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Lebanon gives Hezbollah right to use arms against Israel
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Good morning
Posted by: Fred || 11/27/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1 





Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 11/27/2009 0:58 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan
International Criminal Court claims jurisdiction over U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed "great regret" in August that the U.S. is not a signatory to the International Criminal Court (ICC). This has fueled speculation that the Obama administration may reverse another Bush policy and sign up for what could lead to the trial of Americans for war crimes in The Hague.
This would abjectly stupid and irresponsible.
The ICC's chief prosecutor, though, has no intention of waiting for Washington to submit to the court's authority. Luis Moreno Ocampo says he already has jurisdiction--at least with respect to Afghanistan.

Because Kabul in 2003 ratified the Rome Statute--the ICC's founding treaty--all soldiers on Afghan territory, even those from nontreaty countries, fall under the ICC's oversight, Mr. Ocampo told me. And the chief prosecutor says he is already conducting a "preliminary examination" into whether NATO troops, including American soldiers, fighting the Taliban may have to be put in the dock.
Any thoughts as to putting the Taliban in the dock? No?
"We have to check if crimes against humanity, war crimes or genocide have been committed in Afghanistan," Mr. Ocampo told me. "There are serious allegations against the Taliban and al Qaeda and serious allegations about warlords, even against some who are connected with members of the government." Taking up his inquiry of Allied soldiers, he added, "there are different reports about problems with bombings and there are also allegations about torture."

It was clear who the targets of these particular inquiries are but the chief prosecutor shied away from spelling it out.

Asked repeatedly whether the examination of bombings and torture allegations refers to NATO and U.S. soldiers, Mr. Ocampo finally stated that "we are investigating whoever commits war crimes, especially including the group you mentioned."

The fact that he avoided a straightforward "I am looking into possible war crimes committed by American soldiers" showed that Mr. Ocampo is aware of the enormity of crossing this legal and political bridge. Appointed in 2003 for a nine-year period, the 57-year-old Argentinian has--so far--established a record of cautious jurisprudence.
Hence his sterling record on investigating war crimes in Kosovo, Bosnia, Sudan and Cambodia ...
Mr. Ocampo is famous in his home country for prosecuting military juntas as well as starring in a reality program where he adjudicated private disputes. And in his first six years at the ICC, he pursued real evildoers. He indicted Ugandan rebel Joseph Kony, militia leaders from the Congo and Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir, responsible for the genocide in Darfur.
Remind me how many years Bashir is serving in prison?
Yet collecting information about possible war crimes by American soldiers smacks of just the sort of politicized prosecution critics of the ICC had always warned about.

Mr. Ocampo remained tight-lipped about the specifics of his preliminary examination. Asked whether waterboarding--a practice that simulates drowning without causing lasting physical harm--is a form of torture produced a telling "no comment." Yet if the Obama administration considers this practice torture, one has to wonder if the ICC's chief prosecutor would give it his stamp of approval.

There is also the issue of whether Predator strikes of unmanned drones targeting terrorist leaders in Afghanistan and Pakistan--as carried out in the very first week of the Obama presidency--are part of the bombings he's looking into. Mr. Ocampo chuckled and answered evasively. "We have people around the world concerned about this," he said, and when pressed, added, "Whatever the gravest war crimes are that have been committed, we have to check."
He'll be evasive until he doesn't have to be, which is when Bambi agrees to his jurisdiction over American soldiers.
"Gravest" is the operative word here. The court was established to "end impunity for the perpetrators of the most serious crimes of concern to the international community," as stated on the ICC's Web site. This would suggest that even if U.S. soldiers have committed war crimes by the prosecutor's definition, the ICC would have no reason to get involved as those transgressions would surely be insignificant compared to the butchery in places like Sudan or Congo.

Mr. Ocampo's own words, though, suggested that he disagrees. I asked him if he was going to prosecute the worst crimes in his jurisdiction or the worst crimes in a particular case, such as Afghanistan, irrespective of how they compare to crimes around the world. He paused before answering.

"Normally," he said (another pause) "we select situations which are grave, for instance when I choose. . . ." Mr. Ocampo didn't finish the sentence, sighed and began afresh: "Both [scenarios] are right. Normally, we open investigations in the worst situation in the world and in some cases [countries] we investigate the worst situation."

This is an expansive and controversial interpretation of the court's mandate, one that may put an end to the debate about whether former President George W. Bush, fearing just such judicial activism, was justified in unsigning the Rome Statute his predecessor, Bill Clinton, had endorsed. Although the prosecutor's preliminary examination may not result in a formal investigation of Americans, the mere potential of a legal confrontation between the court in The Hague and Washington should be disconcerting to the White House, not to mention to all Americans.
Remember the big fight in Britain right now is whether it was 'illegal' for the Brits to help liberate Iraq.
In any event, the ICC's very existence is already changing the way Western nations fights wars. Mr. Ocampo recounted how a legal adviser to NATO told him that troops these days are trained to realize that, in case of transgressions, they could be arrested and brought to the ICC on war crimes charges with the help of evidence provided by NATO itself.

"That is the new world," Mr. Ocampo said proudly. I asked the obvious follow-up. "If this is the 'new world,' why do you bother collecting information about NATO and U.S. troops in Afghanistan?" Why, in other words, when his task is to end the impunity for the worst war crimes, does he spend his limited resources on the most advanced democracies in the world--which operate under strict rules of engagement, have their own chain-of-command investigations and swift prosecution of criminals? Mr. Ocampo got slightly irritated.

"You are suggesting that we are a court only for the Third World. That's what the Arab world said about Bashir, that we are using double standards," he explained. "I said no, I prosecute whoever is in my jurisdiction. I cannot allow that we are a court just for the Third World. If the First World commits crimes, they have to investigate, if they don't, I shall investigate. That's the rule and we have one rule for everyone."

Mr. Ocampo--who has a photo of himself with the head of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, on his windowsill--could have pointed out to his Arab interlocutors that the real double standard was their own complaining about alleged Western aggression against Muslims while they protect Sudan's Bashir, the greatest butcher of Muslims in modern history. The fact that Mr. Ocampo mentioned the Sudanese perpetrator of genocide in the same breath with alleged crimes of NATO soldiers shed light on what the International Criminal Court may have in store for the U.S. in the future.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 11/27/2009 15:49 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  MYOB, ICC.
Posted by: Squinty Cholet II || 11/27/2009 16:48 Comments || Top||

#2  Conservative bloggers have been criticizing Glenn Beck for have the temerity to suggest that people might not want to enlist in the military. It is "politicizing" the military, or something.

Wonder what they think now?
Posted by: SR-71 || 11/27/2009 17:01 Comments || Top||

#3  I still disagree with Beck's proposal. He's wrong on that one. This ICC proposal is dead in the water. The Argentine punk is gonna incarcerate our troops? With what? I'm sure the military brass would resign before allowing Oblahblah to involve us in this.
Posted by: Frank G || 11/27/2009 17:31 Comments || Top||

#4  But wouldn't that allow Obumble to then replace them with his own czars?
Posted by: CrazyFool || 11/27/2009 17:38 Comments || Top||

#5  I'm sure the military brass would resign before allowing Oblahblah to involve us in this

By the time they're GOs they're just as often bought as not. It's the middle grades who'll hemorrhage from the ranks leaving careerist resurrecting Kerry's stereotype of the old style military.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 11/27/2009 17:42 Comments || Top||

#6  The US currently has a bilateral agreement with Afghanistan that protects us from ICC harassment. This is an executive agreement signed by Karzai, and did not need approval by their parliament.

http://www.iccnow.org/documents/CICCFS_BIAstatus_current.pdf

If Karzai ends this agreement, the US is pretty much obligated to leave the country immediately, as it would subject it to ICC jurisdiction after that time. However, for the ICC to claim jurisdiction now is a violation of Afghan sovereignty.

The Afghan government, that is, Karzai, could withdraw from the Rome agreement, which would be a serious kick in the cajones to the ICC, and probably get this prosecutor canned.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 11/27/2009 17:52 Comments || Top||

#7  Karzai should be told we'll abandon any efforts on his security first (and let it be known) on our way out of the country
Posted by: Frank G || 11/27/2009 18:02 Comments || Top||

#8  ...IF this happens - and it's unlikely that it will, for a lot of reasons - then I will do everything in my power to convince my son not to re-enlist in the USAF.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 11/27/2009 18:14 Comments || Top||

#9  The US currently has a bilateral agreement with Afghanistan that protects us from ICC harassment. -Anonymoose

That is exactly my understanding- we have these bilateral agreements with most countries where we might have to put boots on the ground. An ICC challenge would be the death of that organization, whatever it's good intentions (al-Bashir is a despicable man, and I have no problem with Western countries making him nervous.)
Posted by: Free Radical || 11/27/2009 19:49 Comments || Top||

#10  I do not believe that this administration means well for the war generally or for the troops specifically. It is time to bring them home. Afghanistan is the graveyard of empires.

Wars are not won by half measures. It only gets a lot of good men killed. But perhaps that is the object?
Posted by: SR-71 || 11/27/2009 20:46 Comments || Top||

#11  Environmentalists overstepped with global warming I suspect internationalists are in the process of doing the same.
Posted by: Rjschwarz || 11/27/2009 20:52 Comments || Top||

#12  ION WAFF/WMF > ITALY TO PROPOSE FORMATION OF "UNIFIED" US-EU NEW MILITARY ESTABLISHMENT TO AVOID REPLACEMENT OF NATO ALLIANCE, EU BY FUTURE "PACIFIC UNION" [US-China "G2"].
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 11/27/2009 20:58 Comments || Top||


Kandahar governor unhurt after roadside bombing
Tooryali Wesa, a University of British Columbia agriculture professor who returned to Afghanistan last fall to serve as governor of Kandahar survived a roadside bombing on Friday in Kandahar City.

Wesa, formerly of Coquitlam, B.C., was en route to a mosque for Friday prayers in the provincial capital to celebrate the first day of the holy Muslim holiday of Eid-al-Adha when insurgents triggered a remote-controlled homemade bomb as his three-vehicle entourage drove past.

"He is fine. He is OK, but he is a little rattled," Ahsan Karzi, who serves as Wesa’s executive assistant, told Canwest News Service. "The cars were damaged a little and he was shaken up but nothing will deter him from his duties. He is moving forward."

The assassination attempt was the second on Wesa’s life this year. Insurgents also attacked the governor’s palace in April, but only succeeded in breaching the outer security cordon of his heavily defended residence before being killed.

"It is really disheartening that this happened today. This is supposed to be our Christmas," said Karzi, who decided to attend prayers later in the day, so was not in the governor’s vehicle when it was attacked.

Wesa grew up in Kandahar, where he was a childhood friend of President Hamid Karzai. The soft-spoken 58-year-old academic emigrated to Canada nearly 20 years ago, but returned to his home town at the invitation of the president and with the Canadian government’s backing. Since then he has worked closely with Canadian troops and with employees of several Canadian ministries who are charged with helping with economic development and reconstruction.
Posted by: ryuge || 11/27/2009 11:24 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Talibunnie Bikers get DU shower
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 11/27/2009 11:06 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


*Stoned* Afghan Soldiers (Warning: Colorful Language)
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 11/27/2009 10:55 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  and ppl wonder why they can't run their own affairs
Posted by: chris || 11/27/2009 11:58 Comments || Top||

#2  This once again points out the obvious, that the old British strategy of pulling back into the cities, and keeping the Khyber Pass open, is a good one for McCrystal. Add on to that using air power against any enemy concentrations in the countryside, and spraying the poppies with a disease that only kills poppies, and periodically send out groups to prevent the bad guys from setting up shop anywhere.

It wins nothing, but it is a lot cheaper in both treasure and blood. At the same time, keep increasing the size of the Afghan army, then send them out into the country to clean up their own mess.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 11/27/2009 13:13 Comments || Top||


Marines receive B-52 support in the Stan (Warning: Colorful Language)
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 11/27/2009 10:46 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Gee, don't let Holder see these Extra Judicial Executions. Those Taliban should have been arrested with a warrant out of the SO. Dist. of New York, Mirandized, Extradited, releases on OR (since they have family-ACLU-in NYC, then tried. Come on get with the New World Odor.
Posted by: Hammerhead || 11/27/2009 11:06 Comments || Top||

#2  I was hoping for an ARCLIGHT.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 11/27/2009 11:09 Comments || Top||

#3  Precision weapons provide for a SPOTLIGHT
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 11/27/2009 11:18 Comments || Top||

#4  I guess that this B-52 carried its own lawyer for quicker ROE clearance. Otherwise, the Mother-May-I probably would have taken a lot longer. Hopefully, no Telibunnies got a fat lip over this.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 11/27/2009 11:49 Comments || Top||

#5  As long as they don't punch them.
Posted by: Cyber Sarge || 11/27/2009 14:28 Comments || Top||

#6  Came for the ka-boom. Left satisfied.
Posted by: Mizzou Mafia || 11/27/2009 18:32 Comments || Top||


Contractor helicopter missing in Afghanistan
Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- A search was under way Thursday for a helicopter belonging to a military contractor, NATO officials said.

The helicopter for Supreme Global Service Solutions went missing Tuesday, said Lt. Col. Todd Vician, a spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force. He did not say how many people were aboard or in what region of the country ISAF was looking for the chopper.

However, the governor of Logar province in eastern Afghanistan said the search's focus has been the Khar Pech district. Governor Halim Fedia said he did not have any further information. An official with Supreme Global also could not offer additional details.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Besoeker || 11/27/2009 08:23 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Insurgents control most of Kandahar province: report
Posted by: GolfBravoUSMC || 11/27/2009 02:50 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "Why is it that all the killing is being done of Pashtuns? Not all Pashtuns are Taliban but that is what they (coalition) think.”

Not all Pashtuns are Taliban but damn near all Taliban are Pashtuns. Go big…go hard…go nasty.
Posted by: DepotGuy || 11/27/2009 10:59 Comments || Top||

#2  ION WMF > "AFGHANISTAN IS OUR OUR HOMELAND":TALIBAN LEADER MULLAH OMAR REJECTS PROPOSED PEACE TALKS WID AFGHAN PRESIDENT HAMID KARZAI.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 11/27/2009 20:44 Comments || Top||


Africa Horn
Darfur rebels accuse army of launching 2 attacks
[Al Arabiya Latest] Rebels in Sudan's Darfur region on Thursday accused government troops of launching two attacks in a development likely to hinder peace talks which began this month.

Rebel commander Suleiman Marjan of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) said government forces attacked civilians in Jabal Eissa and al-Harra in North Darfur on Wednesday.

"They drove out the civilians, beating them, looting and arrested 11 young men," Marjan said. The SLA had no base in the villages, which was home to about 6,000 people, he said.

In an earlier army attack on Nov. 18 on a nearby SLA base, two rebels and eight government soldiers were killed, he said.

"We repulsed them and they left 20 injured behind and about 50 prisoners who we later released," Marjan said.

Officials from the government army were not available to comment. The joint U.N.-African Union peacekeeping force (UNAMID) was also unable to confirm the attacks.

The United Nations estimates about 300,000 people have been killed since mostly non-Arab rebels in Darfur took up arms against Khartoum more than six years ago. The government puts the toll at about 10,000.

The International Criminal Court has demanded President Omar Hassan al-Bashir's arrest for war crimes linked to the counter-insurgency campaign.
But if they can't get that done they'll just prosecute American soldiers in Afghanistan ...
The peace process mediated by the United Nations and African Union began earlier this month in Qatar with civil society groups taking part. The SLA has refused to attend until security returns to Darfur.
Posted by: Fred || 11/27/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Sudan


Arabia
Southern separatists end Yemen highway closure
Posted by: anonymous5089 || 11/27/2009 14:10 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Houthi fighters claim to have seized Saudi weapons
[Iran Press TV Latest] Yemeni Houthi fighters release a video showing weapons they say belong to the Saudi army and seized by the fighters during clashes along the Yemen, Saudi border.

As Saudi forces continue attacks on Houthi fighters along the border, the Saudi Defense Ministry has not yet commented on Thursday's arms seizure report. It only said that nine Saudi soldiers have gone missing in the clashes.

A Saudi ministry spokesman told the official SPA news agency that there is a chance that Houthi fighters have captured the soldiers. He gave no figures for Saudi soldiers killed.

Houthis have been battling Yemeni government troops since August in the latest outbreak of a conflict that began in 2004. Saudi forces overtly joined in the fighting with air and heavy artillery strikes on November 4.
Posted by: Fred || 11/27/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


India-Pakistan
Pak-Afghan border sealed at Qilla Saifullah
Security forces on Thursday sealed the Pak-Afghan border at Qilla Saifullah to halt the illegal entry of people from Afghanistan into Pakistan. The security forces personnel have been directed to keep a vigil on the border to prevent illegal crossings of people into Pakistan.
Posted by: Fred || 11/27/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: TTP

#1  ION WAFF > TALIBAN OPEN NEW FRONT IN ONCE-QUIET KUNOZ PROVINCE.

plus

* MALAYSIAN INSIDER > NYT: US NEEDS 10,000 MORE NATO TROOPS FOR AFGHANISTAN [40,000 tote > 30,000 ala POTUS Bammer + 10,000 from NATO]???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 11/27/2009 20:53 Comments || Top||


Six suspected terrorists acquitted
Anti-terrorist Court No I (ATC-I) on Thursday acquitted six men charged with planning acts of terrorism.
I think we're beginning to see a pattern here...
Police claimed to have seized three suicide belts, five detonators and other explosives from them.
New Town police had arrested Shafiqur Rehman, Abdul Khaliq, Niaz Ahmad, Abdul Basit, Abdul Majid and Abdul Saboor from outside the Rawalpindi Arts Council. Police also claimed to have seized three suicide belts, five detonators and other explosives from them.

The court rejected the bail application of Khairullah Mehsud, a resident of South Waziristan. The court is trying three suspected terrorists -- Khairullah Mehsud, Fidaullah and Khurram Shahzad for their alleged involvement in an attack on a Frontier Constabulary (FC) checkpost on Margalla Road, Islamabad. Eight FC personnel were killed, and seven others injured, when a suicide bomber blew himself up at the checkpost.

The men were also allegedly involved in the Hamza Camp suicide attack case. An unidentified suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden car into a 72-seater bus parked in front of Hamza Camp on Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Road in Rawalpindi on November 24, 2007 The bus carrying Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) officials to work was destroyed and over 25 people were killed.

Meanwhile, the court also adjourned the hearing of cases against former Lal Masjid chief cleric Abdul Aziz until December 7 as the defence lawyer, Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui, in Saudi Arabia to perform haj. On September 16, the court dropped terrorism charges against the former cleric, and co-accused in three cases.
Posted by: Fred || 11/27/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: TTP

#1  The bus carrying Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) officials to work was destroyed and over 25 people were killed.


Biting the hand that feeds them. And nice pic on the sidebar. I need to subscribe to the Sunday edition of the Paki Times.
Posted by: Jack is Back! || 11/27/2009 3:22 Comments || Top||

#2  Looks like the Pak government has the same sort of problem the US has.
Posted by: gorb || 11/27/2009 16:36 Comments || Top||


Leaflets announce reward for TTP leaders' capture
Security forces on Thursday used planes to drop leaflets over North Waziristan Agency to announce rewards on the capture of leaders and commanders of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The leaflets carried photographs and announced head money of eight of the TTP's 19 main leaders. The leaflets only gave the names and the head money for the rest. The leaflets also carried telephone numbers and asked people to contact authorities if they had any information on the TTP members.

The TTP leaders and commanders mentioned in the leaflets include Hakeemullah Mehsud with a Rs 50 million head money, Qari Hussain (Rs 50 million), Waliur Rehman (Rs 50 million), Gurguray (Rs 20 million), Mazloom Yar (Rs 20 million), TTP spokesman Azam Tariq (Rs 20 million), Noor Hameed (Rs 20 million), Maulvi Shamim (Rs 20 million), Muhammad Ismail (Rs 20 million), Jalil Mehsud (Rs 20 million), Sher Azam (Rs 20 million), Shah Faisal Mehsud (Rs 20 million), Nisaruddin (Rs 20 million), Azmatullah Bermand (Rs 20 million), Anwar Kulachi (Rs 10 million), Khan Saeed Duatoi (Rs 10 million), Asmatullah (Rs 10 million), Abdul Wahab (Rs 10 million) and Abdullah Shah (Rs 10 million).
Posted by: Fred || 11/27/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: TTP

#1  PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUM > PAKISTANI TALIBAN REGROUPING OUTSIDE OF SOUTH WAZIRISTAN [setting up checkpoints, conducting armed patrols]; + AL QAEDA HEIRACHY [trapped]IN POCKET?
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 11/27/2009 22:03 Comments || Top||


Airstrikes kill 18 Taliban in Orakzai Agency
At least 18 Taliban were killed and 14 injured when fighter jets and helicopter gunships targeted Taliban positions in Orakzai Agency on Thursday, sources told Daily Times.

At seven Taliban hideouts were also destroyed in the raids.

Eight Taliban were killed when fighter jets and helicopter gunships bombed the Chapri Ferozkhel area of Lower Orakzai, while 10 Taliban were killed in airstrikes that targeted Dabori, Alf Khel and Toorsimt areas of Upper Orakzai. The sources said security forces had gained full control of Shahukhel, defusing eight mines and arresting four Taliban.

Wanted Taliban: Meanwhile in South Waziristan, security forces said they had arrested a wanted Taliban -- identified as Abdullah Shah Mehsud, who had a head money of Rs 10 million.

"Troops arrested a wanted terrorist, Abdullah Shah Mehsud ... from Tank ... the head money has been paid to the informer," said the ISPR. In Jandola, the forces cleared Bangiwal, Janata, Kunj Mela, Zawar Killi, Gund and Umar Raghzai, arresting four suspects from Shahu and defusing 10 improvised explosive devices.

Troops also cleared Spinkot, Sharkai Sar near Kot Langarkhel and Narakai, establishing links in Khuni Mor and Sarwekai and defusing 15 improvised explosive devices. Forces also consolidated their positions in Behram Shah village near Laki Ghund, while troops cleared 15 compounds in Pash Ziarat and 20 compounds at Salarai Shag near Kandai Sar. Security forces also discovered a training centre in Tauda China Khula.

Security forces also conducted a search operation in Gashkor village and Kalam in Swat, and apprehended two Taliban, while eight others surrendered in Shangwatai, Qambar and Kabal.

Paramilitary and army soldiers are pursuing a major offensive against TTP strongholds in South Waziristan, part of a tribal belt where US officials say Al Qaeda terrorists are plotting attacks on the West.
Posted by: Fred || 11/27/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: TTP


Omar Saeed Sheikh's hoax calls drove India, Pakistan to brink of war
ISLAMABAD: Omar Saeed Sheikh, a detained Pakistani militant, had made hoax calls to President Asif Ali Zardari and the Chief of Army Staff, Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, in a bid to heighten Pakistan-India tensions after last year's terrorist attacks on Mumbai, investigators have told Dawn. 'Omar Saeed Sheikh was the hoax caller. It was he who threatened the civilian and military leaderships of Pakistan over telephone. And he did so from inside Hyderabad jail,' investigators said.

The controversy came to light after Dawn broke the story, exactly one year ago, that a hoax caller claiming to be then Indian foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee was making threatening calls to President Zardari.
The controversy came to light after Dawn broke the story, exactly one year ago, that a hoax caller claiming to be then Indian foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee was making threatening calls to President Zardari.

It was on the night of Nov 26 last year that Saadia Omar, Omar Sheikh's wife, informed him about the carnage in Mumbai. The sources said that the information was passed on to Omar in Hyderabad jail through his mobile phone, which he was secretly using without the knowledge of the administration. All but one of the attackers who India alleged were Lashkar-i-Taiba terrorists were shot dead by security personnel.

Saadia kept updating Omar about the massacre through the night and small hours of the morning. On the night of Nov 28, when the authorities had regained control over the better part of the city, Omar Saeed, using a UK-registered mobile SIM, made a phone call to Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee. He told an operator handling Mr Mukherjee's calls that he was the President of Pakistan.

Indian officials started verification as part of security precautions and, after some time, the operator informed Omar Saeed (who was posing to be Pakistan's president) that the foreign minister would get in touch with him soon. Omar now made a call to President Asif Ali Zardari and then the Chief of Army Staff. He also made an attempt to talk to the US secretary of state, but security checks barred his way.

The presidency swung into action soon after Mr Zardari's conversation with the adventurous militant. President Zardari first spoke to Prime Minister Gilani and informed him about the happenings. He also took Interior Minister Rehman Malik into the loop. In Rawalpindi, Gen Kayani immediately spoke to the chief of the Inter Services Intelligence, Lt- Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha. According to sources, not only President Asif Zardari was taken in by Omar's audacity but the COAS was also baffled by his cheekiness.

Gen Kayani, sharing his thoughts with close associates, said he had been bewildered by the caller's threatening tone. But Maj Gen Athar Abbas, the military spokesman, finds the report unbelievable. 'I am not his (Army chief's) operator. I don't know who puts calls through to him, but I think this can't be true,' said an incredulous Athar Abbas.

Interestingly, when Omar Saeed Sheikh was making these hoax calls, the Lashkar-i-Taiba (LET) chief was also in Karachi, but it is not known whether Omar Saeed was acting under the guidance of Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi or on his own.

INVESTIGATIONS: On the other hand, investigators got into the act without wasting time, coming up with their findings within hours. Their conclusion was that the phone call which came from the Indian external affairs ministry was actually their (Indians') check. They said the calls to President Zardari and the army chief were made from a Britain-registered SIM. Gen (retired) Pervez Musharraf, in his autobiography, had alleged that Omar Saeed was an agent of MI6, the British intelligence agency.

The very next morning, Nov 29, Hyderabad jail was raided by intelligence agencies and over a dozen SIMs were recovered along with two mobile sets. Majid Siddiqui, the jail superintendent, was suspended. 'I don't know much but it is true that some mobile SIMs and mobile sets were recovered from Omar Saeed Sheikh when he was in Hyderabad jail. I got him transferred to Karachi jail because that is a far better place for such high-profile terrorists,' Allauddin Abbasi, DIG Prisons, Hyderabad, told Dawn over phone.

The authorities had a word with Saadia Omar too. She was advised to 'control' herself. The matter was then placed in the files of secret agencies marked as 'secret'. The Federal Investigation Agency never interrogated Omar Saeed about the Mumbai attacks. Dawn's efforts for getting the viewpoint of Tariq Khosa , the FIA chief, drew a blank.

HIGH PROFILE: Omar, currently confined in a high security cell of Karachi Jail, has a long record of militancy, from kidnapping foreigners in Mumbai in 1994 to kidnapping Daniel Pearl in Jan 2002.

Omar Saeed Sheikh was freed by India in Dec 1999 as part of a deal that saw New Delhi agreeing to release a number of militant leaders in exchange for the freedom of hostages on board an India plane hijacked to Kabul. Soon after his release from Indian captivity, Omar Saeed developed close relations with the LET leadership, including Zakiur Rehman Lakhwi. He was invited to a training camp in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Azad Kashmir, where he spent a couple of days delivering lectures to recruits.

Sources said Lakhwi wanted Omar to join LET and give the organisation an international face. In Feb 2002, Omar was arrested for the murder of US journalist Daniel Pearl.
This article starring:
OMAR SAID SHEIKHal-Qaeda
SAADIA OMARa-Qaeda
ZAKIUR REHMAN LAKHVILashkar-i-Taiba
Posted by: john frum || 11/27/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  JaleByrd: Have you Jinn in a Can?
Az: Nopers Jinns in trees not cans silly person of interst.

JaleByrd: Well then, your refridgerator, it is running, no?

Az: Why yes, yes it seems to be for now
JaleByrd: Behad your infidel refridgerator for the running! And nuke India!
HAhhashashashahahah!
Click


Posted by: Perry Stanford White || 11/27/2009 6:02 Comments || Top||

#2  so he's got the numbers of President 10% and the Indian FM, and a charged mobile phone inside his secure cell. Almost as if he's not really incarcerated against his will, hmmm?
Posted by: Frank G || 11/27/2009 7:09 Comments || Top||

#3  Interesting Death Row living conditions
Posted by: john frum || 11/27/2009 8:45 Comments || Top||

#4  Not only a cell phone etc., but also President Ten Percent's number, Kayani's number, and the U.S. SecState's number.

I'll have to call B.O. and ask him about this...

No. Wait. I haven't had anybody's head cut off. I don't have B.O.'s number.
Posted by: Fred || 11/27/2009 9:10 Comments || Top||


Iraq
Attack on Christian sites kill seven in Iraq
A spate of attacks in Iraq killed seven people when a church and a convent were targeted on Thursday, with one bomb at a busy market claiming three lives as shoppers stocked up for Eidul Azha. Sources said two home-made bombs exploded in the market in Mussayib, 60 kilometres south of the capital Baghdad, killing three men and wounding 28 people, including two women and two children.
Posted by: Fred || 11/27/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State of Iraq


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Palestinian killed as IAF strikes Gaza rocket launchers
The Israel Air Force bombed a rocket-launching squad in the Gaza Strip Friday morning, killing one person and seriously wounding three others. A military source said the dead gunman belonged to a radical, previously unknown Palestinian armed faction inspired by al-Qaida, calling itself "Jaljalat."

There was no immediate Palestinian confirmation of the fatality. Earlier reports said four people were wounded in the strike, one of them critically and three seriously. The four were initially, mistakenly believed to have been hit by an Israeli shell, rather than rocket.

"Earlier today," the source said, "in a joint Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet security service operation, the Israel Air Force bombed a group of terror operatives on their way to fire rockets from the northern Gaza strip into Israel. Accurate hits including the rocket launcher were identified."

"We see Hamas as responsible for keeping the peace in the south and the IDF will respond to any attempts to disrupt the calm in the south," he added.
Posted by: ryuge || 11/27/2009 10:36 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  the dead gunman belonged to a radical, previously unknown Palestinian armed faction inspired by al-Qaida, calling itself "Jaljalat."

Subsidiaries Start-ups are always risky ventures.
Posted by: Pappy || 11/27/2009 12:02 Comments || Top||

#2  True and their initial public outcry was purdy much a failure.
Posted by: Perry Stanford White || 11/27/2009 14:51 Comments || Top||

#3  Meh, fark it, outrage damnit, outrage
Posted by: Perry Stanford White || 11/27/2009 14:52 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Lebanon gives Hezbollah right to use arms against Israel
Lebanon's new cabinet has agreed on a policy statement that acknowledges Hezbollah's right to use its weapons against Israel, despite disagreement by some members of the ruling majority.

Information Minister Tarek Mitri said late on Wednesday after a cabinet committee set up to draft the statement met for the ninth time. He said the new statement will retain the same clause approved by the previous cabinet concerning the arsenal of Hezbollah, which fought a devastating war with Israel in 2006 and is considered a terrorist organisation by Washington.

The clause states the right of "Lebanon, its government, its people, its army and its resistance" to liberate all Lebanese territory. Hezbollah is commonly referred to as the resistance in Lebanon. Mitri said that reservations concerning the clause by members of the Western-backed majority would be noted in the government programme. Christian members of the majority, including the Phalange Party and Lebanese Forces, argue that Hezbollah's arsenal undermines state authority and runs counter to UN resolutions.

However the Shia party, which has two ministers in the 30-member unity cabinet, has made it clear that its weapons are not open to discussion. The party argues its arms are necessary to protect the country against any future aggression by Israel, which withdrew from southern Lebanon in 2000 after a 22-year occupation.

Lebanon's new cabinet is headed by Prime Minister Saad Hariri, whose US- and Western-backed alliance defeated a Hezbollah-led opposition supported by Syria and Iran in a June vote. Lebanon's government has a history of paralysis: in late 2006, all Shia ministers resigned from cabinet, setting in motion what would become an 18-month stalemate. The crisis climaxed in May 2008 when Hezbollah and its allies staged a spectacular takeover of mainly Sunni Muslim west Beirut in protest against a government crackdown on the party. The clashes left more than 100 people dead and brought the country to the brink of renewed civil war. Hezbollah, the only faction that did not disarm after the 1975-1990 civil war, has participated in government since 2005.
Posted by: Fred || 11/27/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Hezbollah

#1  Thank you Mrs. Rice.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 11/27/2009 3:48 Comments || Top||

#2  all of Lebanon's a legit target now that Hezb's been given state imprimatur
Posted by: Frank G || 11/27/2009 7:10 Comments || Top||

#3  Frank, I would like to see Israel make that declaration. Probably unlikely though.


I would also like to hear the USoA make that declaration. But I figure that's about as likely as my winning the lottery....without buying a ticket. 8^(
Posted by: AlanC || 11/27/2009 10:12 Comments || Top||

#4  "...Christian members of the majority, including the Phalange Party and Lebanese Forces, argue that Hezbollah's arsenal undermines state authority and runs counter to UN resolutions..."

the Hezbollah weapons could be used against Lebanese civilians at any time and everybody knows it
Posted by: lord garth || 11/27/2009 10:57 Comments || Top||

#5  Hey if they like being a backward 3rd world country by all means. I think a stearn warning and a Battle ship parked off the coast would do wonders. But then I am a hardass.
Posted by: Cyber Sarge || 11/27/2009 14:21 Comments || Top||

#6  So I take this to mean that during the next war Israel won't have to bother discriminating between the Hezbo's and Lebanonese right?

I mean assuming the U.N. will even allow Israel to defend itself or its innocent civilians....
Posted by: CrazyFool || 11/27/2009 14:56 Comments || Top||

#7  Sarge, we tried parking the New Jersey off their shore in 1983. As I recall it didn't end so well for us.
Posted by: Steve White || 11/27/2009 16:52 Comments || Top||


ElBaradei: "Dead End" On Iran
Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, says what should have been obvious for a while: the IAEA's effort to rein in Iran's nuclear weapons program is futile:

The International Atomic Energy Agency probe of Iran's nuclear program is at a dead end because Tehran is not cooperating, the chief of the U.N. nuclear watchdog said Thursday in an unusually blunt expression of frustration four days before he leaves office. ...

"There has been no movement on remaining issues of concern which need to be clarified for the agency to verify the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program," ElBaradei told the opening session of the IAEA's 35-nation board of governors. "We have effectively reached a dead end, unless Iran engages fully with us."

"Issues of concern" is the IAEA term for indications that Tehran has experimented with nuclear weapons programs, including missile-delivery systems and tests of explosives that could serve as nuclear-bomb detonators. ...

Iran continues enriching, despite three sets of U.N. Security Council sanctions meant to make it freeze that activity and has built an enriched stockpile that could arm two nuclear warheads.

Relying on international organizations to deal with problems like Iran's mullahs can be worse than useless because it creates the illusion of having a policy. The fact is that we have no Iran policy, in any meaningful sense; nor do our allies. Acknowledging the futility of continued reliance on the IAEA could be the first step toward developing a real policy toward Iran.
Posted by: Uncle Phester || 11/27/2009 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Bought them a year, haven't you Mohamed?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 11/27/2009 3:58 Comments || Top||

#2  And I'll wager he did it gratis.
Posted by: Pappy || 11/27/2009 12:04 Comments || Top||

#3  Rope a dope. Nice work, Mo.
Posted by: lex || 11/27/2009 13:18 Comments || Top||

#4  STRATFOR, the private analysis group, started saying about two months ago tha the Israeli's were monitoring the Iraniam enrichment program and their warhead development very, very carefully. If the ploy to have the 1200+ pounds of fissile material wasn't shipped out of the country to Russia or some other power for reprocessing by the end of the year, STRATFOR believed that the Israeli's wounld act early in 2010. This mope just bought the Iranian time on the world stage bu playing the same trick they always play, hope to somehow avoid the hard, messy, painful things that need doing, through negotiations and sanctions. As usual, the liberals in the west cannot face hard choices and responsibility, and their delays always cost more blood and treasure. War is coming, and coming sooner than many of the western nations are prepared for. Because when it happens, and the Iranians get a very bloody nose, general war between some part of Islam and the Israeli's breaks out. Oh, and all those western nations that think they are on the sidelines, including us, will seek domestic terrorism pop up all over the place. Many more followers of the Religion of Peace (that name is such a fraud) are going to get SJS (sudden jihadi syndrome) tha anyone imagined.
Friends, make sure you have the basics by the end of the holidays, especially .45 acp and 00 buck.
Posted by: NoMoreBS || 11/27/2009 13:29 Comments || Top||

#5  War is coming, and coming sooner than many of the western nations are prepared for.

Never is sooner than many western nations will ever be prepared for, NoMoreBS. Or so it seems to me, pollyanna that I am.
Posted by: trailing wife in Buffalo || 11/27/2009 20:37 Comments || Top||

#6  WMF > IRAN DISINFORMATION?: RUSSIAN EXPERT VLADIMIR EUSEEV SAYS IRAN NEEDS AT LEAST TEN YEARS TO PROTECT ITS NUCLEAR FACILITIES AGZ US, ISRAEL AIR STRIKES WID ADS MISSLES. RUSSIA HAS NO AGREEMENT/CONTRACT WID IRAN FOR ANY RESUPPLY OF S-300 ADS AFTER MISSLES ARE DELIVERED TO IRAN.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 11/27/2009 22:38 Comments || Top||



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Two weeks of WOT
Fri 2009-11-27
  Lebanon gives Hezbollah right to use arms against Israel
Thu 2009-11-26
  Afghan police commander jailed for having 40 tonnes of hashish
Wed 2009-11-25
  Belgian pleads guilty in US jet parts sale to Iran
Tue 2009-11-24
  20 turbans toe-tagged in Hangu
Mon 2009-11-23
  Gunships hit targets in Kurram Agency
Sun 2009-11-22
  Jordanian commandos join war on Houthis
Sat 2009-11-21
  Nasrallah reelected Hezbollah chief for sixth term
Fri 2009-11-20
  Eight bad boyz dronezapped in N.Wazoo
Thu 2009-11-19
  Pak Talibs say they're in tactical retreat
Wed 2009-11-18
  Mullah Fazlullah escapes to Afghanistan, vows dire revenge™
Tue 2009-11-17
  Pirates seize NKor tanker crew
Mon 2009-11-16
  Yemen, Saudi pound Houthi positions, nab sorcerer
Sun 2009-11-15
  Syrian carrying $880,000, Hezbollah secret decoder ring nabbed
Sat 2009-11-14
  Russia kills 20 militants in Chechnya
Fri 2009-11-13
  Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to Be Sent to New York for Trial

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