The American and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) troops should leave Afghanistan because they are responsible for creating unrest in the country, Afghan leaders said on Monday.
The real factor behind the unending war and instability in Afghanistan is the presence of foreign troops. They must leave the country and let Afghans establish a government of their choice, said Afghan representatives at a one-day seminar entitled, The Afghan imbroglio: problems and the way to peace. Former jihadi commanders, political leaders, religious scholars, intellectuals, tribal elders and those who have served in previous Afghan governments attended the seminar.
Muhammad Zaman Muzammil, the organiser of the seminar and former member of the executive council of Hizb-e-Islami Afghanistan (HIA), said the Western style of democracy was not going to serve the purpose in Afghanistan.
A joint declaration released at the conclusion of the seminar demanded the foreign troops leave Afghanistan, and urged them to stop unwarranted search operations, which often resulted in the killing of civilians.
The declaration also favoured a dialogue among all Afghan groups and factions to put an end to fighting in the strife-torn country. It also called upon the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) to play its due role in bringing peace to Afghanistan. Commenting on the ongoing reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan, the participants of the seminar said billion of dollars were being wasted in the name of rebuilding but there is nothing visible on the ground as more than 80 percent of population is still living below the poverty line.
Muhammad Zaman Muzammil, the organiser of the seminar and former member of the executive council of Hizb-e-Islami Afghanistan (HIA), said the Western style of democracy was not going to serve the purpose in Afghanistan. Lamenting the failure of foreign troops and the Afghan government in restoring peace, Muzammil said the number of military operations had mounted to 4,500 in 2007 compared to 150 in 2001. He said the Karzai-led government was seeking help from foreigners instead of its own people, and that the Afghan imbroglio was not only posing threat to the country but also to Pakistan, Iran and other countries in the region.
Former Afghan premier Abdul Samad Hamid and Rostar Taraki spoke via telephone from London and France respectively, and also called for the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan. Zaman Muzammil told Daily Times after the seminar that such events would also be organised in Kabul and other countries.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/10/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
I agree. Withdraw and then make Helmand look like the Moon.
Jihad Watch has posted some shocking material on our nominal allies in Afghanistan and Iraq. I am getting cynical.
#4
We did make a crucial mistake early on. We should have erased every existing and ineffective systems of government and replaced them with modern ones.
We should have created a military government with one westerner working side by side with an Afghan for two years, only slowly letting him take over while the westerner watches. At the same time, schooling his replacements in government.
On top of that, we should have given them a constitution, that would be in force for 20 years before it could be changed.
All unemployed adult males would work for the government in reconstruction teams working for minimum wage. Their wages would be sent to their families.
Women left behind would be organized into town councils and would set up a town market and micro bank. All children would be in school.
#6
"troops should leave Afghanistan because they are responsible for creating unrest in the country"
Oh how they long for those good old pre-9/11 days when all was well and stable in the land of milk and honey.
They would do well to remember what brought us there in the first place: an Afghan "government" hellbent on jihad that allied itself with Osama bin Laden.
"there is nothing visible on the ground"
Nothing is visible because the terrorists keep bombing schools and cell towers and kidnapping foreigners who are trying to build roads.
"more than 80 percent of population is still living below the poverty line"
The key word is "still". This group of bandits is disappointed that all these foreigners have visited and there's not enough loot to show for it. Far be it from their oil-rich Islamic brothers to help them out or an "Allah helps those who help themselves" culture.
"the Afghan imbroglio was not only posing threat to the country but also to Pakistan, Iran and other countries in the region"
Dream on, fellows. Pakistan and Iran are vulnerable for their own crap in their own nests, much as the Taliban and you crapped in yours. It's not all about you.
#7
And where was this one day seminar held, pray tell? In Kabul, or perhaps in Karachi or even Islamabad? Swat, maybe? Who sponsored this seminar whose organizer belongs to what sounds like a jihadi group? What exactly is the poverty line that more than 80% of the population lives below, and who defined it to be at that level? What percentage of the population lived below that same poverty line in 2001, the apparent Year of Perfect Peace? Since when do Pakistan and Iran feel threatened by the situation in Afghanistan, which they continue to happily stir up?
A lovely little piece of propaganda, this article, but it raises all sorts of interesting questions.
#8
We can withdraw, if we take out every bit of modern technology in the area. Crazy bedou with nukes aren't so scary if they have to transport their second-hand bomb by donkey or camel back.
No airlines, no ships, no cars. No TV, cell phones, nada. Refrigeration? Don't think so. We need exactly nothing from Afghanistan, so we give nothing. Technological blockade, enforced without exception for any reason.
Enjoy the 7th century, ya morons. Send up a smoke signal or something when you wake up and decide that the ticket ain't worth the price.
A US Navy destroyer operating in shark-infested waters between Somalia and Yemen has rescued a boat in distress which was loaded with about 70 people, the US Navy said on Monday. The USS Russell responded to a distress call on Sunday from the boat that had been adrift for two days after experiencing engine problems, said the US Navy Fifth Fleet, which is based in Bahrain.
"There were approximately 70 personnel on board the vessel, some of whom were in need of immediate medical attention," a statement said, adding that the boat and passengers were being towed to Somalia to be turned over to the authorities.
The statement did not identify the people on board, but similar journeys are frequently made by desperate African migrants using small poorly-equipped vessels.
The Russell, a guided missile destroyer, is part of a task force operating in the Arabian Sea to "help develop security in the maritime environment", the US Navy said. The waters off Somalia -- which has not had an effective central government for more than 17 years and is plagued by insecurity -- are considered to be among the most dangerous in the world due to frequent piracy attacks.
#1
It was a 45 foot ship with 70 people aboard. Can anyone say "illegal immigrants"? It says something about Somalia that people flee it by going to Yemen.
Colombia's Defense Minister says Bogota has located three US contractors held hostage by FARC guerrillas, but has not attempted a rescue.
"We have had very accurate information about the location of the (rebel) leaders, the hostages and the camps. Our people saw the three Americans bathing in the river, they even heard them speaking English," AFP Quoted Juan Manuel Santos as saying on Monday.
He said US nationals Keith Stansell, Thomas Howes and Marc Gonsalves were spotted by military staff on the other side of the Apaporis River at some location in the southeastern department of Guaviare.
The three Americans were snatched by leftist rebels more than five years ago after their plane went down while they were on a drug-monitoring flight. The last proof of life was released by guerrillas in November.
Santos said the Colombian forces did not try to rescue them as the operation could have risked their lives.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/10/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
These guys have been down there since 2003. I don't know why we can't bring them back. We have some of the best trackers in the world. I know the FARC leadership is being systematically dismantled but come on. We got Pablo Escobar. We got Che Guevara. Rescue them ASAP.
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/10/2008 11:36 Comments ||
Top||
#2
I heard on the news that he had a meeting with Pelosi about the VP slot. I'll I can can say is "Please oh PLEASE OH PLEASE" Probably not about her but I would LOVE donk ticket.
#3
Remember that only when a Democrat candidate loses worse than George McGovern, will he be free from his curse to live in the twilight realm between life and death.
#6
Use presidential leadership to surge our diplomacy with all the nations on behalf of a new regional security compact.
Obama must have liked Bush and Petraeus' use of the word "surge." He and the donks must think the surge worked. That's a change from Harry "Give em surrender" Reid.
Take immediate steps to confront the humanitarian disaster in Iraq and hold accountable any perpetrators of war crimes.
I suggest Obama return to Iraq and see what the hell is going on. He hasn't been there in awhile. Is there a humanitarian crisis or is this just so much cow pucky? Who the hell are they talking about prosecuting for war crimes?
#7
The trouble 'moose is that Obama could put Saddam's rotting corpse on the ticket and it would still be a one point race. Much of the under 50 population in the US is just off the reservation these days.
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates took action Monday to dramatically reorient the leadership of the Air Force, calling for the nomination of the first non-fighter or bomber pilot to lead the service since its inception after World War II.
His recommendation that Gen. Norton A. Schwartz, who began his military career as a cargo pilot, be nominated by President Bush as Air Force chief of staff marks a significant shift in Air Force leadership. Over time, the move could lead the service to give more emphasis to missions that support ground wars like those in Iraq and Afghanistan, such as cargo flights and in-air refueling, over more traditional roles like air dogfights. No, no, what we need is more air superiority fighters.
Schwartz is head of U.S. Transportation Command, which coordinates the Pentagon's worldwide transportation operations and manages trash hauling military logistics.
#3
...I dunno. If McCain gets elected, you KNOW we're gonna get a Top Gun (or more appropriately, Red Flag) type at the top of the USAF, and if Obama gets elected, his senior military advisor right now is Tony McPeak, who's about as close to the stereotypical egomaniac fighter jock as people can get and still live. I think that as good as this is for the USAF, GEN Schwartz' term will be the last one for a transport driver for a VERY long time.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
06/10/2008 8:03 Comments ||
Top||
#4
I suspect you are misunderestimating McCain, Mike. And I hope we get a chance to find out who's correct.
#6
I crinch with the thought of McPeak near the top powers AGAIN. If we had followed everything these has-been warriors suggested, we would have at more 9/11 because the Jihadists would think we are pussies.
#7
McPeak is one more reason not to vote for Obama. The man was a walking clusterf--k as Chief of Staff of the AF. From his perverse ideas of what an AF uniform should look like to the abomination of AEF concept, the man did terrible damage to a proud institution. He, personally, should be held responsible for the problems with nukes because of the organizational and cultural changes he jammed down the service's throat. Having not heard his name in a while, I had hoped he was dead or exiled to some European capital.
#8
Obama has McPeak? Yeeeesh. HE typifies everything that could go WRONG with the USAF. Kinda like being to the AF what Weasely Clark was to the Army.
Here's McPeak on why the "neocons" went into Iraq:
"Let's say that one of your abiding concerns is the security of Israel as opposed to a purely American self-interest [ed: This means Jews], then it would make sense to build a dozen or so bases in Iraq. Let's say you are a born-again Christian and you think that Armageddon and the rapture are about to happen any minute [ed: this means any evangelical Christian] and what you want to do is retrace steps you think are laid out in Revelations, then it makes sense."
They guy is saying we only went to Iraq because Jews ("necons" is his codeword for that) and fundamentalist Christians forced us to do so, to do Israels bidding.
What a f**king moron. And this is Obama's main military advisor?
Barak Obama is the leader of one of the most anti-Israel, anti-Christian, and anti-American coalitions yet to push for public office in the US. The antisemitism stuff on his "My Obama" site was clearly reflective of it. Its very telling that they had months of vile anti-Jew anti-Israeli and anti-Christian stuff spewed and blogged all over the "My Barak Obama" site for months!
They only took the action of scrubbing it when it was exposed by bloggers (and is still being conveniently ignored by the mainstream press as to how many hate filled bigots Obama has under his wing).
I don't like McCain, but I'll be damned if I let this jackal Obama and his cabal of socialists, hate-filled antisemites, and vengeance filled power mongers ruin our nation. This kind of stuff is enough to make me want to donate to the McCain campaign.
If McPeak said that, he is a disgrace to the uniform AND the oath he swore - and I'll say it to his face. You realize that we could end up with a SecDef McPeak...?
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
06/10/2008 11:02 Comments ||
Top||
#12
Crosspatch, we have enough F-22s already to sweep the skies of any AF that might challenge us. They will be augmented by the F-35 in the future and, quite frankly, the F-35 is a generation newer and significantly better than the F-22. The fighter mafia has been making the argument that more F-22s are needed as stealth fighter bombers.
We have enough fighters and way too many generals.
#13
As I read the public info, the outgoing leadership failed to follow what amounted to a direct order to get more UAV's in operation. That was the last straw in a series of foulups.
The Air Force continues to insist that only a handful of men are qualified to fly UAV's from the safety and comfort of Nellis AFB. They all have to be fighter pilots and officers, first and foremost.
Abolish the Key West agreement and turn UAV's over to the Army and Marines.
#14
Chuck, UAV piloting ought to be a Warrant Officer job. The Army uses its Intel and Flight warrants and Enlisted as well, to operate their UAVs and have been quite good at it.
Maybe thats what the flight suit mafia is frightened of - losing their exclusivity to the Army and others, and to the enlisted.
#15
...Oh, Lord, NO: Yahoo News says McPeak may be on the short list for Veep. Some of the other 'military' names on there will also scare the hell out of you, like Wesley Clark.
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
06/10/2008 14:47 Comments ||
Top||
#16
Haha, I like that name. I am aka AllahHateMe. With today's UAV systems a freaking high-schooler could fly them. It will be good for the USAF to not have a fighter-jock at the head, even if it is only for a short time. As for McPeakee-boo, like we need another reason not to vote for the Obamessiah? There isn't an air force in the world that can touch what we currently field (mostly F-15's) as those get replaced by F-22's and F-35's our air superiority is all but guaranteed. What I'd like to see is a hyper-sonic UAV/Missle. The day of the manned-bomber is done, take a hypersonic weapon and make it remote controlled (hypersonic only from launch to theater, then simply supersonic). What would that get you? 30 minutes from command to target anywhere in the world.
#17
What they overlook is Gen Schwartz is a SOCOM guy: Chief of Staff of the Joint Special Operations Task Force for Northern Iraq in operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.
Aircraft flown: MC-130E/H/P, AC-130H/U, YMC-130, MH-53 and MH-60
Flying MH-53 PAVE-LOW and AC-130 Spectre and the MC-130 Combat Talon is hardly "cargo hauling". Biggest cojones in the AF short of the PJs he was hauling around.
#18
July 1989 - July 1991, Director of Plans and Policy, Special Operations Command Europe, Patch Barracks, Stuttgart-Vaihingen, Germany
August 1991 - May 1993, Deputy Commander for Operations and Commander, 1st Special Operations Group, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
May 1993 - May 1995, Deputy Director of Operations, later, Deputy Director of Forces, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Operations, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
June 1995 - May 1997, Commander, 16th Special Operations Wing, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
June 1997 - October 1998, Commander, Special Operations Command, Pacific, Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii
October 1998 - January 2000, Director of Strategic Planning, Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Programs, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.
January 2000 - September 2000, Deputy Commander in Chief, U.S. Special Operations Command, MacDill AFB, Fla.
Hey, Besoeker - still think this guy spent his time at Camp 'Howling Mad' playing golf?
#28
ION KOMMERSANT > RUSSIAN MILITARY TO SECURE INTERESTS [Russian State] IN ARCTIC. Ostensibly under the military responsibilities of the Russ Leningrad, Siberian, and Far East Mil Districts. Two TU-95 nuke-capable heavy bombers also to maintain routine patrols over the Arctic UNTIL RUSS MAKES A FINAL DTERMINATION/SELECTION OF MILFORS.
WAFF.com/TOPIX > RUSSIAN MISSLE SUBS TO BEGIN PATROLS IN ARCTIC.
ISLAMABAD The PML-N has unveiled a 10-point chargesheet for the impeachment of President Pervez Musharraf, and pressed the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) to honour its commitment in this regard. We have drafted a 10-point chargesheet against President Musharraf that will be presented in parliament along with all evidence ... We also have another audiotape in which (Musharraf) is directing a judge, PML-N senior leader Dennis Kucinich Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan told a news conference at the party's central secretariat.
Nisar said President Musharraf had abrogated the constitution and twice imposed martial law in the country. He toppled an elected government, and put an elected prime minister behind the bars, the PML-N leader added. He said Musharraf launched the Kargil misadventure without consulting the then government and misused the Pakistan Army for advancing his own interests and to impose himself on this country.
He said Musharraf deployed the army in tribal areas to fight another country's war in the name of the war on terror without parliament's consent. Nisar also said the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) was formed under the umbrella of the military to victimise and pressure political opponents to join a certain political party.
Other charges on the list include assassination of Baloch nationalist leader Akbar Bugti and dismissal of 60 judges of the superior judiciary and putting them under house arrest.
The PML-N leader claimed that Musharraf not only ordered extra-judicial arrests of innocent people and political workers in Balochistan and other provinces, but also handed over more than 600 people to the United States in exchange for money. He said: The president was solely responsible for the Lal Masjid carnage in which hundreds of innocent children were bombed.
Nisar also alleged that President Musharraf had written new chapters on nepotism, cronyism, favouritism and corruption in Pakistan's history, which, according to him, was exposed in the privatisation of Pakistani Steel Mills, Pakistan Telecommunication Limited and the Habib Bank.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/10/2008 00:00 ||
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The local Taliban will provide full protection to government officials in South Waziristan, Tehreek-e-Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud announced on Monday. According to Aaj TV, Mehsud made the announcement through leaflets distributed in S Waziristan. The leaflets asked Mehsud tribesmen to provide protection to all government officials and also warned them against committing immoral acts, threatening them with exemplary punishment if they did not comply.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/10/2008 00:00 ||
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Pakistani intelligence agents and paramilitary forces have helped train Taliban insurgents and have given them information about American troop movements in Afghanistan, said a report published Monday by a U.S. think tank.
So that's why the Talibs are so easy to kill. They were trained by the Pak army.
The study by the RAND Corp. also warned that the U.S. will face "crippling, long-term consequences" in Afghanistan if Taliban sanctuaries in Pakistan are not eliminated.
It echoes recent statements by American generals, who have increased their warnings that militant safe havens in Pakistan are threatening efforts in Afghanistan. The study was funded by the U.S. Defense Department. "Every successful insurgency in Afghanistan since 1979 enjoyed safe haven in neighboring countries, and the current insurgency is no different," said the report's author, Seth Jones. "Right now, the Taliban and other groups are getting help from individuals within Pakistan's government, and until that ends, the region's long-term security is in jeopardy."
Pakistan's top military spokesman rejected the findings. The study, "Counterinsurgency in Afghanistan," found some active and former officials in Pakistan's intelligence service and the Frontier Corps a Pakistani paramilitary force deployed along the Afghan border provided direct assistance to Taliban militants and helped secure medical care for wounded fighters.
It said NATO officials have uncovered several instances of Pakistani intelligence agents providing information to Taliban fighters, even "tipping off Taliban forces about the location and movement of Afghan and coalition forces, which undermined several U.S. and NATO anti-Taliban military operations." No timeframes were given.
The report said Pakistan's intelligence service and other government agencies provided Taliban and other insurgents with training at camps in Pakistan, as well as intelligence, financial assistance and help crossing the border.
When asked in an Associated Press interview last month what the state of the insurgency might be in 2013, the outgoing NATO commander in Afghanistan, U.S. Gen. Dan McNeill, said: "If there are going to be sanctuaries where these terrorists, these extremists, these insurgents can train, can recruit, can regenerate, there's still going to be a challenge there."
Posted by: Fred ||
06/10/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Taliban
#1
So that's why the Talibs are so easy to kill. They were trained by the Pak army.
What do they get from the Coalition in return for this favor?
#4
Pakistan? Noooo, Really? I'm shocked, I tell you, shocked, that the home of the ISI and inventors of the Taliban might be involved in such activity.
The United States and its NATO allies will face crippling, long-term consequences in their efforts to stabilise Afghanistan if Taliban sanctuaries in neighbouring Pakistan are not eliminated, a report published on Monday said.
Funded by the Defence Department, The study, Counterinsurgency in Afghanistan, has claimed that NATO officials have uncovered several instances of Pakistani intelligence agents providing information to Taliban fighters, including information on the location and movement of Afghan and coalition forces.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has also pleaded with the global community to address the issue of militant sanctuaries in Pakistan. Afghan intelligence officials say young, uneducated males are recruited in the Tribal Areas to become suicide bombers and fighters.
However, Pakistan denies that it supports the insurgents. Whenever these kinds of places [of infiltration] are identified or pointed out, action is taken against these places, said military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas. Therefore, we reject this claim of sanctuaries being aided by Pakistans army or intelligence agencies. Adviser to Prime Minister on Interior Rehman Malik said on Monday that he had met Karzai in Kabul over the weekend and they had agreed to install biometric screening at border checkpoints. These would begin operating within two weeks, he told reporters.
The study, by the Rand Corporation, also claimed that along with the Taliban, other major militant groups, such as Al Qaeda and the Hizb-e-Islami group, also find sanctuary in Pakistan.
The report also claimed that Afghanistans police are incompetent and almost uniformly corrupt, echoing frequent criticism of the police by international officials in Afghanistan.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/10/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
The international community should give pakistn two choices:
1. Either take control of your frontier area, and muzzle the mongrels
or
2. Forfeit your right to sovereignty over this lawless area - get out of the way, and let the exterminators in to clean out the vermin.
#2
ION TOPIX > NORTH KOREA > is refusing to give up its NUCLEAR DETERRENCE iff US troops remain on SOKOR soil [proposed realign to HAWAII by 2012].
Meanwhile, SOUTH KOREA > Officios calling for a NUCLEAR-FREE NATION + REGION.
IFF NOKOR agricultural sectors completely collapse by 2009 as expected, THE US-WORLD MAY END UP HAVING TO FEED NOKOR FOR THE DURATION OF ITS RECONCIL TALKS WID SOKOR AND DURING AN EXCLUSIVE "GLOBAL FOOD CRISIS".
TOPIX [old] > WILL NORTH KOREA WAGE WAR OVER FOOD?
#3
How can it be possible that US taxpayers can be made to subsidize those who murder Americans. If the DoD report - and I believe it is objective and impartial - is whitewashed, Obama's agendists will eat this up. And NATOs eastern reach campaign will be in the toilet.
Read my lips: the State Department should NOT run American wars.
#4
FREEREPUBLIC > EXPERTS FEAR NEW SECOND FRONT WITH AL QAEDA AS TERROR GROUP SWITCHES FOCUS FROM IRAQ. The Perts think its AFRICA, but I'm not convinced Africa will be a primary front likely in another generation, but for now IMO its mainly CENTRAL ASIA + PERIPHERALS, vv PAN-ISLAMIST NUCLEARIZATION DRIVE during the post-Dubya 2008-2012 POTUS period.
ALso from FREEREPUBLIC > WILL IRAN GIVE HEZBOLLAH A NUKE? Nuclear Hezzies versus Nuclear Hizzies versus Nuclear Huzzies versus Nuclear Hissies versus Nuclear Hamies versus .......@etc.
Taliban will turn cities of settled areas into seas of fire battlefields if the government scraps its truce with them, ARY TV reported Tehreek-e-Taliban spokesman Maulvi Umar as saying on Monday. Talking to the channel, he said the Taliban had signed the truce with the NWFP government after careful consideration and that they would adopt a new course of action after Rehman Maliks statement that the truce had been scrapped.
This article starring:
MAULVI OMAR
Tehreek-e-Taliban
Tehreek-e-Taliban
Posted by: Fred ||
06/10/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
And if they are good the taliban will give them a PONY!
A 50-member Kurram jirga on Monday agreed to a month-long ceasefire between rival groups engaged in armed clashes in Pewar and Teri-Mengal areas.
Briefing media of the decision, the jirga members said both sides would ensure safety to travelers using the main Thall-Parachinar, which has been closed to vehicles for five months.
After going back to their hometowns, both groups will call their tribes and communities to finalise modalities for bringing peace to their areas, they said, adding that they would put forward their proposals to calculate the loss of life and properties, and the final deal will be settled in the next jirga meeting.
Jirga members said they were optimistic that the one-month deadline would help restore peace in the agency as the elders announced they would honour commitments made at the jirga as they recognised its significance.
Kurram Agency Political Agent Muhammad Azam Khan praised the efforts made by the jirga members, and expressed confidence that they would respect their commitments in the future.
The agencys top administrator said it was encouraging to see jirga members taking measures to restore peace. Khan said that deaths caused by clashes would be ascertained and families of those affected would be compensated.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/10/2008 00:00 ||
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Four children died on Sunday in Garam Chashma, Chitral, when an old ammunition shell they picked up exploded, police sources said. Police officer Qazi Ataur Rehman said the boys, aged 10 to 13, found the shell at the site of a former Afghan refugee camp in Parabeq village, 50 kilometres from Chitral district, and might have wanted to sell it to a scrap metal dealer. Rehman says old ordnance has been found at the site before. The bodies were moved to a local hospital for post-mortem.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/10/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
The federal government should talk to the NWFP government about problems related to truce instead of making irresponsible statements.
The peace deal between the NWFP government and the Swat Taliban is still intact, ANP Information Secretary Zahid Khan and Senior Minister Bashir Bilour told Daily Times on Monday. They said the federal government, Asif Zardari and the COAS had been consulted before the agreement was signed, and that the federal government should talk to the NWFP government about problems related to truce instead of making irresponsible statements.
This article starring:
ANP Information Secretary Zahid Khan
Senior Minister Bashir Bilour
Posted by: Fred ||
06/10/2008 00:00 ||
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The countrys future appears to be headed towards martial law amid much bloodshed, Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F) President Pir Pagaro said on Monday. Speaking to journalists after a meeting with former federal minister Sheikh Rashid, he warned that there would be a disastrous martial law and there was nothing that America could do about it. Pagaro said PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif, along with his brother Nawaz, were both facing a bleak future and claimed that the sacked judges would not be reinstated and the lawyers protests would eventually die down. To questioning, however, he said that PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has a future, as he lives in a big house. He also said that the Muslim Leagues could unite if they agreed to just power sharing following the unification. Rashid, meanwhile, said that he believed in the same future as Pagaro.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/10/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
The government has decided to freeze allocation of Defence funds in the 2008-09 budget as a measure of Pakistans tangible display to seek peace with its neighbours, Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Monday.
Giving a policy statement in the National Assembly, he said that considering the context of inflation and the rupee-dollar parity, the Defence budget of the country would be reduced in the new fiscal year. Arguably referring to India but without directly naming it, he added: We hope to see a reciprocal gesture from our neighbour for the sake of peace and prosperity in the region.
Approval: Presently, the Defence budget is presented for approval before the National Assembly as a one-line allocation for all ordnance factories, other defence organisations and the three armed services the army, navy and air force. It is not approved separately but in consolidated from. After approval of the budget, the Ministry of Defence apportions allocations of three services and other defence organisations, he added..
Gilani said that the present government has now decided to present the Defence budget estimates in a format reflecting expenditure estimates under major heads in parliament. The Ministry of Defence and chief of Army Staff have fully endorsed the revised format of the defence budget estimates, he informed the House.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/10/2008 00:00 ||
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"Musharraf violated the country's constitution, he should be impeached. As far as I am concerned, I would even urge that he should not only be impeached but tried for treason."
Pakistan People's Party has accused President Pervez Musharraf of committing treason against the state, demanding his impeachment. The statement was the harshest that the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) of slain former premier Benazir Bhutto has issued against the embattled president since winning February elections. "Musharraf violated the country's constitution, he should be impeached. As far as I am concerned, I would even urge that he should not only be impeached but tried for treason," PPP spokesman Farhatullah Babar told AFP Monday. "Political problems will persist as long as he is in power," Babar added.
Treason is punishable by death in Pakistan. His comments come two days after the US-backed Musharraf defiantly dismissed mounting speculation that he was about to quit and go into exile. Junior coalition partner and ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif has also called for Musharraf to face treason charges, but the PPP had taken a more measured stance.
This article starring:
Farhatullah Babar
Nawaz Sharif
Posted by: Fred ||
06/10/2008 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#1
PPP being pushed by PML-N, its not too popular to stand up for Perv.
Iran and Iraq agreed to boost defence cooperation during a visit of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to Tehran on Monday, Irans official IRNA news agency said, giving few details on the content of the agreement.
Irans Defence Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar signed a memorandum of understanding on defence cooperation with his Iraqi counterpart, Abdul Qader Jassim, IRNA said. Mine clearance and the search for soldiers missing in action would be part of the planned cooperation, it said.
The two majority Shiite Muslim countries fought an eight-year war in the 1980s, in which 1 million people were killed, but ties have improved since Sunni Arab strongman Saddam Hussein was ousted in the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
The two parties, stressing the importance of defence cooperation in the balanced expansion of ties ... called for development of this sort of cooperation with the aim of strengthening peace and stability in the region, IRNA said.
Earlier on Monday, Irans supreme leader told Maliki that the presence of U.S. forces in Iraq was the biggest obstacle to its development as a united country. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei hit out at the occupiers in Iraq at a time when Baghdad is negotiating with the United States on a new agreement aimed at giving a legal basis for U.S. troops to stay in Iraq after Dec. 31, when their U.N. mandate expires.
Iran blames the presence of U.S. troops for the violence that followed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq five years ago. The United States accuses Iran of arming, training and funding Shiite militias in Iraq. Tehran denies the charge.
#3
This illustrates dangers expressed by the Gulf Sunni majority states. Saddam Hussein's dictatorial power suppressed Shiite power, because he knew they would unite with Iran. Said unity is prescribed in Khomeni's 1971 book on Islamic Government. (Like Mein Kampf, nobody will read it until it is too late). As it stands the SOFA deal between Bush and Maliki will, as it stands, reduce US troops to bodyguards for the Islamofascist parliament. If Maliki has a veto, he will indulge guerrilla war against Sunnis and he will do so with US taxpayer subsidy. Bush accepted a time frame of the end of July, because he took Maliki's savages as good faith partners; they were duplicitous at every stage. With high oil prices, a transient armistice in the 1400 Sunni Shiite civil war, increased reach by the Iranians, Bush indulgence of Shiite hegemony in Baghdad, Maliki believes that he can dictate terms to Bush, who appears happy to have delivered a Pax Shiite. Still Maliki's puppet masters - and he took direct and solemn counsel from Iran's Ayatollahs on the weekend - are even more adamant in calling for the destruction of America and Israel. Americans will add this all up, and start a new game.
#4
TOPIX > NEWSMAX - OBAMA'S DEFENSE PLAN WILL LEAVE US VULNERABLE.
Also from TOPIX OP-Ed > THE MUSLIMIZATION OF AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY. I prefer to ascribe the context/scope of this artic as the contemporary peace wrought by a proper future Islamist beheading.
BAGHDAD A week earlier, Pvt. Jacob Espinoza hopscotched across the fly-infested sludge, keeping one eye out for the enemy and the other on the river of raw sewage he was trying to traverse.
At Jamilla market the largest in northeastern Baghdad the dirt roads where vendors hawk the fruits and vegetables that feed much of the city were flooded over with stink. The waste, which ran 12 inches deep in parts, also made for a slippery, gag-inducing patrol. "It wasnt much fun. You had to try and jump from stone to stone so your boots wouldnt get in it. And when the wind would pick up in a certain direction the smell would just hit you. It was horrible," said Espinoza, a soldier with Task Force 1-6 Infantry.
On a return trip Wednesday, much to Espinozas relief, most of the black sludge was removed from the market alleys. In the Jamilla district of Sadr City in Baghdad, spilled human waste at the market isnt the only thing to be cleared from the streets these days.
When Task Force 1-6 took control of the area in early May, they entered a cesspool of violence. For the Baumholder, Germany-based infantrymen, much of the fighting centered around the construction of a three mile security wall that separates Jamilla from Sadr Citys main residential areas to the north.
The wall was constructed in response to the fighting that erupted in March in Sadr City, which functioned as a launching point for mortar assaults on the nearby Green Zone.
The soldiers of 1-6, who were continuing work started by other units assigned to the 3rd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, faced contact with the enemy within 24 hours of being on the job. Encounters with rocket-propelled grenades, sniper fire and mortars were a daily occurrence, commanders said. But since the wall project was completed more than two weeks ago, firefights has been replaced with intelligence gathering, civic engagement and reconstruction.
Sgt. Michael Estka, 26, said all the recent handshaking and getting-to-know-the-people missions dont come quite as naturally to soldiers as the fighting that marked the first part of their mission in Sadr City. "Its boring, but if we all go back in one piece its fine with me," Estka said. "This place has to get built up at some point. Its not anything we trained for. We train as we go."
Now, soldiers patrol through the markets to see what types of services people need. While the Iraqi army continues its push through the residential zone north of the wall, coalition forces are focused on things such as restoring electricity and handing out micro business grants in Jamilla.
Lt. Col. Brian Eifler, Task Force 1-6 commander, said hes looking to take advantage of the relative calm that has emerged after two months of fighting by coalition and Iraqi army forces.
With the leadership of the Mahdi Army, Muqtada al-Sadrs milita, scattered, the local population needs to see that the market is secure and that jobs are returning, Eifler said. "Infuse money. Infuse jobs. Get this area secured," Eifler said. "This is a fragile time right now. Everything is turbocharged."
When the extremists held ground at the Jamilla market, they were funding their operations through a widespread extortion racket that required business owners to hand over sums of money to the militia fighters. "Theyre going to be hard-pressed to find money now," said 1st Lt. Ryan Poole, 24, a Charlie Company platoon leader.
With most of the ringleaders gone from the area, perhaps reorganizing to fight another day, lower level leaders remain in town. Soldiers now spend their time trying to round up suspects left behind and kick-start businesses that were ravaged after all the conflict.
On a recent patrol of the Jamilla market, Pooles soldiers made the rounds, stopping off to talk with merchants in an effort to root out some intelligence on their enemies. During the tour through town the soldiers navigated clogged intersections where cars, trucks and horse-drawn carriages were at a standstill. Exhaust fumes, fresh produce and the reek from small puddles of leftover sewage filled the air.
At the market shops Charlie Company soldiers heard a familiar refrain from merchants. While conditions are much improved now that the fighting has ceased, business still isnt what it used to be, merchants said. "The wall still keeps people from coming here," a vegetable salesman told Company Cs platoon leader.
Poole told the merchant he understood the problem and that efforts are being made to get more security checkpoints opened. Ultimately, its something that Iraqi government officials need to support, however.
As the soldiers worked their way through the market, complaints continued to pop up. On the street and inside the shops, marketgoers voiced their wants: More trash pickup and more regular sewage clearings. The fact that coalition forces arranged for the removal of the sewage and have hired teams of locals to sweep the streets of debris didnt seem to register with some. "Now that the security is better theyll be cleaning up the trash and sewage more often," Poole told a shop owner.
Its not all customer service work, though. The main focus for Pooles team is intelligence gathering. During a two-week span, Pooles 3rd Platoon detained 15 suspects with the help of their tipsters and informants, he said. If the security gains hold then efforts to rebuild infrastructure will continue to advance, commanders said.
In the weeks ahead, Eifler says he wants his unit to get businesses hard hit by the recent fighting back on track. Apart from handing out the micro grants, multimillion-dollar public works projects are being developed. From the establishment of a local neighborhood watch group to getting a local public works department set up, theres been a flurry of action.
"We dont have time to wait. This needs to get done now. We have to show them how it is done," he said. "Its a necessary evil to get to overwatch and turn it over (to Iraqi security forces)."
You are in ground combat in Sadr City or Tora Bora. You have a choice of tactical support from: (You may choose more than one)
1. A GMLRS within 50 miles, on call 24/7
2. A 155 battery, equipped with Excalibur, within 20 miles, on call 24/7
3. A armed Predator or Reaper orbiting 24/7
4. A A-10 Warthog available with 20 minutes
5. A Apache available within 30-40 minutes
6. A F-22 Raptor able to sneak in without detection
The old tactical versus strategic competing for limited funds
PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. Defense Secretary Robert Gates officially has passed the decision over how many F-22 Raptors the Air Force needs to the next administration takes over. I made the decision that we would allocate enough money to keep the production line open so the next administration could decide on the balance between buying more F-22s and buying more Joint Strike Fighters, Gates said. I felt that was a significant procurement decision that ought not be made in the last six or seven months of the administration.
President Bushs 2009 budget proposal along with the war funding bill call include enough money to buy 187 Raptors through Gates recommendation, who bluntly stated in February that the F-22 has no role in the war on terror. Air Force Chief of Staff T. Michael Moseley and Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne both of whom were sacked June 5 but are still in office have called for 381 F-22s to fill out 10 squadrons with 24 fifth generation fighters each, but Gates has consistently said it should stay at 187.
Gates comments came after a stop at Langley Air Force Base, Va., where he announced his intent to nominate Gen. Norton Schwartz, head of Transportation Command, to fill Moseleys post, and Michael Donley, DoD director of administration and management, to become the next Air Force secretary.
He told about 300 airmen at the Langley base theatre that the debates he had with Moseley and Wynne had nothing to do with his decision to ask for their resignations, and instead solely rested on their inability to halt the continual decline of nuclear standards in the Air Force.
When Gates said the military suffered from next war-itis last March, he said those comments were not directed specifically at the Air Force and its demand for more fifth generation fighters to compete with Russian and Chinese air forces. In fact, he told Langley airmen we must modernize the Air Force in particular your aging fighter and tanker fleet referring to the 1st Fighter Wing at Langley.
However, Gates said he would remain focused primarily on the wars America currently fights that dont call for any F-22 sorties anytime soon and reversing a disturbing trend of loosening nuclear discipline. We are damn sure we are also going to spend and do everything necessary to win the wars we are in, to care properly for our wounded, and to restore excellence in our nuclear stewardship, he said.
But, Gates said he sees the need for a fifth generation fighter, and said the debate over the numbers will include the Joint Strike Fighter, who his spokesman Geoff Morell reiterated that the defense secretary felt is more capable. Either way Gates expects the new Air Force leaders to support whatever number the next defense secretary decides upon. There is a need for debate, but making decisions and moving on and start getting stuff built is what I think is really important, he said.
#4
And 187 should be enough for that. The question is, do we need another 200? I find it hard to believe that would be the highest and best use of the funds involved, about 20 billion for the airplanes alone. That would buy a lot of 1-5.
#5
Well, by leaving it up o the next administration, you're either a) betting that administration will be Republican and the wise decision will be made, or b) betting the administration will be Democrat in which case you're throwing away a weapon system the country needs because the Democrats and Obama will sure as hell cancel it if it's the least little bit offensive in capabilities.
#6
By leaving it to the next administration you remove shutting down the production line in about half the congressional districts as a campaign issue for the fall. I doubt either administration will fund it because there are just too many other good ways to spend the money, like developing a UCAV follow on.
#7
Mr. Spemble, I disagree. I'd rather buy more F-22's and -35's, which are developed now, than throw the assembly line away and start bleeding money on developing a third airframe and then building an assembly line for it.
1. A GMLRS within 50 miles, on call 24/7
2. A 155 battery, equipped with Excalibur, within 20 miles, on call 24/7
3. A armed Predator or Reaper orbiting 24/7
4. A A-10 Warthog available with 20 minutes
5. A Apache available within 30-40 minutes
6. A F-22 Raptor able to sneak in without detection
******************************************
You are in ground combat in Sadr City or Tora Bora
To attack in Sadr City or Tora Bora:
in this order:
2. A 155 battery, equipped with Excalibur, within 20 miles, on call 24/7
4. A A-10 Warthog available with 20 minutes
1. A GMLRS within 50 miles, on call 24/7
5. A Apache available within 30-40 minutes
3. A armed Predator or Reaper orbiting 24/7
*************************************************
extra credit: LOL!
To defend in Sadr City or Tora Bora:
2. A 155 battery, equipped with Excalibur, within 20 miles, on call 24/7
4. A A-10 Warthog available with 20 minutes
1. A GMLRS within 50 miles, on call 24/7
5. A Apache available within 30-40 minutes
3. A armed Predator or Reaper orbiting 24/7
Ouch, that'll squeeze the Mullah's sacks
Measures the European Union is considering against Iran include a freeze of bank assets, European External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said on Tuesday.
"We want to indeed show to Iranians that we mean it very seriously. We ... consider additional measures also in the EU. (We are) particularly thinking of asset freezes of banks," Ferrero-Waldner told reporters on the margins of an U.S.-EU summit in Slovenia.
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/10/2008 12:19 ||
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#1
That would be uncharacteristically ballsy of the EUnicks. I would laugh my ass off if they actually pulled that one. Though I'd guess the Iranians probably have much of their money in Asian banks now. Asian banks that don't cooperate, like Chinese state banks maybe?
#2
Asian banks that don't cooperate, like Chinese state banks maybe?
The Chinese have been rather helpful in freezing North Korean money, and have broken off several construction contracts with Iran. I'd think the Russians would be better prospects.
Where one might also find Iranian money would be Indonesia, Malaysia, or Pakistan.
Then again, a lot of Iranian business funds are moving through the Gulf-region's unofficial banking system. Cumbersome as hell, and the brokers take a healthy cut, but it's being done.
Fatah al-Islam has denied any involvement in an attack on a Lebanese army intelligence center near the country's border with Syria.
Fatah al-Islam in a statement denied the media reports that the group had claimed responsibility for an attack on a military center in the Abda-Akkar region on Saturday, the Lebanese daily al-Akhbar reported.
An army soldier was killed in the bombing.
The group added statements published by sources other than Fatah al-Islam's web site does not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of the group and are aimed at undermining the faction.
On Monday, a statement was sent to news agencies claiming that the al-Qaeda-inspired group was behind the bombing.
Fatah al-Islam engaged in a deadly battle with the Lebanese army in 2007, which was considered as the deadliest conflict in the country after the civil war.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/10/2008 00:00 ||
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Hezbollah is not opposed to a diplomatic solution to liberate the Shebaa Farms occupied by Israel in the 1967, a Lebanese daily claims. The Lebanese daily al-Hayat reported that a Hezbollah representative had told French President Nicholas Sarkozy that the movement would accept a diplomatic solution to return the Shebaa Farms to the country.
According to the report, Hezbollah MP Mohamed Raad had voiced its support for a diplomatic solution to the dispute during a meeting with Sarkozy.
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, who was in Beirut for talks with Lebanese officials, also hinted that a solution for the issue is on the horizon.
The French president is reportedly planning to bring forward an initiative to put the territory under the control of the United Nations. According to the plan, the land would reportedly be demarked and returned to Lebanon at later stages.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/10/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
ION DEBKA > seems SYRIA = ASSAD desires back a piece/strip of land along the SEA OF GALILEE? presently under ISRAEL control???
Lebanon's ruling parliamentary bloc has threatened to walk out of talks aimed at forming a national unity government, an official says.
The warning came as Prime Minister Fouad Siniora continued efforts to form a new government after a deal last month between rival politicians and as newly elected President Michel Suleiman admitted some complications. The official from the Future Bloc said the group threatened "to suspend its participation in the consultations to form a government" after one of its supporters was shot and wounded, allegedly by a supporter of the opposition. Tuesday night's attack "is a violation of the Doha accord," he said.
The agreement which was struck May 21 in the Qatari capital between rival Lebanese politicians ended an 18-month crisis. As part of the deal, the political parties agreed not to use arms to settle their differences.
That worked well, didn't it?
According to Lebanese television, parliament speaker Nabih Berri, who is also a member of the opposition, has pledged to "solve the problem" after Siniora told him of the Future Bloc's plan to suspend talks, AFP reported. After talks with Berri, the prime minister said he was "taking small steps" towards forming a government. "We are on the right track," he said, but gave no date for a new line-up.
Michel Suleiman acknowledged that "complications" had emerged but stressed that they will be solved through dialogue. Siniora wrapped up two days of talks with leaders of rival parliamentary blocs on Saturday but gave no date for a new line-up. He has since been holding talks with the main players from the opposition and majority camps.
This article starring:
Nabih Berri
Posted by: Fred ||
06/10/2008 00:00 ||
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Michel Aoun's Lebanese Free Patriotic Movement 'will not join the new government unless it is granted key ministerial posts in the cabinet'.
Aoun has said that he would not accept the ministerial posts related to the service sector instead of key cabinet posts.
Aoun has said that he would not accept the ministerial posts related to the service sector instead of key cabinet posts, the daily As Safir reported on Monday. Aoun also said he will not negotiate the issue of naming ministers.
Rival political factions had reached an agreement last month to work out a framework for power sharing in the country in a bid to break an 18-month political deadlock in the country. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has reportedly informed Prime Minister-designate Fouad Siniora of Aoun's decision and asked him to reconsider the cabinet line-up to grant the Free Patriotic Movement a key post.
This article starring:
Free Patriotic Movement
Michel Aoun
Nabih Berri
Posted by: Fred ||
06/10/2008 00:00 ||
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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.
Pakistani intelligence agents and paramilitary forces have helped train Taliban insurgents and have given them information about American troop movements in Afghanistan, said a report published Monday by a U.S. think tank.
Rest in Peace 1st Sgt. Jeff McKinney
Iran and Iraq agreed to boost defence cooperation during a visit of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to Tehran on Monday, Irans official IRNA news agency said, giving few details on the content of the agreement.
BAGHDAD A week earlier, Pvt. Jacob Espinoza hopscotched across the fly-infested sludge, keeping one eye out for the enemy and the other on the river of raw sewage he was trying to traverse.
Lebanon's ruling parliamentary bloc has threatened to walk out of talks aimed at forming a national unity government, an official says. 
