[The Nation (Nairobi)] African Union leaders wrapping up a three-day summit today in Kampala agreed to send thousands of extra troops to reinforce its military contingent battling al Qaeda-linked insurgents in Somalia.
More than 30 heads of state approved a request by an east African regional body to send 2,000 extra soldiers to the war-torn capital Mogadishu.
However, the leaders were still grappling with whether to completely change the mandate of the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), currently tasked with protecting the fragile Somali government from the Islamist rebels.
"This summit has just approved the requests made by the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD)," Ethiopia's Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin told AFP. The IGAD earlier this month pledged to send the additional troops to boost Amisom's current force of 6,000 Burundian and Ugandan soldiers to its intended full strength.
The permanent secretary of Uganda's foreign ministry James Mugume said the summit was yet to agree on whether to give the force a more aggressive mandate under chapter seven of the UN charter. "The decision about the mandate is still being taken, but I think there is a realisation that chapter seven is difficult," Mr Mugume told AFP.
"What we are hoping for is chapter six and a half. It involves an adjustment in the rules of engagement that allows us to act more robustly.
"A change to six and a half would still require consultations with the UN Security Council," he explained. Ugandan army spokesman Felix Kulayigye however said that Amisom could now launch pre-emptive strikes following new rules of engagement.
"Now the forces are free to attack in a pre-emptive manner," Mr Kulayigye told AFP. "If there is a realisation that you are about to be attacked you are mandated to attack first." Somalia's hardline Shebab militia fighting to topple the Western-backed government of President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed demonstrated their new regional dimension when they claimed July 11 bombings in Kampala that killed 76 people.
They said the attack was to punish Uganda for its contribution to the AMISOM force, which the insurgents blame for killing civilians in Mogadishu.
The Ethiopian foreign minister urged the immediate deployment of the additional forces.
"We all think that AMISOM must be reinforced immediately, along with the means of action of the Somali transitional government," Mr Seyoum said.
However, leaders at the Kampala summit acknowledged that military intervention alone would not resolve Somalia's conflict which has raged for nearly two decades.
"The priority must therefore be to reinforce the security forces, the police, and the civil and financial institutions of the transitional government," Mr Seyoum added.
The Shabab, whose leadership has pledged allegiance to Osama bin Laden, currently controls around 80 per cent of the Horn of Africa nation, with the embattled government confined to a few blocks in Mogadishu.
US Assistant Secretary of State for Africa Johnnie Carson supported the Amisom troop surge as a means of defeating the radical militia posing a regional and international threat.
African Union Commission chief Jean Ping said earlier that Guinea was ready to send a battalion to Somalia and predicted that the mission could soon swell to 10,000 soldiers.
The bloc's commissioner for peace and security, Ramtane Lamamra, said it was only "a question of a few short weeks" before the reinforcements arrive in Somalia and render AMISOM -- which deployed in March 2007 -- "more robust".
Posted by: Fred ||
07/28/2010 00:00 ||
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[The Nation (Nairobi)] African Union troops in Somalia can now carry out pre-emptive attacks against Islamist insurgents, following a change in the rules of engagement for the force, the Ugandan military said Tuesday.
"Now the forces are free to attack in a pre-emptive manner," said Felix Kulayigye, a spokesman for the Ugandan military, which makes up the bulk of the AU mission in war-torn Mogadishu.
"If there is a realisation that you are about to be attacked you are mandated to attack first."
The change in the rules comes after Somalia's hardline Shabaab militia, which is fighting to topple the Western-backed government, claimed July 11 bombings in the Ugandan capital Kampala that killed 76 people.
African Union peace and security commissioner Ramtane Lamamra said on Monday that the regional body had set up new rules of engagement for the AU mission in Somalia, which so far could only respond when first attacked.
More than 30 African heads of state winding up a three-day summit in the Ugandan capital Tuesday also agreed to boost the troop level by 2,000.
However, the leaders were yet to agree on whether to completely change the force's mandate under chapter seven of the UN charter.
"The decision about the mandate is still being taken, but I think there is a realisation that chapter seven is difficult," Ugandan foreign ministry permanent secretary James Mugume told AFP.
"What we are hoping for is chapter six and a half. It involves an adjustment in the rules of engagement that allows us to act more robustly.
"A change to six and a half would still require consultations with the UN Security Council," he explained.
The AU force currently comprises some 6,000 Ugandan and Burundian troops and the additional soldiers are to increase its level to the intended full strength.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/28/2010 00:00 ||
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Hussam Fawzi Jabar: "This is the nature of the Jews. By nature, they abhor keeping their commitments. By nature, they hate peace. By nature, they love treachery, betrayal, deception, killing, and blood. This is their nature.
"It is very sad to see some of our own people, who speak our own tongue, try to convince their peoples that the Jews are peace-loving, that a solution to the satisfaction of both parties can be reached with them. I say that whoever says this and tries to convince others should either deny what is said in the Koran and the Sunna, and accept what the Jews say as truth, or else deny what the Jews say and accept what is said in the Koran and the Sunna. There is no third alternative.
"The Jews are not happy living among their neighbors unless they are harboring hatred toward them, betraying, and deceiving them. They are always ready and prepared to generate reasons for this. This is why the West in its entirety got rid of the Jews, by creating a new country for them in Palestine. They spew them out away from them, and gave them a new country, at the expense of Islam and the Muslims.
"At the same time, the West uses the Jews as a pitchfork with which to stab the giant [Islam] whenever it begins to awaken. If Egypt arises, Israel goes to war with it. If Syria arises, Israel begins clashes with it. If Lebanon arises, Israel starts conflicts with it. When Iraq arose, global Zionism mobilized the entire Western world to occupy Iraq. When Afghanistan arose... And so on and so forth... It stabs the giant [Islam] whenever it wants to awaken.
"One of the most amazing things I have read is that Hitler said: 'I could have annihilated all the Jews of the world, but I left some of them, so that you would understand why I did this to them.' Hitler was right to say what he said and to do what he did to the Jews.
"When Pakistan separated from India in 1947, nine million Pakistani Muslims were killed although India had vouched for their safety. There is clear enmity [toward the Muslims] among all nations. Today, India practices compulsory sterilization of Muslim men in order to curb the growth of their population.
"In Communist and atheist Russia, they would put the Muslims into meat grinders, and they would come out from the other side as minced meat or cold cuts. All this because [the Russians] believe in a religion other than Islam."
Posted by: Fred ||
07/28/2010 00:00 ||
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#3
Hussam Fawzi Jabar: "This is the nature of the Jews. By nature, they abhor keeping their commitments. By nature, they hate peace. By nature, they love treachery, betrayal, deception, killing, and blood. This is their nature.
Everything that Mooselimbs aren't, of course.
For some reason, I don't think there is much logic in his argument. Mostly hatred, fear and hear-say.
#8
I'm surprised that nobody has pointed out the obvious about Oliver Stone, and other leftist antisemites. That if someone bitterly hates and is paranoid about one group of people, then they are very likely to bitterly hate and be paranoid about other groups of people as well.
That is, no black person, or any other non-white person, should even trust Stone again. And even other groups within white people, like conservatives, of course, should be under no illusion that Stone holds them in any higher esteem than he does Jews.
#10
In Communist and atheist Russia, they would put the Muslims into meat grinders, and they would come out from the other side as minced meat or cold cuts.
That's why I don't eat hot dogs anymore, you just never know what goes into them.
#11
That's why I don't eat hot dogs anymore, you just never know what goes into them.
To your room, Anguper Hupomosing9418, and stay there for at least ten minutes. That was positively shameful, and not the least bit kosher, either!!! ;-)
[Bangla Daily Star] Opposition BNP Tuesday announced a mass procession in the capital on August 9 as part of its current anti-government movement.
BNP Chairperson and opposition leader Khaleda Zia will lead the mass procession which will start from Paltan Maidan.
BNP secretary general Khandaker Delwar Hossain formally announced the program at a press briefing at BNP central office in the afternoon.
Delwar said the mass procession will be organised to protest repression on the opposition, press for the release of arrested BNP leaders and workers and its front and associate bodies, protest the kidnapping of DCC ward councilor Chowdhury Alam, price hike of essentials, ensure electricity-gas-water supply as well as to protest terrorism, tender-manipulation, grabbing and admission-trade by 'Chhtara League' activists.
Whew! That's an awfully long list of protests. How are they going to get all that on one sign?
Same way A.N.S.W.E.R. does ...
Reduce all that to initials?
No, carry a big honking banner sign ...
Replying to a question, he said the government has become unnerved as it has started losing popularity for its misrule, misdeeds and failure to implement any of its election pledges.
So, Delwar said the government has resorted to force in obstructing the opposition's democratic and peaceful programs one after another.
The BNP secretary general urged the government to show democratic attitude and expressed the hope that the mass procession would not be obstructed.
Delwar urged BNP leaders and workers and its front and associate bodies to join the mass procession and make it an all-out success. He also sought cooperation from the people to this end.
On Monday's police attack on demonstration of private university students in the city against imposition of VAT on their tuition fees, he strongly condemned the baton charges and fired teargas shells on the student's demonstration.
Asked about the 35-year agreement between Bangladesh and India on import of electricity from India, Delwar said Bangladesh has adequate resources to generate power and the country can solve its own problems by utilising the domestic resources.
He said an 'evil omen' has hung over the country to prevent it from becoming a self-reliant nation.
The former East Pakistan appears to be more self-reliant and peaceful than their erstwhile ruler, formerly known as West Pakistan. But perhaps I'm missing something.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/28/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Meanwhile
* TOPIX >VARIOUS > NORTH KOREA HELPING MYANMAR TO BUILD NUKES?
[Al Arabiya Latest] France's government vowed Tuesday to step up the fight against al-Qaeda in northern Africa after militants killed a French hostage in the Sahel desert region.
"The fight against terrorism continues and it is going to strengthen, particularly against AQMI," Prime Minister Francois Fillon said on Europe 1 radio, using the acronym for al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.
The group, a northern Africa-based affiliate of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network, claimed the killing of Michel Germaneau, a 78-year-old French aid worker who was kidnapped in Niger.
"France does not practice vengeance," Fillon said. "However we do have agreements with the governments in the region and in particular with the Mauritanian government and with the Malian government to hunt these terrorists and bring them to justice."
Good luck and happy hunting, guys!
AQIM declared it had killed Germaneau as revenge after French and Mauritanian soldiers stormed one of the group's camps in Mali and killed six militants.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/28/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
They are also going to save all their old croissants and throw them at al-Qaeda when the find France finds them. They can't afford real ammo any more any way. I also hear it's more humanitarian.
#2
The French are quite willing and able to take decisive action in Africa. They've done it before and will do it again if they believe it's warranted.
#4
Any confirmation on if/how many hands were lost during the camp raid? France seems to be getting tired of taking shit, and this is a ballsy move which should be applauded.
#5
Do you think the French will "Stay the Course" or should we expect them to head home once the shooting begins?
The French have historically viewed Africa as their area of interest. And they've proved they can be pretty... emphatic if their interests are involved.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/28/2010 16:08 Comments ||
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#7
France may not practice vengeance but the French Foreign Legion sure as hell does. Let us wait and see what units the French send out : if it is a Legion unit especially any of the Special Forces units, then France has decided that all of the offenders must die. And yes, France does consider francophone Africa their backyard and has been quite willing in the past to shed massive quantities of African blood in the defense of same.
#8
Jimmy,
Somewhere in a Foreign Legion Billet far far away, a telephone rings
Yeah, Karl and all hell breaks loose. I certainly wouldn't invite them over for dinner and I sure as hell don't want them on my bad side...those are some really really tough guys.
The Department of Justice is ignoring a new law aimed at protecting the right of American soldiers to vote, according to two former DOJ attorneys who say states are being encouraged to use waivers to bypass the new federal Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment (MOVE) Act.
The MOVE Act, enacted last October, ensures that servicemen and women serving overseas have ample time to get in their absentee ballots. The result of the DOJ's alleged inaction in enforcing the act, say Eric Eversole and J. Christian Adams -- both former litigation attorneys for the DOJ's Voting Section -- could be that thousands of soldiers' ballots will arrive too late to be counted. Why do DOJ Attorneys feel they have to quit their careers before they can speak out? That in of itself is a tragic red flag on the Federal level.
"It is an absolute shame that the section appears to be spending more time finding ways to avoid the MOVE Act, rather than finding ways to ensure that military voters will have their votes counted," said Eversole, director of the Military Voter Protection Project, a new organization devoted to ensuring military voting rights. "The Voting Section seems to have forgotten that it has an obligation to enforce federal law, not to find and raise arguments for states to avoid these laws."
#1
Another instance of where the Ruling Class seems to have forgotten that it has an obligation to enforce federal law, not to find and raise arguments for states to avoid these laws.
#2
This is because Soldiers and people in the military won't be all that intimidated by New Black Panther's Party members waving around clubs outside the poll - so Holder and company have to find someway to deny them the vote.
Posted by: Secret Asian Man ||
07/28/2010 18:17 Comments ||
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#5
Illegals can vote without showing identification, Dead people vote in Philly and Chicago, idiots in Florida who can not poke a pencil through a ballot can be counted multiple times... but serviceman need not be considered.
Hundreds of Afghan lives have been put at risk by the leaking of 90,000 intelligence documents to WikiLeaks because the files identify informants working with NATO forces.
In just two hours of searching the WikiLeaks archive, The Times of London found the names of dozens of Afghans credited with providing detailed intelligence to U.S. forces. Their villages are given for identification and also, in many cases, their fathers' names.
U.S. officers recorded detailed logs of the information fed to them by named local informants, particularly tribal elders.
Julian Assange, the Australian founder of WikiLeaks, claimed on Monday that all the documents released through his organisation had been checked for named informants and that 15,000 such documents had been held back.
The Afghan Government has reacted with horror to the volume of information contained in the files.
A senior official at the Afghan Foreign Ministry, who declined to be named, said: "The leaks certainly have put in real risk and danger the lives and integrity of many Afghans. The U.S. is both morally and legally responsible for any harm that the leaks might cause to the individuals, particularly those who have been named. It will further limit the U.S./international access to the uncensored views of Afghans."
The Pentagon claimed that a preliminary review of the thousands of secret reports released by WikiLeaks showed that they posed no immediate threat to U.S. forces. But experts warned that the Taliban and Al Qaeda would already be using the information to identify and target informers in the war zone.
#1
Extradite, convict, and hang him for war crimes. How is Abu Ghraib any worse than exposing the identities of informants, some of which will be killed?
#4
A comment on Wretchard's blog:
"Those named are now officially chum and the taliban are sharks. Kipling has some advice:
When youre wounded and left on Afghanistans plains,
And the women come out to cut up what remains,
Jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains
An go to your Gawd like a soldier.
#5
Assange in his own words, from Spiegel Online's interview with him: I enjoy creating systems on a grand scale, and I enjoy helping people who are vulnerable. And I enjoy crushing bastards.
I expect there will be further episodes of this story, along the lines of The Bastards Strike Back
#8
Makes you wonder why the Obama administration didn't move more forcefully to prevent this from happening.
Oh, oh, I already know.
They wanted it. The Pentagon didn't, the CIA didn't, but the White House is okay with it.
Why? Because they don't want to be in Afghanistan any more. It's no longer the good war. So if there are a bunch of leaks and it gets to be too hard to fight, why we'll just have to leave and spend all the money on Obamacare instead.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/28/2010 17:04 Comments ||
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#9
#7 tu
So, the security of states is no concern of this bastard Assange? Perhaps his personal security is no concern of the state's.
If governments will not or cannot act against him, perhaps private individuals can.
[The News (Pak) Top Stories] A former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) official, Col (retd) Ameer Sultan alias Col Imam, who is in the custody of militants for four months in North Waziristan, appealed to the president, prime minister and director general of the spy agency to accept demands of the militant organisation, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi al-Alami, to save his life.
He said his fate would be worse than that of the former Pakistan Air Force officer Khalid Khwaja, who also served in the ISI and was put to death by the same group of militants on April 28.
The militant organisation holding him and a British journalist, Asad Qureshi, on Monday released a videotape in which Col Imam was shown recording his written statement. Col Imam, Khalid Khwaja and Asad Qureshi were kidnapped on March 26.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/28/2010 00:00 ||
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BAGHDAD - The U.S. Department of Defense was unable to account properly for $8.7 billion of Iraqi oil and gas money meant for humanitarian needs and reconstruction after the 2003 invasion, according to an audit released on Tuesday.
It's being spent on Obamacare ...
The figure is nearly 96 percent of the $9.1 billion funnelled to the Pentagon from the Development Fund for Iraq (DFI), said the audit report from the U.S. Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR).
The report described lax management of some of the billions of dollars designated for rebuilding war-shattered Iraq, where residents routinely complain about lack of electricity and other basic services more than seven years after the invasion.
Time to take care of your own country instead of waiting on Uncle Sugar ...
The DFI was established by the Coalition Provisional Authority, the U.S.-run body that took charge of Iraq following the invasion. It was meant to harness money from export sales of oil, petroleum products and natural gas, as well as frozen Iraqi assets and surplus funds from the U.N. oil-for-food program, and spend it for the benefit of Iraqis. The U.N. Security Council approved the creation of the fund.
There's part of the problem. How much did the UN siphon off?
Weaknesses in DoDs financial and management controls left it unable to properly account for $8.7 billion of the $9.1 billion in DFI funds it received for reconstruction activities in Iraq, the SIGIR report said.
The report cited poor record-keeping and said most of the organisations at the Pentagon that received DFI funds failed to establish required Treasury Department accounts.
Our selective review shows the records were not always complete. For example, DoD could not provide documentation to substantiate how it spent $2.6 billion, it said.
The government of Iraq ordered the Pentagon to return DFI funds at the end of 2007. But the audit found Department of Defense organisations that were still holding and in some cases spending DFI funds.
The breakdown in controls left the funds vulnerable to inappropriate uses and undetected loss, the report said.
The audit report said the Pentagon had agreed to adopt and implement by November the inspector-generals recommendations to tighten up financial controls. SIGIR believes the identified actions, if implemented as planned, will address SIGIRs concerns, the report said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/28/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
US cant account for $8.7 bln of Iraqs money
Look in the Controlling Party's (Democrat's in this case,) Pockets.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/28/2010 0:32 Comments ||
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#2
For example, DoD could not provide documentation to substantiate how it spent $2.6 billion," it said.
Then hold secretary Gates responsible and decrement his pay and bonuses along with next years DoD budget accordingly.
#4
Hey, just because they can't (properly) account for it doesn't mean it (all) went to graft and corruption. Maybe they just didn't fill out the proper form AHG-2876/whereditgo/481. If the UN got it, I'm sure there are receipts.
Posted by: Bobby ||
07/28/2010 6:04 Comments ||
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BAGHDAD The US militarys top officer, Admiral Mike Mullen, on Tuesday said a planned drawdown of US troops in Iraq was on track, citing stunning progress in security over the past three years.
Before arriving in Baghdad, the chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff told reporters on his plane that Iraqs military and police had proven themselves over the past year. Based on briefings from US commanders, Mullen said the Iraqi forces are ready to take full responsibility for security in the country as American forces are scaled back to a 50,000-strong mission.
He said the Iraqi troops are performing in the lead exceptionally well.
Ive seen their response in various situations where violent attacks have occurred. And their response has really been good.
He recalled grim days during the peak of sectarian violence three years ago, when there was great despair about where all this was going.
Mullen said the progress since 2007 represented truly a stunning achievement.
He added at a press conference in Baghdads heavily-fortified Green Zone: We are on track to reduce the number of American forces here in Iraq to 50,000 or less by the 1st of September.
I see absolutely nothing to negatively impact that.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/28/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
How's that Right WarGood War the war in Afghanistan going, Odoubter?
#2
I was surprised to find it in Yahoo News but not in a MSM outlet.
Posted by: Bobby ||
07/28/2010 5:46 Comments ||
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#3
Stunning achievements would be: A place to visit and travel around without the risk of getting killed, women having significant rights, various factions are not trying to kill Americans or each other, brisk commerce, electricity around the clock, secure borders, an ally in the mideast.
Sorta like the Dhimmicrats in Congress but less conniving, backbiting and despicable ...
28 July 2010 BAGHDAD Iraqs parliament indefinitely postponed on Tuesday what would have been only its second session since March elections, extending a deadlock that has prevented formation of a new government. The delay is the latest setback in a nearly five-month process, and comes barely more than a month before US combat troops are set to withdraw from Iraq.
We are postponing the session until further notice because the political entities failed to reach any agreement, Fuad Massum, who as the oldest member of parliament holds the post of caretaker speaker, told a news conference.
We held a meeting this morning with the heads of the parliamentary blocs and we agreed to give more time to political entities to reach agreement regarding the selection of a speaker and his two deputies.
He added: The representatives of the political entities insisted on calling the current government a caretaker administration.
Tuesdays session was to have been only the second since March 7 parliamentary elections. The first, on June 14, was adjourned after only 20 minutes. The selection of a new speaker and president ahead of the naming of a new premier is likely to be part of a grand bargain among Iraqs competing political blocs, further complicating the formation of a new government.
Iraqs four main political groups, none of which has the 163 seats required for a parliamentary majority to form a government on their own, have been unable to hammer out a coalition deal since the nationwide vote.
The political vacuum continues to dog Iraq only around a month before US combat troops are due to leave the country at the end of August.
It is a disappointing decision, said Salim al-Juburi, an MP with the Sunni Tawafuq party. Each day that passes means the suffering is increasing, the security situation is aggravating, and we are moving far from the interests of the people.
However, Kurdish MP Saeed Rasul said the postponement was positive, arguing it was better than entering the parliament hall without having reached an agreement.
In a statement following confirmation of the postponement, government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh confirmed that the government had not signed any strategic accords or treaties, nor made any special nominations, and has only distributed funds that have been approved by parliament.
US and Iraqi officials have warned of the dangers of an upsurge in violence as negotiations on forming a coalition drag on, giving insurgent groups an opportunity to further destabilise the country.
Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staffs, arrived in Baghdad on Tuesday to review plans for the American troop drawdown and efforts to form a governing coalition. We dont see anything right now that will affect the transition and the continued troop drawdown, he told reporters at a press conference in Baghdads heavily-fortified Green Zone.
Former premier Iyad Allawis Iraqiya bloc finished first in the election with 91 seats, followed closely by Prime Minister Nuri al-Malikis State of Law alliance with 89.
The Iraqi National Alliance, a group of Shiite religious parties, finished third with 70 seats.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/28/2010 00:00 ||
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[Al Arabiya Latest] Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, on Tuesday warned Paleostinian leader the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas not to re-launch direct peace talks with Israel, which it said "would only serve the Zionist occupation."
"We warn (Abbas) of the consequences of returning to negotiations, either with Arab cover or under pressure from America, because this will deepen the divide and put our cause on the brink of collapse," Hamas big turban Salah al-Bardawil said in a statement.
Abbas was to meet with Arab League ministers on Thursday to discuss whether to bow to months of U.S. pressure to re-launch face-to-face talks with Israel last suspended after the December 2008 outbreak of the Gazoo war.
He has been engaged in U.S.-mediated indirect talks with Israel since May but has repeatedly said he will not upgrade the negotiations without a freeze on Jewish settlements and a clear reference for the talks.
"Abbas's talk of a clearly defined reference as a condition for restarting direct talks with the enemy confirms that Fatah has committed a huge error by negotiating for the last 20 years without one," Bardawil said.
It "bears responsibility for everything that has happened in the Paleostinian territories, the holy sites and the cause during this period of negotiations and concessions," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/28/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
In vaguely related news, Egypt has refused to grant visas to four Iranian "diplomats" who are trying to enter Gaza.
A pro-Palestinian American group has reportedly initiated a humanitarian campaign to sail an aid vessel to the Israeli-blockaded Gaza Strip.
The "US Boat to Gaza" has begun attracting funds for the purchase of the vessel, Israeli newspaper The Jerusalem Post wrote on Monday. The vessel, which could carry 40 to 60 A.N.S.W.E.R. thugs crewmembers, is expected to depart in autumn with the ultimate aim of challenging the four-year-long Israeli siege on the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli-imposed restrictions have deprived the 1.5-million Palestinian residents of guns and ammo the impoverished coastal sliver of food, fuel and other necessities.
Mostly they're deprived of guns, ammunition, and cement to rebuild, though. Food, fuel, and other necessities are so over-supplied there isn't room to store it, even with the brand new shopping malls that have been built.
"...together we will contribute to the great effort to end the blockade of Gaza and the illegal occupation of Palestine", the organizers have said on their website.
The boat is reportedly to be named as "The Audacity of Hope," synonymous with President Barack Obama's popular book.
A friend of the president
A very dear friend, who used to babysit President Obama's children, and at whose kitchen table The Audacity of Hope was written
and the director of the Middle East Institute at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, Professor Rashid Khalidi, is reportedly advocating the effort.
Why did we let him into the country?
So that he could be our president's very dear friend, the one who made him feel the plight of the Palestinians as if it were his own, of course. In biology, that's called pre-adaptation, I believe.
"If the name is a problem for the administration, it can simply insist publicly that Israel lift the siege: end of problem, end of embarrassment," Khalidi said. "That of course would require it to respond to the systematic mendacity of those in Congress and elsewhere who support the siege, and indeed whatever else the Israeli government does."
"The ball's in your court, Mr. President."
Preparations for the relief effort are underway amid continued international condemnation of the Israeli commandos' May 31 attack on the Gaza-bound Freedom Flotilla aid mission. The assault in international waters killed nine Turkish activists.
I believe the evidence showed they were actually hired Al Qaeda killers. But don't let facts get in the way of the narrative.
The bid is also supported by Cindy and Craig Corrie, the parents of the famous US peace activist, Saint Pancake Rachel Corrie, who was crushed to death by an Israeli army bulldozer in 2003 as she was trying to prevent it from razing a weapons bunker Palestinian home.
Israeli forces seized an aid vessel with the same name last month while it was on a mission to break the blockade.
"Given the national-religious hierarchy which determines what the (Israel Defense Forces) IDF can do to whom,
Translation needed! That clause makes no sense whatsoever.
the fact that the ship is American will make it harder to deal with it as the Mavi Marmara was dealt with," Khalidi stressed, referring to the Turkish flotilla on which the May bloodshed took place.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/28/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Go in with an unfair advantage and sink it when they get stoopid.
#3
To whom writes in blue, you forgot to mention Hamas won't let the supplies be distributed because they want to force a break in blockades further smuggling in weapons. As a matter of fact, wasn't there also an article about the influx of goods upsetting shopkeepers because it was lowering prices or some thing?
As for the national-religious hierarchy thing, I think they are trying to imply the Zionist, evil machinations controlling the world again.
#4
And the first muslim president will do nothing to discourage such an act. But should the Israelis do anything to protect themselves and there will be all shades of hell to pay.
#7
The boat is reportedly to be named as "The Audacity of Hope," synonymous with President Barack Obama's popular book.
So it'll leave port smoothly and to much acclaim, but soon run into problems. Engine problems will develop and the ship will slow down. The crew will be revealed as incompetent amatuers unable to deal with any problems. Eventually the engines quit and the Audacity of Hope will lie dead in the water. They will beg a Chinese freighter to tow them into port. It will arrive to international acclaim, the captain will blame a previous crew for all issues and be awarded a swell prize.
#11
tu- your description of TAOH is very good, but a couple of descriptors were omitted:
while the registration MAY appear to be American, the actually nation of registry is Kenyan, but no amount of investigation will be able to fully discern that to a level acceptable to the masses,
and
the rudder will be jammed to port......
That doesn't mean they're going out of business, just that they're gonna play musical cabinet seats.
[Ma'an] The Ramallah-based government led by premier Salam Fayyad will be disbanded and a new Paleostinian Authority cabinet will be formed next week, a Fatah big cheese said Tuesday.
Fatah's parliament speaker Azzam Al-Ahmad told Ma'an radio that President Abbas would consult with Paleostinian factions over the new structure of the PA. Fayyad or another politician will be tasked with forming a government, he said.
After meeting with Fatah lawmakers in Ramallah, Al-Ahmad said the restructuring of the PA cabinet would include all PLO factions and independent figures but would remain affiliated to Fatah regardless of its prime minister and cabinet members' political party. It will strictly follow Fatah party policies, he said.
Reports of the reshuffle first surfaced in February, after general Paleostinian elections due for January were deferred. However, the move was only confirmed in May as Abbas sanctioned indirect talks with Israel.
Fatah Central Committee member Nabil Sha'ath said at the time that the movement was not trying to seize several ministries, disputing reports in the Israeli media, but rather "demanding key ministries."
Posted by: Fred ||
07/28/2010 00:00 ||
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The Thai government and its top military commanders overseeing counterinsurgency operations in its restive southern Muslim provinces have ruled out the presence of al-Qaeda or jihadi tendencies, saying the rebellion is essentially local and has no affiliations with global terrorism.
"For a terrorist group like al-Qaeda Thailand is a very small target. The rebellion in three southern Muslim provinces (Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat) is a domestic issue. Some factions outside the country tried to make it an international issue," Ambassador attached to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Isorn Pocmontri said.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has said that his government is determined to resolve the conflict in the three southern provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat through reconciliation and development. "My government is determined for establishing peace and stability in the south through justice and development," Vejjajiva said.
The Prime Minister also said the security forces involved in operations in the restive regions will be made accountable for their actions amid complaints of military high-handedness in the areas.
Thailand has managed to convince the Organisation of Islamic Conference that the southern insurgency is a domestic issue and has nothing to do with international terrorism, Pocmontri said.
"No jihadi groups, no al-Qaeda are present here. They are only perpetrators of violence," Major General Udomchai Thamsarorat, Deputy Director, Internal Security operations, 4th regional forward post, Srindhoran Camp in Yarang district of the restive Pattani province told journalists. The army officer said there was no question of 'de-radicalising' people in the region as they are not radicalised.
#1
Is the Thai Govt. certain about that, as it is broadly dealing wid covert, politically-saavy Personages + Groups, etc. whom aren't going to admit the fact of their Presence, Loyalties, Activities, Capabilities + Agendum iff they can help it???
[Al Arabiya Latest] Russia on Tuesday blasted unilateral European Union sanctions imposed against Iran's energy sector as "unacceptable", saying the move showed a disregard for the U.N. Security Council.
"We have already said many times that we consider unacceptable the practice of unilateral or collective sanctions measures against Iran, that go beyond the Security Council sanctions regime in operation in the country," the Russian foreign ministry said.
The statement came after EU foreign ministers on Monday formally adopted new sanctions on Iran's key energy sector in a bid to force it to return to talks on its controversial nuclear program.
Russia said Tuesday that the EU sanctions showed "disregard for the carefully regulated and coordinated provisions of the UN Security Council."
Both the EU and U.S. sanctions "do not promote finding a speedy political and diplomatic resolution of the problem. For us this is obvious," the ministry said.
Russia "categorically rejects" any attempts to use sanctions against companies and individuals from third countries who are "conscientiously carrying out the demands of U.N. Security Council resolutions," it said.
Russia, traditionally a diplomatic and economic ally of Iran, in the past took a milder line against Tehran than Western powers but recently has noticeably hardened its position, sparking anger in Tehran.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/28/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Russia's all over the place on this Iran thingy. Is this some sort of internal power struggle or do they just not have their sh*t together on the subject.
[ADN Kronos] Iran on Tuesday said it is willing take part in talks about its nuclear programme but that before the west must first scrap its sanctions against the Islamic republic.
"The European Union's call for the continuation of nuclear talks with Tehran is in direct contradiction to its recently approved package of anti-Iran sanctions," head of the national security and foreign policy commission of Majlis, Alaeddin Boroujerdi told Mehr News Agency on Tuesday.
"Any new round of talks should put an end to the handling of Iran's nuclear dossier in the United Nations Security Council and submit it to the International Atomic Energy Agency," Boroujerdi said.
Separately on Tuesday, the Iranian foreign ministry spokesman was quoted by state news agency Irna as condemning the recently approved European Union sanctions saying they won't prod his country into talks.
"These sanctions won't contribute to restarting talks and won't hurt Iran's determination to defend its right to pursue a peaceful nuclear programme.
The EU's 27 members on Monday approved sanctions against Iran which include measures against the oil and gas industry.
US president Barack Obama on 1 July signed legislation that punishes foreign suppliers of Iran's gasoline and blocks access to the American financial system for banks that do business with the country.
Iran maintains that its uranium enrichment programme is for a nuclear programme linked to nuclear energy and medical research. Those claims do little to calm fears that the Persian Gulf country is secretly developing nuclear arms.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/28/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Iran: Sanctions must end before talks resume
That's an admission that the sanctions are Pinching.
OK, No talks then.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
07/28/2010 0:30 Comments ||
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#2
Did we even ask for talks?
I think they are laboring under a false apprehension at this point.
#3
How about concessions first and then talks begin? Show good faith will and behaviors first; stop nuclear arms development, quit exporting violence in the region. In other words quit being a$$holes.
#4
That's an admission that the sanctions are Pinching.
Possibly and likely. It's also an honor issue. Want to really upset them? Treat them as if they weren't worthy to sit at the grown-up-nations' table.
That Tehran is upset that the matter is being handled at the UNSC level (as if they were the NorKs), instead of the IAEA like the "real nations" would be, is a good thing.
Did we even ask for talks?
The Europeans did. Guess they're playing the role as the 'reasonable ones'.
Al Qaeda's No. 2 leader condemned a French move to ban Islamic face veils and urged Yemeni clerics to call for jihad against an alleged U.S. intervention in Yemen, in an Internet message posted on Tuesday.
Ayman al-Zawahiri said in the audio recording that a bill passed by French lawmakers which could fine women for appearing in public with face-covering veils was "an attack on Islam."
"This is the freedom of the infidels and not the freedom of Muslims who hold fast to their religion," the Egyptian militant leader said. "France with all its power is unable to expose the head of a nun but it attacks every veiled woman."
Zawahiri, in his second message this month released on Islamist websites, also ridiculed Yemeni clerics, who he said promised jihad, or holy war, against the United States if it interfered in Yemen, but who he said ignored signs that the government was cooperating with U.S. forces.
Noting that Amnesty International had called on Washington to explain its role in Yemen, Zawahiri asked: "Is Amnesty International more concerned about defending the Yemeni people than they (the clerics) are?"
Amnesty International released a report in June suggesting that the United States may be playing a role in Yemen after releasing photographs that showed remnants of alleged U.S. missiles and cluster bombs used in an attack in south Yemen.
"What more are they waiting for to call for jihad? ... are they waiting for the U.S. soldiers to appear on the streets of Sanaa in their tanks?"
The law to ban the Muslim face cover, which was passed overwhelmingly by French politicians, reveals that freedom in the West is confined to "fighting Islam... and insulting the prophet, while banning anything touching anti-semitism, or questioning the Nazi Holocaust," he said.
Al-Zawahiri mentions the May 1 attempted Times Square bombing and addresses people from the United States and NATO countries: "You are the ones who are paying the hefty price. Your leaders are collecting the money and the wealth from their war trades, and you are nothing but the fuel and the victims. We did offer you a truce once. We can all benefit, but your governments rejected our call for peace with all arrogance and conceit. This is why the campaigns against you kept coming one after the other, everywhere from Indonesia to Times Square, throughout Madrid and London. These campaigns will continue, and the jihadi reinforcement is still coming," he said.
As for Turkey, he said the Turks "need to restore the dignity of the Ottoman Empire" and end all "deals and treaties" with Israel. He said change won't come via flotillas for Gaza.
#2
AQ #2 AYMAN ZAWAHIRI > had also repor proclaimed in His audio message that the US has lost in IRAQ + now AFGHANISTAN becuz US Milfors are unilaterally withdrawing, as per POTUS BAMMER = ADMIN'S PRE-DETERMIN STRATEGY, WHILE RADICAL ISLAM = TALIBAN, Etal. ARE STAYING.
COLD WAR > Aka the US "Leaving the Battlefield to the Enemy" + "Won the Battles but Lost the War" + "Attacking where the US = US-NATO are NOT"???
SUB-AKA "VIETNAM REDUX"???
Again, RADICAL ISLAM > RUSSIA + CHINA + INDIA, etc. ASIAN COUNTRIES IS WHERE THE NUKES + ADVANCED MILTECHS + MANPOWER RESERVES, ETC. ARE -ditto for AFRICA as per MANPOWER + NATURAL COMMODITIES TRADE.
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.
Al Qaeda's No. 2 leader condemned a French move to ban Islamic face veils and urged Yemeni clerics to call for jihad against an alleged U.S. intervention in Yemen, in an Internet message posted on Tuesday.
