hot pursuit" of militants into Pakistan's Tribal Areas and give the newly formed government time to enact its own policies without undue pressure, Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari said on Sunday.
In an exclusive chat with the Business Plus TV channel, he said that Pakistan was in favour of the war on terror, but it was unjustified of the United States to expect miracles from a four-month old government. Referring to the recent 'tough' statements from the US, he condemned the infiltration of coalition forces into Pakistani territory, saying that Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani would take up the issue with US President George W Bush during their upcoming meeting. He also categorically said that Pakistan was against extremism and terrorism as it had lost one of its greatest leaders, Benazir Bhutto, to the twin menaces.
Countrymen: The PPP co-chairman said that the war against terrorism was being fought in Pakistan's best interests. However, he added, the country needed to pursue dialogue in FATA, in addition to employing force, because it was facing its own countrymen. He said the PPP-led government preferred to resolve law and order by taking all parties onboard, rather than through force. He said the country was still paying the price for the policies followed by its former leaders.
This article starring:
Asif Ali Zardari
Benazir Bhutto
Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani
Posted by: Fred ||
07/14/2008 00:00 ||
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[11123 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#1
Sounds like the whole area needs a strong dose of persistent pesticide.
#2
Hey Zardari - since you don't like "hot pursuit", how about "crush pakistan"? Nothing like a couple of dozen B-52s full of iron bombs to get a point across. Running them down through the heart of Rawalpindi/Islamabad, with every other BUFF full of incindiaries, would get your attention, wouldn't it? Maybe we should try it.
Playing these kinds of games with the US can be hazardous to your health, useless.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/14/2008 11:14 Comments ||
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THE HAGUE, Netherlands - The International Criminal Court's prosecutor has filed genocide charges against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. Look at it this way, Omar. It probably means you'll live to a ripe old age.
The charges filed Monday include masterminding attempts to wipe out African tribes in Darfur with a campaign of murder, rape and deportation.
Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo is asking a three-judge panel to issue an arrest warrant for Al-Bashir to prevent the deaths of those still under attack in Darfur from government-backed janjaweed militia. He says the genocide is continuing and must be stopped. Moreno-Ocampo is undeterred by concern that his indictment might make conditions worse for the refugees and close Sudan's doors to relief agencies and peacekeeping troops. Since he ain't there...
He might be trying to figure how they could get worse.
#1
At least Moreno-Ocampo is doing something, even though it's useless. The rest of Europe sits on their hands and refuses to lift even a finger to stop what the entire world knows is a humanitarian disaster.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/14/2008 11:16 Comments ||
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#2
Yes, but wait till they put George's name on the bench. You know they want to, really, really, want to.
#3
It seems pretty silly to me. The ICC has neither jurisdiction in Sudan nor any power of enforcement there. I hold no brief for Bashir, but this is just posturing.
Posted by: James ||
07/14/2008 14:59 Comments ||
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#4
I think this needs a Brian Keith Graphic,
Police Chief Link Mattocks: Tell the Captain he's under arrest.
Lieutenant Rozanov: But I...
Police Chief Link Mattocks: Tell the Captain he's under arrest!
Lieutenant Rozanov: [speaking in Russian] The policeman says you are under arrest.
The Russian Captain: [laughing and speaking in Russian] Tell him that I'm going to blow this town to pieces!
Police Chief Link Mattocks: [to Rozanov] What did he say?
Lieutenant Rozanov: [in English] Well, he's angry, yes. He says, "you stupid idiot," he will blow up the town.
Police Chief Link Mattocks: [to the Russian sub captain after tell him he's under arrest] All right, let's have your name and address.
Lieutenant Rozanov: [translating in Russian] We wants our address.
The Russian Captain: [in Russian to the sailors] Point your gun... take aim right between their eyes!
Posted by: bruce ||
07/14/2008 18:00 Comments ||
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(VOI) -- Iraqi security forces are awaiting the zero hour to be set by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to commence operations to track down gunmen in the restive province of Diala, an Interior Ministry official said on Sunday. "The file regarding the security operations in Diala is now on the prime minister's table for a decision to give the go-ahead for well-prepared Iraqi security forces to do their job," Maj. General Abdelkareem Khalaf, the interior ministry's operations chief, said in a press conference he held in Baghdad on Sunday.
Khalaf pointed out that Diala is one of four provinces where crime and violence rates remain high, adding that the three other provinces are Baghdad, Mosul and Kirkuk.
"Diala is witnessing an increase in organized and non-organized crime rates on a daily basis, whether on the level of al-Qaeda network or other criminal rings," he said.
Replying to a question by Aswat al-Iraq -- Voices of Iraq -- (VOI) on the date planned to launch this security operation in Diala, Khalaf said it would be during the next few days.
More than a government official had said that the Diala operation became imminent after unbridled violence grew there.
Last June, Maliki, during a meeting with notables in the province of Missan, said the next stop would be in Diala, in reference to launching wide-scale military operations in the manner of Bashaer al-Salam (Promise of Peace) in Missan, Umm al-Rabiain (Mother of Two Springs) in Mosul and Saulat al-Forsan (Knights' Assault) in Basra.
A senior security official in Diala who asked not to be named had told VOI on Friday that military reinforcements arrived in Diala from the Iraqi capital Baghdad in preparations for launching a military operation in Diala to manhunt gunmen and impose order and law all over the province.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/14/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Iraqi Insurgency
Ma'an - Palestinian officials are slated to meet with Israeli authorities on Sunday to discuss the recent Israeli army orders given to several charities and shopping locations in Nablus to close their doors.
Following these meetings, at least seven Executive Committee members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) will participate in an official visit to Nablus Monday, according to committee member Ghassan Ash-Shak'a.
Members of the executive committee will take a tour of the Nablus locations which the Israeli army ordered closed as of 15 August, and will later meet with city representatives and local residents in order to review the present situation. Ash-Shak'a told Ma'an he was not optimistic about the scheduled meetings between Palestinian and Israeli officials.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/14/2008 00:00 ||
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DUBAI - Syrian President Bashar Al Assad said Damascus would establish normal relations including the opening of embassies if apeace accord was sealed with Israel, in an interview broadcast on Sunday.
From the very start of the peace process, we have been speaking of normal relations with the Jewish state as part of a peace deal, he told the Arab satellite channel Al Jazeera. Whether it's called normal relations or a normalisation makes little difference. These are normal relations just like any relations between two states with embassies, links and treaties, he said.
Assad and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert were on Sunday both in Paris where they held indirect talks through Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, an Israeli diplomatic source said.
Following an eight-year freeze, Syria and Israel began indirect talks in May, brokered by Turkey. In exchange for peace, Syria is demanding that Israel return the strategic Golan Heights, which the Jewish state seized in the 1967 Middle East war and later annexed.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/14/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
What Arabs consider "normal", differes significantly from what the rest of the World believe the term to mean.
#4
:) at big jim. Yup, an embassy isnt enough for the Golan. Israel wants the kinds of economic and cultural and travel ties that will make it harder for Syria to contemplate war in the future.
#5
In exchange for the Golan, maybe Syria would take the Palestinians off Israel's hands? After all, what's in it for Israel if the Arabs make no concessions?
Moderate Shiite cleric Sayyed Ali al-Amin said the Shiites in Lebanon and the Arab world support their states and reject the Iran-styled Faqih rule, and called for a judiciary investigation in assaults carried out by Hizbullah against Beirut.
Amin, in an interview with Naharnet, said the "Shiite communities in Lebanon and the Arab world believe in state rule and do not believe in the rule of the Faqih in Iran."
"The Faqih rule in Iran has become a political regime. If I support any (foreign) political regime this means that I would disagree with the political regime that rules me. This is totally unacceptable," Amin said.
Amin, who was removed by the Hizbullah-influenced Higher Shiite Islamic Council from his post of Mufti of Tyre and Mount Amel, criticized Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's recent speech as "non moderate."
"It was a strongly-worded speech not different from previous fiery speeches," Amin said of Nasrallah's address on the eighth anniversary of Liberation Day.
Amin praised President Michel Suleiman's oath address saying it was "moderate and reflected the viewpoint of the Lebanese people."
Asked to comment on the Higher Shiite Islamic Council's decision that removed him from the post of Mufti, Amin said: "We don't have militias to force the council to withdraw its decision."
He was referring to Hizbullah's attack against West Beirut on May 8 that forced Premier Fouad Saniora's former government to withdraw two decisions that Hizbullah had opposed.
Amin said the "silent majority" of Shiites that he belongs to is mushrooming and "in the forthcoming elections we would support whoever reflects its views" that contradict Hizbullah and allied AMAL Movement, headed by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.
Amin asked if the Hizbullah assault on Beirut was "launched upon a permission from Iran ... This would pose a major problem to Iran in the Arab and Muslim worlds."
Amin called for the formation of "investigation committees" to look into what has happened in Beirut. "The Doha Accord should have included a clause on the investigation committee because it would re-assure the population."
Amin also said Hizbullah "should apologize" for what it has done and the government should pledge to refer what has happened to the judiciary.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/14/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Hezbollah
Democratic Gathering member MP Akram Shohayeb said Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah's recent remarks were "calm and rational, which require a response in kind."
"This should have happened immediately after the Doha Accord. A lot of time has been lost," Shohayeb told Naharnet.
He said obtaining the release of Lebanese prisoners from Israeli jails and regaining bodies of "martyrs" who had fallen in action against the Jewish State "played a major role in the call (by Nasrallah) "for rapprochement between the various Lebanese communities backing the concept of the state, state logic and state institutions."
Nasrallah's recent message sets the stage for renewed "pumping of Lebanese blood into Hizbullah's veins," he added.
Shohayeb said the message made by Nasrallah during a press conference on Wednesday "is the first positive step towards dialogue and building state institutions after the Doha Accord."
He expressed the belief that "meetings would be held soon between factions from March 14 and factions from March 8." He did not elaborate on the remark. "Victory achieved by return of the prisoners should be supported by backing the state," Shohayeb added.
Asked to comment on Britain's decision to list Hizbullah's armed branch as a terrorist organization, Shohayeb said: "We never recognized the definition of Hizbullah set by the United States or any European country."
"There is a great difference between disagreeing with Hizbullah on domestic issues and accepting, God forbid, the logic of some states, including the United States," Shohayeb stressed. "We do not accept this (UK) decision," he declared.
Shohayeb said the new cabinet would "eventually be formed. But it wouldn't have time to be a true national unity cabinet in the political sense. It would be preoccupied with setting the stage for the parliamentary elections" scheduled for 2009.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/14/2008 00:00 ||
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MP Antoine Zahra said any attempt by the Hizbullah-led opposition to include the "Resistance" in the new cabinet's policy statement would create a problem. "We would be obliged to demand the launching of national dialogue to tackle the defense strategy and adopt what the Lebanese (factions) agree on (and include it) in the policy statement," Zahra said in an interview with Naharnet.
Representation of the March 14 Christian factions in the cabinet, that Zahra expects to be formed by no later than Friday, would be equal to the share of Michel Aoun's Change and Reform bloc, he added. "No one can claim achieving illusory victories," Zahra stressed.
The attempt by Hizbullah to nominate ministers from outside the party's framework is a "maneuver that does not facilitate efforts to form the cabinet," he said. "Cabinet seats are not awards" to be distributed to whoever took part "in the invasion of Beirut," Zahra said in an apparent reference to Ali Qanso, former chairman of the Syrian Social National Party (SSNP) who was nominated by Hizbullah as minister of youth and sports.
Zahra said there is no problem between the Lebanese Forces, to which he belongs, and Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat "neither on cabinet representation nor on political aspirations."
"We understand Jumblat's stand. We realize that he made the statement because he insists on being represented by a Christian minister," Zahra added. "There would be no split within March 14 ... the main and most important agenda is state building. We are all for this agenda," Zahra added. Zahra concluded by saying the 2009 parliamentary elections would "define Lebanon's political image."
"That is why the March 14 forces have no other option but to cooperate ... with the aim of winning at least 70" of parliament's 128 seats. "Opinion polls indicate that March 14 forces would be able to win the 70 seats," he added. "No one would take the risk of toppling Lebanon ... just to win an extra seat," Zahra concluded.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/14/2008 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[11125 views]
Top|| File under: Hezbollah
US President George W Bush has given Israel a go-ahead to begin preparations for a military attack on Iran, in case talks over the country's controversial nuclear programme fail to yield results, a media report has said.
Iran's strategy is not military. It is diplomatic and political. You heard read it here first.
The Bush administration is said to have informed Tel Aviv that he would back an Israeli plan to strike Iran's main nuclear sites with long-range aerial weapons if diplomatic talks over Tehran's nuclear programme broke down, the Sunday Times said quoting a Pentagon official.
Iran is pursuing a "ragged edge" policy with regard to the U.S. in particular and the West in general. They don't intend to go to war -- for one thing, they have to realize that militarily they're duckshit. They don't even know the meaning of the words "combined arms," which in Farsi would probably include donkeys if concept existed. They fought a ten-year war with Iraq to a draw. The U.S. ground forces stomped Iraq twice in two weeks or less, once in 100 hours even. Their missile program has been shown to be a bluff in the past week. But every time oil prices start to stabilize a little bit, they grimace fearsomely and threaten some sort of militarily stoopid action that impacts the price, driving it up again.
The American President has given Israel an "amber light" to start preparing for a possible offensive, the official told the Sunday Times. "Amber means get on with your preparations, stand by for immediate attack and tell us when you're ready," the official as quoted as saying to The Times.
After that it's puce, and we all know what that means, unless they go directly to magenta or turquoise.
The US President's voice of support comes despite his military officials' opposition to an attack on Iran, given the risks of an aerial strike. However, the US would not deploy American forces for such a strike nor would Israel be able to depend on its military bases in Iraq for logistical support, the official said.
Nor would they be required if a strike is followed by 30 days of non-stop Tomahawks.
Washington would also not give a "green light" to the attack without unquestionable proof that the Islamic Republic is involved in military preparations of its own, the report said.
You mean watch what they're actually doing, rather than listen to the incessant stream of threats and invective?
Iran last week test launched a series of medium-range ballistic missiles it claimed were capable of striking Israel.
They were proven a Photoshopped bluff. The U.S. announced that they actually launched one missile, and it was short-range.
The tests prompted a threatening message from Israel defence minister Ehud Barak, who said that the Jewish state will not hesitate from taking military action against Tehran.
They've been hesitating all this while, letting the Euros try to cajole the ayatollahs into magickally turning into reasonable fellows. Meanwhile, al-Qaeda's got Sonny bin Laden and Saif al-Adel and a few of the other large cheeses in Iran, coordinating policy with them, policy that's directed at destroying the U.S. and the West economically, rather than lining up large numbers of cannon fodder with AK-47s.
On the other hand Iran vows it will "cut off the hands" of any enemy that attacks the country over its controversial nuclear programme, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned Sunday. "Before the enemies touch the trigger, Iran's armed forces will cut off their hands," Ahmadinejad said, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.
They may have in mind to attempt a Hezbollah-style sustained missile attack, but the net result of that was more nuisance value than military.
His comments came after Iran intensified tensions in the nuclear standoff by conducting two days of missile tests, which included the firing of a missile whose range it says includes Israel.
We have several missiles whose range includes Qom.
"This is only a small part of Iran's defence capabilities and in future we will unveil more of our defence capabilities if it is needed," Ahmadinejad said.
"We've got more copies of Photoshop on order!"
This article starring:
Ehud Barak
Posted by: Fred ||
07/14/2008 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[11131 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
The American President has given Israel an "amber light"
#2
"US President George W Bush has given Israel a go-ahead to begin preparations for a military attack on Iran"
My initial reaction to this is best left unpublished.
Come to think on it, so's my second thought.
Posted by: Kelly ||
07/14/2008 10:16 Comments ||
Top||
#3
What idiot came up with this? Israel doesn't need US approval for ANYTHING, as their actions indicate. They may INFORM the United States, but only once the aircraft are over their targets. Some idjit wants to link any attack by Israel to the United States, so they can then say it's all the fault of the US. One gets so tired of this kind of crap. I've come to believe that most of this BS is coming out of Iran.
The three videos and still images I saw of the Iranian "strategic" missile launches showed a half-dozen "FROG"-7 missiles, a couple of SCUD launches, and something else that was neither, and not very impressive. It appears that 90% of Iran's "vaunted military" is a propaganda tool.
I wonder if Israel has perfected their long-range air-launched cruise missile? Iran would be the perfect place to test it.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/14/2008 11:25 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Sounds like Sy Hersch is in town.
And besides, I thought they were our Zionist overlords?
Should diplomacy fail to return "Israeli-occupied land" to Lebanon, the Lebanese army (LAF) will take it by force, Lebanese President Gen. Michel Sueleiman said on Sunday. An Arab mind is a very strange thing
#4
Who knows, if they can cut a deal with enough clans to counter hez and their clans, maybe they can destroy the whole country again. Then everyone wins.
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
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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
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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.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Monday directly accused Pakistan's intelligence agency of being behind a recent wave of deadly attacks in Afghanistan, including the Indian embassy bombing. 
(Xinhua) -- The Arab Lawyers Union on Sunday strongly slammed the International Criminal Court (ICC) for its expected move to issue an arrest warrant against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. 
The freedom fighter who was assaulted Friday by Shibir cadres for demanding the trial of Jamaat leaders responsible for war crimes during the liberation war filed a general diary (GD) yesterday. Sheikh Mohammad Ali Aman, the war veteran, filed the GD with Ramna Police Station on charges of beating and keeping him confined. Police registered the GD as a case following investigation.
The government has solid plans to counter extremism and terrorism and will go ahead with its endeavours to establish its writ in the area where it has been challenged, 
The fate of 29 abducted soldiers would be decided in light of the decision taken by the jirga, the 
The United States should avoid talks of "hot pursuit" of militants into Pakistan's Tribal Areas and give the newly formed government time to enact its own policies without undue pressure, Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Co-chairman 
THE HAGUE, Netherlands - The International Criminal Court's prosecutor has filed genocide charges against Sudanese President 
(VOI) -- Iraqi security forces are awaiting the zero hour to be set by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to commence operations to track down gunmen in the restive province of Diala, an Interior Ministry official said on Sunday. "The file regarding the security operations in Diala is now on the prime minister's table for a decision to give the go-ahead for well-prepared Iraqi security forces to do their job," Maj. General Abdelkareem Khalaf, the interior ministry's operations chief, said in a press conference he held in Baghdad on Sunday.
DUBAI - Syrian President Bashar Al Assad said Damascus would establish normal relations including the opening of embassies if apeace accord was sealed with Israel, in an interview broadcast on Sunday.
US President George W Bush has given Israel a go-ahead to begin preparations for a military attack on Iran, in case talks over the country's controversial nuclear programme fail to yield results, a media report has said.
