The Sudanese security bodies are doing their utmost to reveal the identities of the perpetrators who assassinated the USAID staff, Sudan's Foreign Minister Deng Alor said on Wednesday. Alor made the statement during a meeting with the acting Charge d'Affairs at the US embassy in Khartoum.
During the meeting, the Sudanese Minister offered condolences on behalf of the country's government to the US government and the family of John Michel Granville (33) who was assassinated with his driver in Khartoum on Tuesday, head of the US Section at the Sudanese Foreign Ministry told reporters.
The Sudanese authorities said the incident was not an act of terrorism.
For his part, the US official appreciated the cooperation between the embassy and the Sudanese authorities for revealing the circumstances of the incident. He also highlighted sympathy manifested by all the sectors of the Sudanese people at the official and non-official levels.
A US security delegation is due in Khartoum later today to investigate the incident and to prepare a report on the assassination of the US diplomat.
Meanwhile, The Sudanese authorities started today interrogating witnesses of the incidents.
Posted by: Seafarious ||
01/03/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Sudan
#1
Perhaps State and Congress can spare some time/energy being spent on determining whether Blackwater washed the Suburbans too many times per week to look at security for diplomats.
#4
It could equally be Sudden Jihad Syndrome. It's only a matter of whether the miscreant was connected or independent -- the actual murdering part is pretty much the same, I'd think. Not that it speaks well of the society that accepts such behaviour, but that is a matter of perspective.
In a press release on Wednesday, Al-Atiyyah called for reaching a political settlement for the dispute between the two fraternal countries. "We in the GCC do feel anxious about these developments, and we would like to urge the two parties to practice self-restraint and to avoid escalation of tension across their joint borders," he added.
Last Monday, Sudan has formally filed a complaint in the United Nations Security Council regarding Chad violating its territorial sovereignty and conducting military operations inside Sudan.
This article starring:
Secretary General Abdulrahman Al-Atiyyah
Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
Posted by: Seafarious ||
01/03/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Wel-l-l, WAFF.com Poster thread > CHINA SELLS TANKS TO SUDAN, espec advanced/upgunned AFVS. *Poster opinion - new armored units-assets is more than enuff to defeat Chad???
Fathers usually inspire sons into action, to achieve life goals. But in this family that relationship was turned upside down when Dr. Krissoff received news of his older son's death. Nathan Krissoff died on Dec. 9, 2006, in Al Anbar province. He was 25. Now the fallen Marine's father is committed to a mission, one that carries even more than the memory of Nathan. Krissoff's youngest son, Austin, is also an officer in the Corps.
"Both my sons were hugely affected by the events of 9/11, and Nate was proud to serve in the Marines, as Austin is," Krissoff says. "I share their views."
So he is closing his Truckee practice, leaving his Reno home, relocating to San Diego and taking on a brand new persona, that of Navy Lt. Commander. Though 19 years over the Navy's official age limit, Dr. Krissoff will serve as a Navy surgeon for three years. "My interest in Navy medicine," Krissoff says, "was because they take care of Marines."
Because 42 is the Navy's age cutoff for medical officer enlistees, Krissoff was initially told that joining would be a difficult and lengthy process. So he pressed the issue and asked for the needed waiver from the highest authority he could find - President Bush.
Krissoff met Bush in August at an American Legion convention in Reno. The doctor described the personal meeting he had with the president immediately following the convention as a solemn experience with a small group of families grappling with the loss of loved ones in war.
Krissoff says Bush asked each family what he could do for them. Krissoff told the president he wanted to serve. After a brief moment, Bush deferred to Krissoff's wife, Christine, who has consistently supported her husband's decision. Krissoff says he pressed Bush about the matter with humor. "'Sir, I'd like to serve but they told me I'm too old, but I'm younger than you, sir,'" Krissoff says, telling the story with a rare grin.
Recruits like Krissoff who qualify in every other category get the age waiver. Krissoff just got his a little quicker. "I thought it was a prank when we got the call from the White House," Krissoff says. "Two days (after we met the president), the papers were given by Karl Rove to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. We did a year's worth of work in two months."
Posted by: Mike ||
01/03/2008 15:16 ||
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[11141 views]
Top|| File under: Iraqi Insurgency
A RADICAL Pakistani mullah last night issued a chilling warning to Benazir Bhuttos son Bilawal Zardari, insisting: Hes a target now.
Taliban fanatic Maulana Mohavya Irshad who admits he is happy to become a suicide bomber said last night: Bilawal has become the target for those who killed Benazir Bhutto. His party has to take extra care of him and look after his security.
Speaking at the extremist Red Mosque in the centre of Pakistani capital Islamabad, the 24-year-old bearded cleric insisted: I dont know which group killed Bhutto. At this time, I dont know much about Bilawal. I only know he is a liberal person and that is deviation from Islam. True Muslims will not allow him to go against Islam.
Posted by: john frum ||
01/03/2008 07:49 ||
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Top|| File under: Taliban
#1
Taliban Perv or Alq???
Tahe your bets!!!
Posted by: Paul ||
01/03/2008 9:23 Comments ||
Top||
#15
At least the article had the good sense to label Maulana (which sounds like a girls name) a Taliban fanatic. And how do you become a "cleric" at the ripe age of 24???
His type (taliban fanatics) are swine and need to be expunged. They most likely cannot be reasoned with, so, like a rabid dog, they need to be put down before they infect others. "Clerics" get to go to the head of the line.
#16
Bhutto's son is innocent,he is a child.Martyr Benazir Bhutto was also innocent.those people who kill innocents and children,those killers are not Muslims and also not humans.Bhutto's son hasn't given any harm to others so,he should be safe.MAY ALLAH PROTECT AND SAFE BHUTTO'S SON.AMEEN-SOUM AMEEN.
Posted by: Muslim ||
01/03/2008 16:00 Comments ||
Top||
#17
Muslim: MAY ALLAH PROTECT AND SAFE BHUTTO'S SON.AMEEN-SOUM AMEEN.
Allah helps those who help themselves. This is another way of saying that as long as Bhutto's son gets good bodyguards and doesn't take unnecessary risks - such as making pre-announced public appearances without snipers on overwatch or screening attendees for bombs and firearms - Allah should be able to protect him. If he takes unnecessary risks, he is more or less telling Allah he wants to be martyred, and Allah will grant his wish.
#18
those people who kill innocents and children,those killers are not Muslims and also not humans.Bhutto's son hasn't given any harm to others so,he should be safe.
#22
I think he's saying that he disowns them, much as one sibling can disown another.
I have a serious problem with that.
It is like the beginning of a Mission Impossible episode where the voice on the tape says "If any member of your IMF team is caught or killed, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your action. Good luck Jim"
Because the fact is those people who kill innocents and children,those killers ARE Muslims.
They kill with the Shahadat on their lips .. "there is no god but Allah and Mohammad is his messenger".
They murder women and children while chanting "God is Great". The kill in the name of Islam.
And while 99.9% of Muslims are not involved in this activity, far too many of the innocent 99.9% protect the 0.1% because "All Muslims are Brothers".
Attempts to deal with the 0.1% are blocked because "Muslims are being unfairly singled out".
I think the life of the Christian, Jew or Hindu neighbor should be more valuable to a Muslim citizen than the life of a Muslim stranger, a "brother" who seeks shelter, either before or after committing a terror act.
Take the innocent Muslim who demands the US and UK leave Afghanistan... TO WHOM ? The Taliban? Is that who they support? More Brothers?
I know of several mosques where Slobodan Milsovic was cursed every Friday. Where the Danish cartoonists are condemned regularly for insulting Islam.
Yet not one word is said against Osama Bin Laden.
Oh, no Muslim could have attacked the Towers. Osama didn't do it. If he did, he isn't a real Muslim.
Really?
Why isn't he cursed every Friday? He has more blood (and Muslim blood) on his hands than even Slobo. Who has insulted Islam more? The cartoonists or the man who murders innocents in Islam's name?
Heaven and Earth must be moved for the poor "brothers" in Gitmo. Tears are shed for the Palestinians and Bosnians and whoever is the current Muslim victim suffering at the hands of the infidel. None for the blacks in the Sudan.
None for the victims of Islamic terror. Not one tear. Radko Mladic must hang but 'Tiger' Niazi is not even mentioned (he only killed a million Bengalis... no bother).
Until Muslims confront the terrorists within their fold, the war on terror cannot be won.
Disavowal will not do.
I believe the welfare of your fellow citizens and your country should matter more to you than people in a far off land .. whether it be Palestine or not. Whether they are Muslims or not.
Only fellow Muslims can deal with the jihadists and disavowing them simply won't do. Only Muslims can reform the system of Islam. We outsiders cannot.
And reform starts by acknowledging that the killers are fellow Muslims and act in the name of Islam.
Posted by: john frum ||
01/03/2008 19:00 Comments ||
Top||
#23
STRATEGYPAGE > INDIA-PAKISTAN: WHOM BENEFITS FROM BHUTTO's MURDER. Despite rants agz Mushey, SP claims the Paki Govt has good evidences of many transcripts inferring the Taliban, AQ, and aligned Terror orgs. IOW, WAS BHUTTO KILLED BY THE VERY SAME TERROR ORGS HER GOVT/TENURE HELPED SET UP AND SUPPORTED IN PAKI??? SUB-IOW, WAS BHUTTO KILLED BY OSAMA, ZAWI, OMAR, AND OTHER ISLAMIST, etc. PERSONAGES???
TOPIX/REDDIT > Benazir was reportedly considering hiring BLACKWATER and other high-profile security firms to help protect her.
#24
Benazir was reportedly considering hiring BLACKWATER and other high-profile security firms to help protect her.
1. Old news, Joe.
2. No win situation. Blackwater = successful in stopping assassination = MSM:"Trigger-Happy Blackwater Goons Fire Into Crowd". Or failure = MSM:"Butto Dead, Blackwater FAILS!!!"
#25
I see it much in the same way that we had to deal with slavery and the KKK. It takes the good people to realize that their own feelings of superiority are part of the problem. But more than that, they need to realize they are not going to be alone when they stand up against evil. The term *N* lover was used for many years as a very effective weapon to prevent people from speaking up against slavery and oppression of blacks. And well into the 70's it was a very effective weapon. In the 60's through 90's the magic term was "racist". Today it is "fascist". Eventually, as more brave people are willing to stand up for what is right it is those who attempt to cry "witch" who find themselves shunned and ashamed. It is more difficult for Muslims because their religion, actually supports the actions of the terrorists against the infidel - which is basically anyone who believes differently than they do, Muslim or no. But good people are not confined to race or religion. And eventually, the good prevail. Soon, hopefully in our lifetime, but probably not, the term "infidel" will lose its magic and those who seek to use it as a weapon will find themselves increasingly isolated in a small, bitter circle of friends.
#26
1600 years of this death cult. It only survives because a part of the world puts up with being in the dark ages. It spreads when the rest of the world doesn't have the backbone to call it what it is. Black flag religion. The religion for the darkest side of mankind's soul.
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf says a team from Britain's Scotland Yard will help investigate the death of opposition leader and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
Now that the body is decomposing, there's been no embalming, no autopsy, crime scene's been hosed down, witnesses dispersed ... yup, bring in Inspector Monk ...
In an address to the nation Wednesday, President Musharraf said he wanted to set up a commission to dispel any confusion about the circumstances of Ms. Bhutto's assassination. He called her death last Thursday a great tragedy and blamed it on terrorists. Britain's foreign minister, David Miliband, Wednesday said a team of officers from the Metropolitan Police's Counter-Terrorism Command would leave for Pakistan by the end of the week.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/03/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Ooooh, bit of a tightrope here. You want to accept enough 'international help' so you don't look like the scheming weasels you are, but not so much they find out who was ultimately behind the whole thing. Could be tricky. Expect some mid-level corpses as a firewall.
#2
This is not the first time Scotland Yard were invited to Pakistan.
Back in 1951 Pakistan asked the UK for help after the country's first Prime Minister, Liaqat Ali Khan, was shot dead in what was then called the Company Bagh (park) in Rawalpindi.
The park was renamed Liaqat Bagh in his honour. Fifty-six years later it was in this same park that Ms Bhutto's attacker, or attackers, struck.
For reasons never disclosed, the British investigator was asked to leave Pakistan only few weeks into his investigations. The Pakistani authorities never revealed anything about the investigation.
In September, 1996 when another politician was killed outside his home in Karachi and the demand for help from Scotland Yard was again heard in the country.
This time the dead politician was Murtaza Bhutto, the brother of Benazir Bhutto. Ms Bhutto was at that time prime minister and she enlisted the help of British Home Office forensic experts and former experts of Scotland Yard.
Posted by: john frum ||
01/03/2008 9:12 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Pak-Land itself is a rotten corpse.
"HelP" from the UK is but another piss warm poultice slopped on the whole rotten corpus delicti.
Officials in Pakistan say parliamentary elections will be delayed until next month. VOA correspondent Nancy-Amelia Collins in Islamabad reports the Pakistan Election Commission says the delay is due to the destruction of election offices and materials in violence that broke out last week after Benazir Bhutto's assassination.
Chief election commissioner Qazi Mohammed Farooq says the elections originally scheduled for January 8 are being postponed and will be held next month. "The polling will now be held on 18th February, 2008 instead of 8th January 2008," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/03/2008 00:00 ||
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Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) leader Liaquat Baloch said on Wednesday that the delay in the elections was unconstitutional. He told a private television channel that the Election Commission and the caretaker government had already shown a tendency to delay the polls because President Pervez Musharraf and his supporters were seeing their defeat in the elections. He feared the government would not hold the polls on February 18 and would make another excuse to delay them further.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/03/2008 00:00 ||
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[11131 views]
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#1
Yeah, we've got our voting rigged the way we want it, delays cause our setup to fall apart, VOTE RIGHT NOW, so we don't have to rig it all over again.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
01/03/2008 14:57 Comments ||
Top||
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari said on Wednesday that the PPP would run in the February 18 polls. He told reporters after a joint meeting of the federal council and central executive committee that the government would be responsible for consequences if the polls were rigged. Separately, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Chairman Raja Zafarul Haq said his party opposed the new election schedule, adding that there were no grounds to delay the polls. We will participate in the polls to expose the regimes rigging plan, he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/03/2008 00:00 ||
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[11128 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
The PML-Q and the JUI-F said on Wednesday that they accepted the Election Commission (EC)s decision to delay the polls till February 18. JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said, We should not oppose the poll delay decision if the EC is unable to hold the polls in the current circumstances. He doubted the governments intention to hold the elections on February 18. PML-Q Information Secretary Senator Tariq Azeem said they accepted the poll delay decision, adding that all political parties were ignoring the post-December 27 ground realties for political considerations.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/03/2008 00:00 ||
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[11135 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
The Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q)s 2008 election campaign following the death of Benazir Bhutto is all set to become a flagrant mudslinging affair. The party is gearing up attempts to affix the blame for Benazirs assassination on her widower, now Pakistan Peoples Party Co-chairman, Asif Ali Zardari, party insiders told Daily Times on Wednesday.
At an official meeting of the partys provincial assembly ticket holders, PML-Q Punjab chief Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi directed the partys ticket holders to resume their election campaigns which were suspended after Benazirrs killing on an anti-Zardari and anti-Shahbaz Sharif line. The new slogans devised for the PML-Q election campaign are: We want Quaids Pakistan not Zardari, the plunderers, Pakistan, and Save Pakistan from Zardari.
Insiders said Elahi called the meeting to discuss shifts in the partys election campaign in the wake of Benazirs assassination, particularly to devise a strategy to counter the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)s indirect finger pointing at the PML-Q for killing their party chairwoman.
A clear line has been given by the party leadership to ticket holders to start a negative campaign against Zardari. This will include demands that he be investigated in the assassination case, defaming Zardari by highlighting charges of corruption against him, and objecting to the secrecy surrounding Benazirs will, the party insiders said. The objective of the blame game is to deflect the criticism from PML-Q by alleging Zardaris involvement in his wifes killing by playing up his suspicious role in taking over the PPP, the PML-Q insiders said.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/03/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#1
I think this will be effective as I have half a mind to believe it myself.
PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has rejected the involvement of Scotland Yard in the investigation into Benazir Bhuttos killing, and demanded that a UN Commission probe the matter. Why the government did not seek Scotland Yards help when Benazir had called for it after the October 18 blasts in Karachi? Zardai told a press conference after a joint meeting of the partys CEC and federal council on Wednesday. Had the govt called the Scotland Yard team at that time, the tragedy would not have occurred, he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/03/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Quick, shift the blame to Britian, WHAT, you don't want it, Quick shift it to the UN. (They'll fall for anything)
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
01/03/2008 15:00 Comments ||
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For decades, the Imams Bridge spanning the Tigris river linked two ancient Baghdad neighborhoods one Sunni, the other Shiite and illustrated the city's tradition of sectarian tolerance, as residents from both sides harmoniously intermingled.
But the Imams was sealed and barricaded after nearly 1,000 Shiites fleeing what they thought was a Sunni suicide bomber died in a stampede on the bridge in 2005. It has remained closed through the past two years of rampant sectarian violence across the capital.
Iraqi authorities now want to reopen the four-lane, 900-foot bridge. For most residents, however, the wounds are too fresh and the fears too real to risk opening a passageway between the two communities. They are fighting the plan.
Continued on Page 49
RAFAH, Gaza Strip - About 150 Palestinian pilgrims returning from Mecca entered the Gaza Strip on Wednesday after a border-crossing dispute left about 2,000 of them stranded in Egypt for days, witnesses said.
Egyptian security and border sources said most of a first batch of 1,152 Palestinian pilgrims had already crossed over on Wednesday, and that a remaining group of nearly 1,000 pilgrims were expected to cross soon.
For some reason the Egyptians just let 'em through.
The pilgrims are the first large batch returning to the Palestinian territory after completing the annual Islamic haj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, officials said. They entered Gaza through the Rafah border crossing, which is run by Egypt and the Islamist movement Hamas which controls Gaza. Israel had insisted the pilgrims should pass through a different crossing controlled by Israel to ensure none of the pilgrims carried arms or money for Hamas.
An Israeli security official said he was unaware of any agreement to allow the pilgrims to pass through Rafah. Israel has no presence at Rafah, but a U.S.-brokered deal between Israel and the Palestinians says the crossing cannot be opened without Israels consent.
So much for that. Israel may need to take certain steps to keep it closed.
The pilgrims had been stranded in Egypt while Cairo tried to negotiate an agreement on their return with Israel and the Palestinians.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/03/2008 00:00 ||
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[11131 views]
Top|| File under: Hamas
#3
Only 9 men died
thar in Gaza land
the rest they ran away And lawzy yes the rest were: Stranded!
(get ready)
To prove you're a man,
yu must wipe with your hand
cause you stranded!
Posted by: Thomas Woof ||
01/03/2008 13:20 Comments ||
Top||
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon believes that Palestinian unity between Fatah and Hamas factions is needed at this stage to implement peace, his spokesperson Michele Montas told the daily press briefing.
No mention of the SecGen's position on Clan Dogmush.
The Secretary-General "feels that Palestinian unity is needed to implement peace and he believes that internal divisions need to be overcome peacefully and politically," she said in answer to a question.
She added that Ban is "very concerned at continued violence in Gaza and calls for immediate cessation of that violence".
At least seven Palestinians were killed and 40 others were wounded as supporters of the two factions clashed last Monday and Tuesday.
#4
Problem is that we, the west, are funding terrorism. Every dollr we give them for food, schols, everything either directly funds terrorism (by the fact the Paleos no longer need to use resources in feeding themselves) or indiretly by indoctrinating children into genocidical hate.
The solution is obvious: cut every cent of aid (use it to feed the opressed in Sudan), force them to refund every cent of aid since 1948 (fifty nine years in refugee camps without any attempt to build an economy (look at how they destyroyed the green houses) relying on us for feeding them,, force them to pay damages to all their victims be they israelis, westerners or other Arabs including not only actual damage but cost of protection against their terror acts.
Once they are drowning in debt and have no perspective of being fed by others they will either have to earn their lives through work (and have little time and money for terrorism) or the Saudis will have to float them and thus our good frineds in KSA will have less money for Jihad.
#6
Looks like the League of Nations UN has taken the Paul von Hindenburg - Franz von Papen approach to solving the 'anarchy', sell out to the openly declared 'final solution' crowd. 1948-2008, sixty years of UN failure in establishing a viable state. Meanwhile on year four in Iraq, the national government is getting its act together with the assistance of the same people who put Germany and Japan back together, but in a more kinder gentler form.
The Sri Lankan government has decided to formally withdraw from a cease-fire agreement with Tamil Tiger rebels. Government officials say the country's Cabinet decided to annul the 2002 Norwegian-brokered truce Wednesday, after a proposal from Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake. Tamil rebels have not responded to the development.
Under the cease-fire agreement, Sri Lanka must give 14 days written notice to Norway in order to pull out. Last week, Sri Lanka's defense secretary, the president's brother, Gotabhaya Rajapakse, called for an end to the truce with the rebel group, saying it had been violated so many times it had become a joke. Both sides have repeatedly ignored the agreement over the past year.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/03/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
So will this 14 day notification officially end the Truce-Fire????
#2
No doubt this means they both will start blowing up each others boats, launching low-rent airstrikes and firing guns. It is left as an exercise for the reader to determine exactly how this is any different from the current situation.
The Democratic Gathering leader MP Walid Jumblatt has accused Hezbollah of being behind the murders that happened in Lebanon, and said he wont shake hands with criminals. Jumblatt revealed to Press TV, an Iranian ( English language ) news agency that in order to avoid the same destiny as his father , who was assassinated by the Syrians he had to deceive the brutal Syrian regime during the occupation of Lebanon and had to mislead them and lie to them in order to survive.
Jumblatt said the majority under no circumstances will allow Hezbollah a blocking third share in the government and added If Hassan Nasrallah ( Hezbollah chief ) wants this he has to take it by force , but not over our dead bodies will we let him get a blocking third.
On the issue of half plus one quorum for presidential elections he responded by saying : Either the opposition has to accept General Michel Suleiman as the next president or the status quo will continue and in this case ( Prime Minster Fouad ) Siniora will exercise the power of the president.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/03/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Hezbollah
#1
Walid, if the Syrians get you too, it can only gladden American hearts. If that seems odd or unkind, look into Walid's rhetorical past. One-strike rule applies.
Syria has 10 to 15 terrorists cells throughout Lebanon which are protected by and given logistical support by Syrias allies Hezbollah and Amal according to French parliamentary sources. The cells according to the MP are similar to the thirty three member terrorist cell that was discovered recently in Lebanon and was charged by Lebanese military magistrate . All the members of this cell were part of the Syrian intelligence and were protected by Amal and Hezbollah .
The French MP, who is a member of the national security and foreign relations committee of the parliament and who has access to sensitive intelligence reports said that the terrorist cells are similar to Fatah al Islam terrorist organization , that Syria tried but failed in marketing it as part the Al Qaeda network.
The Lebanese army fought Fatah al Islam terrorist at the Nahr el Bared Palestinian refugee camp for 106 days last summer , the battle ended in the defeat and disbanding of the terrorist organization. Its leader Shaker al Absi escaped the battle and fled to Syria where he came from .
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
01/03/2008 00:00 ||
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Hezbollah Chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah was interviewed Wednesday evening by the Hezbollah owned Al Manar TV station . The interview started at 9:PM and lasted for nearly 3 hours . PSP leader MP Walid Jumblatt was also interviewed Wednesday evening , by ANB, an independent TV station . The interview started at 8:30 :PM and lasted for 2 hours .
Nasrallah tried to defend their demands for a unity government in which the opposition will have a veto power . This veto power he said means there is an official Lebanese trend to settle differences with Syria.
Unlike his last speech in which he was very defiant about Hezbollah arms, he said that he is ready, within the framework of a national unity government,
While Jumblatt accused Hezbollah of being behind the assassinations , Nasrallah accused Israel of being behind all the assassinations carried out in Lebanon.
to settle the issue of Hezbollah weapons in line with a defense strategy.
While Jumblatt accused Hezbollah of being behind the assassinations , Nasrallah accused Israel of being behind all the assassinations carried out in Lebanon.
Here is what Nasrallah said in response to the questions by Al Manar TV:
Negotiations continue regarding a prisoner swap between Israel and Hezbollah and its outcome should be known in two to three weeks.
Israelis are not interested in obtaining information about the (Kidnapped) Israeli soldiers.
Pledged that there would be no presidential election as long as the United States persisted with rejecting veto powers for the opposition.
"Our friends would not exert pressure on us."
Threatening with security council resolutions would not change the situation and we will not face a situation that is worse than the July war.
"We do not intend to start a war, we dont want a war, but we are preparing for it."
Urged Hezbollah officials to consider seriously a legal response to charges of involvement in assassinations, facilitating them or covering up such crimes, stressing that "this is a very serious charge."
He is ready, within the framework of a national unity government, to settle the issue of Hezbollah weapons in line with a defense strategy.
Neither side achieved a decisive victory or suffered a decisive defeat
Syria gave priority to the opposition interests rather than its own interests.
Asking Syria to intervene in Lebanon is tantamount to "limited American failure."
The opposition would "resort to civic legitimate means and whatever one can think of."
The opposition would not "remain silent. We are waiting for mediations to succeed, but if that fails and the situation persisted there would be a move by the opposition."
The existing situation is "very bad, but it could be worse if they assumed power without participation by the opposition represented by a guaranteeing one third."
Had the majority elected a president by simple majority vote the opposition would have "carried out a pre-set plan."
"If you want numerical democracy we are ready, if you want factional democracy by which the majority rules the minority we are ready."
Proposed an unwritten precedent that new governments would be formed in line with the representation of parliamentary blocs in the house.
The majority has rejected the formation of a national unity government and the holding of parliamentary elections at a province level, which blocked the French initiative.
"We are ready to cooperate with all mediations ... and according to my information the French initiative is not over yet."
Assigning Aoun to represent the opposition in discussions was based on a proposal by Berri.
He announced that a solution lies in achieving partnership that gives the opposition a constitutional guarantee which is the "guaranteeing one-third.
An opposition enjoying veto powers in the government means there is an official Lebanese trend to settle differences with Syria.
The "guaranteeing one third" means that the opposition has become a partner in the country.
The current problem is that a party wants to monopolize power and rejects partnership.
Clarifying controversial clauses of the constitution is the responsibility of the constitutional council that should be re-structured.
Certain clauses of the constitution need clarification and "I support Aoun on this."
Amending any article of the constitution should be subject to consensus.
The French asked the Iranians whether time has come to amend the Taef and the Iranians responded that this is a Lebanese issue.
"We havent called, and we would not call in the current phase for amending the Taef accord."
"Our conflict is not with February 14, but with George Bush".
Israel is behind the assassinations carried out in Lebanon.
The Lebanese should rule their country, but there is no interest in changing Lebanon into an enemy for Syria.
The American administration wants a pro-American authority in Lebanon that carries out Washington's orders.
What is happening in Lebanon is just part of the American agenda for the region.
Hezbollah enjoys "indefinite independence" and its decision is based on the interests of Lebanon and the cause in which it believes.
There is no power struggle within Hezbollah, stressing that such claims aim at distorting the party's image.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/03/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Who is he kidding? Those assassinations are too sloppy to be the Mosaad....
PSP leader MP Walid Jumblatt was interviewed Wednesday evening , by ANB, an independent TV station . The interview started at 8:30 :PM and lasted for 2 hours . While Jumblatt was being interviewed Hezbollah Chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah was also being interviewed by the Hezbollah owned Al Manar TV station . Nasrallahs interview started at 9:PM and lasted for nearly 3 hours .
Jumblatt painted Hezbollah as paid agents for Iran and Syria and all Nasrallah is doing is implementing Syrian and Iranian orders with absolutely no concern for the wellbeing of Lebanon. For this reason the majority is not interested in a unity government in which the Hezbollah- led opposition will have a veto power. This veto power according to Jumblatt is for use by Syria and Iran. Jumblatt aserted that the Hezbollah -led opposition aims at eliminating the state of Lebanon.
This is what Jumblatt said during the interview :
We do not want a "gathering of tribes, we want a state" and asked Nasrallah whether he and his allies recognize Lebanon as an independent state.
A political agreement is needed to avoid exhausting the army.
"I thank God that my father died in 1977 and did not witness what we are going through.
Lebanon "is not Aleppo or Houran, Lebanon is an independent country."
March 14 Presidential candidate Nassib Lahoud supported the nomination of Army Commander Gen. Michel Suleiman for president.
Nasrallah "is not a free man and his decision-making is not free."
It is not Israel that is killing Lebanese civilians these days.
Lebanon was a democratic country "before Bashar and his father were born."
The March 14 alliance is a pluralist group.
Nasrallah would not be able to contradict a fatwa by Khamenei that the Siniora government is illegitimate.
"I wouldn't go into negotiations if a gun is pointed to my head."
"We don't want Beirut changed into another Baghdad."
The campaign targeting Premier Fouad Siniora is of a factional nature.
He would not allow Syria and Iran to control decision-making in Lebanon.
There is only one negotiator facing March 14 and that is Hezbollah.
The majority would not give the opposition veto powers in any government because that would allow Syria and Ahmadinejad to block Lebanon's political process.
Palestinian bases outside refugee camps are "Syrian bases."
The resistance should be absorbed in the Army and the decision of going into war should be in the hands of the Lebanese authorities.
The assassination of Brig. Gen. Francois el-Hajj was a message to the Lebanese that you are not entitled to choose your president.
The opposition aims at eliminating the state of Lebanon.
Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun is not a principal negotiator.
Hezbollah is morally responsible for attacks staged by Syrian intelligence in Lebanon.
Syria will not recognize that Shebaa Farms are Lebanese territory because it wants Lebanon to remain under U.N. Security Council resolution 242.
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Mouallem has no authority to discuss the Lebanon situation.
Normalization of relations with Syria should be based on Syrian recognition of Lebanon as an independent and sovereign state.
Stressed that the borders are open for Hezbollah weapons from Iran to Lebanon via Syria.
If Hezbollah changed Lebanon into an Iranian-like state it would justify the existence of Israel as a Jewish state.
Can Hezbollah survive as a political party without Iranian financing and Iranian Weapons?
Posted by: Fred ||
01/03/2008 00:00 ||
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[11133 views]
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#1
TOPIX/JPOST > PA REFUSES ISRAEL'S DEMAND TO DEMILITARIZE GAZA/PALESTINE.
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem said Syria is ending contacts with France on the political standoff in Lebanon. The decision follows a similar move by France. On Sunday, French President Nicolas Sarkozy told reporters in Cairo he is suspending contact with Syria until he sees proof that Damascus is working for a solution to Lebanon's political crisis.
Syria's foreign minister said the West is sending mixed messages to Syria when it calls for no foreign interference in Lebanon. Moallem says, on the other hand, Syria is being called on to use its its influence in Lebanon. He calls this a "confusing situation" and says Syria will not interfere in Lebanese affairs.
This article starring:
WALID MOALLEM
Govt of Syria
Posted by: Fred ||
01/03/2008 00:00 ||
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[11127 views]
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#2
maybe France wanted to get out of crappy contracts that Chirac signed so he can sign for futures in fuel cell and other alternative energy sources. Hey Syria, while there will always be plenty of need for oil in our lifetimes, it is the fuel of the 20th Century. I'm sure you didn't notice, but we are in the 21st.
#2
Hush up BPeeb. and buy gold, silver and the new gold which is lead. Hurry for sure, lead contracts are first come and first served and not controlled by big oil or the Martian Secret Service MAN!
Posted by: Thomas Woof ||
01/03/2008 13:02 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Breaking News! Oil prices are effected by supply and demand as well as the fluctuations in the value of the Greenback.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
01/03/2008 14:10 Comments ||
Top||
#4
We buy oil from Nigeria?
I call Bullshit.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
01/03/2008 20:12 Comments ||
Top||
#5
The dollar dropped on the news the fed was considering dumping interest rates.
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.
The Sudanese security bodies are doing their utmost to reveal the identities of the perpetrators who assassinated the USAID staff, Sudan's Foreign Minister Deng Alor said on Wednesday. Alor made the statement during a meeting with the acting Charge d'Affairs at the US embassy in Khartoum.
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf says a team from Britain's Scotland Yard will help investigate the death of opposition leader and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
Officials in Pakistan say parliamentary elections will be delayed until next month. VOA correspondent Nancy-Amelia Collins in Islamabad reports the Pakistan Election Commission says the delay is due to the destruction of election offices and materials in violence that broke out last week after Benazir Bhutto's assassination.
Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) leader Liaquat Baloch said on Wednesday that the delay in the elections was unconstitutional. He told a private television channel that the Election Commission and the caretaker government had already shown a tendency to delay the polls because President Pervez Musharraf and his supporters were seeing their defeat in the elections. He feared the government would not hold the polls on February 18 and would make another excuse to delay them further.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q)s 2008 election campaign following the death of Benazir Bhutto is all set to become a flagrant mudslinging affair. The party is gearing up attempts to affix the blame for Benazirs assassination on her widower, now Pakistan Peoples Party Co-chairman, Asif Ali Zardari, party insiders told Daily Times on Wednesday.
PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has rejected the involvement of Scotland Yard in the investigation into Benazir Bhuttos killing, and demanded that a UN Commission probe the matter. Why the government did not seek Scotland Yards help when Benazir had called for it after the October 18 blasts in Karachi? Zardai told a press conference after a joint meeting of the partys CEC and federal council on Wednesday. Had the govt called the Scotland Yard team at that time, the tragedy would not have occurred, he said.
RAFAH, Gaza Strip - About 150 Palestinian pilgrims returning from Mecca entered the Gaza Strip on Wednesday after a border-crossing dispute left about 2,000 of them stranded in Egypt for days, witnesses said.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon believes that Palestinian unity between Fatah and Hamas factions is needed at this stage to implement peace, his spokesperson Michele Montas told the daily press briefing.
