Afghan President Hamid Karzai is using old friends and new allies to try to bring some of the fiercest Taliban to the negotiating table, although their links to al Qaeda might scuttle any deal.
Pakistan is trying to broker a deal between the Afghan government and the Haqqani group, one of the most violent Taliban factions led by veteran rebel leader Jalaluddin Haqqani, according to Afghan parliamentarians and Pakistani analysts.
Haqqani was a legendary commander in the war against the Soviets who had close ties to the Reagan administration. Now, he and his son Sirajuddin command hundreds -- perhaps thousands -- of fighters blamed for some of the most audacious attacks in Kabul and eastern Afghanistan.
Pressurising: "The president is trying to use old friendships with Jalaluddin Haqqani and his sons to make them participate in the reconciliation process," said Khaled Pashtun, an Afghan lawmaker from the Taliban heartland of southern Kandahar. "Pakistan is also pressurising the government to bring this person (Haqqani) in the government," he said.
Yet Haqqani's ties to al Qaeda run deep. His friendship with Osama bin Laden dates back to the war against the Soviets in the 1980s. Haqqani allowed bin Laden to set up a base on his territory in Khost province of eastern Afghanistan.
Since US President Barack Obama announced the start of a US troops withdrawal in July 2011, Karzai has sought to improve relations with Pakistan and reach out to the insurgents.
As a sign of good faith, he pledged to seek the release of detainees and lobby the United Nations to remove some of the insurgent leaders from a blacklist that froze their bank accounts and prevents them from travelling abroad.
He also signed a reintegration decree this week offering amnesty and economic incentives to Taliban fighters who want to leave the battlefield, if they accept the Afghan constitution and break ties with al Qaeda and other terrorist groups.
The Pakistani military and the Inter-Services Intelligence believe the Haqqani group is an important force to protect Pakistani interests in Afghanistan.
General (r) Talat Masood said Pakistan's military believes that bringing insurgents -- including the Haqqani group -- into the Afghan government is the only way of stabilising the country once America and its allies leave.
But the Institute for the Study of War, a US-based think-tank, describes Haqqani as "irreconcilable", saying negotiations with his network would strengthen al Qaeda, undermine regional stability and threaten US security.
In a study released this week, the institute cited a statement released in April by Sirajuddin, describing cooperation with al Qaeda as "at its highest level".
"Any negotiated settlement with the Haqqanis threatens to undermine the raison d'etre for US involvement in Afghanistan over the past decade," the study said.
Brian Cloughley, South Asia defence analyst for Jane's Sentinel Country Risk Assessments, said it is clear that Pakistan has leverage with Haqqani and other extremist groups.
But he added Haqqani's tight links to al Qaeda "may be just a shade too deep for the Americans to accept".
Posted by: Fred ||
07/05/2010 00:00 ||
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The Lockerbie bomber could survive for 10 years or longer, according to the cancer specialist who said last year he would be dead within three months of his release.
Professor Karol Sikora, who assessed Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi for the Libyan authorities almost a year ago, told The Sunday Times newspaper it was "embarrassing" that he had outlived his three-month prognosis.
Prof. Sikora should be publicly shamed ...
If only the National Health Service would strike him off their rolls. But the British government doesn't seem to cavil at having to choose between corruption and incompetence for some of their medical employees.
The Scottish government provoked outrage from the United States when it released Megrahi from prison in August 2009 on compassionate grounds because he is suffering from terminal cancer.
Megrahi is the only person convicted of the 1988 bombing of a US Pan Am jumbo jet over the Scottish town of Lockerbie, which left 270 people dead.
But the newspaper claimed that Sikora, the dean of medicine at Buckingham University in southern England, was the only expert the Libyan authorities could find who would agree to put the three-month estimate on Megrahi's life. It reported that the advice of two other experts was ignored after they said Megrahi could live for 19 months.
Not unusual for a man with metastatic prostate cancer to live for years. For many men it's a slow-growing tumor.
Sikora said: "There was always a chance he could live for 10 years, 20 years... But it's very unusual."
The professor told The Sunday Times that the Libyan authorities made it clear to him that if he concluded Megrahi would die in a matter of months, it would greatly improve his chances of being released from jail in Scotland.
"It was clear that three months was what they were aiming for. Three months was the critical point," Sikora said. "On the balance of probabilities, I felt I could sort of justify (that)."
He denied he came under any pressure but admitted: "It is embarrassing that he's gone on for so long."
"There was a 50 per cent chance that he would die in three months, but there was also a 50 per cent chance that he would live longer."
Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi's eldest son, Seif al-Islam, said in May that Megrahi was still "very sick" with cancer at an advanced stage.
Posted by: Steve White ||
07/05/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Not unusual for a man with metastatic prostate cancer to live for years. For many men it's a slow-growing tumor.
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/05/2010 11:46 Comments ||
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#3
I hope that they needed to perform a double orchiectomy on him to arrest the spread of the cancer. That's common for prostate cancer, you know.
If they haven't, I'd be willing to do the job.
Posted by: Eric Jablow ||
07/05/2010 12:15 Comments ||
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#4
I don't really understand why he was released in the first place. Perhaps allow friends and relatives to visit knowing he would die but release him?
Perhaps LIbyan medical knowledge is more advanced in cancer research than I was aware. We should not have allowed a leach-gap.
#5
The Pan Am 103 Families need to back to court and sue the UK, Scotland, Libya, and this waste of a carbon footprint for Failure to Die in a Timely Fashion.
#6
Professor Karol Sikora, who assessed Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi for the Libyan authorities almost a year ago, told The Sunday Times newspaper it was "embarrassing" that he had outlived his three-month prognosis.
The professor did miss the mark by a bit. Speaks to the issue of the state of Libyan medical knowledge. But of course it was never really about medicine.
[Bangla Daily Star] A Dhaka court yesterday directed Keraniganj police to submit the probe report by August 2 in a case filed against Jamaat top brass Matiur Rahman Nizami and Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojahid and seven others for killing two freedom fighters during the 1971 Liberation War.
Senior Judicial Magistrate Taiyabul Hasan passed the order as Officer-in-Charge (OC) Mohammad Asaduzzaman of Keraniganj Police Station, also investigation officer (IO) of the case, failed to submit the report by yesterday.
Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami chief Nizami was produced before the court yesterday on schedule.
Nizami Jamaat Secretary General Mojahid and its Nayeb-e Ameer Delwar Hossain Sayedee were arrested on June 29 after a Dhaka court ordered their arrest on charges of hurting religious sentiment of the Muslims.
Later on June 30, Nizami and Mojahid were shown arrested in the case.
On December 17 of 2007, Mozaffar Ahmad Khan, Dhaka district unit Muktijoddha commander, filed the murder case against Nizami, Mojahid and seven others for killing two freedom fighters--Osman Gani and Golam Mostafa alias Tukub Ali--on November 25 in 1971.
Other accused in the case are two assistant secretary generals of Jamaat Mohammad Abdul Quader Mollah and Mohammad Quamruzzaman, Keraniganj upazila unit Amir Haji Nazim Uddin, Islami Chhatra Sangha leader KG Karim Babla, Abul Kashem, Foyzur Rahman Foyaz and Yasin.
The last three were Al-Badr, Razakar and Al-Shams activists during the war.
The plaintiff said when the nation was on the threshold of victory on November 24 in 1971, his nephew Osman Gani and Golam Mostafa went to their houses to meet their parents and relatives.
Next day the Al-Shams and Al-Badr militias, dressed in grey, surrounded their houses and hacked them to death at about 8:30am in the morning.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/05/2010 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] Police yesterday started quizzing Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Motiur Rahman Nizami, remanded for the first time in his political career, on various issues including his party's alleged links with the planned violence to foil war crimes trial, and with militants.
A senior police official, who is on the interrogation team, said they would also verify some information already gleaned from Jamaat Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojahid and Nayeb-e-Ameer Delwar Hossain Sayedee.
Nizami is being interrogated in a case filed with the city's Paltan Police Station for attacking law enforcers and obstructing their work in February. Mojahid and Sayedee have already been interrogated in the case, and are being quizzed in another case filed with the same police station against the trio on February 12 for obstructing the president's motorcade.
Seeking anonymity, the police official said, "They are preparing to show the three Jamaat leaders arrested in two cases filed against JMB chief Saidur Rahman in connection with recovery of explosives from his den in the city in May."
Saidur, now in Narayanganj jail, have already divulged some information regarding links between Jamaat and the banned Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB).
The official said they have already collected call list of Saidur's cell phone, and found that a number of top leaders of Jamaat had contacted him by cell phone.
A police team took Nizami to the office of the detective branch of police from Dhaka Central Jail yesterday afternoon for interrogation.
He is also remanded for three days just as Mojahid and Sayedee in the case filed for obstructing the motorcade of the president.
The case statement said some 1,500 to 1,600 activists of Jamaat and its front organisations, nine of them identified, blockaded the road at Fakirerpool, obstructing the president's scheduled visit to a place. They also attacked police, who tried to disperse them, causing injuries to some law enforcers.
The three Jamaat leaders were arrested on June 29 and shown arrested in eight cases. They were also remanded for 16 days in five of those cases.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/05/2010 00:00 ||
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A group of activists who broke into an arms factory near Brighton last year and caused damage costing around £180,000 ($275,000) were found not guilty last week of causing criminal damage.
It was justified, and if you give them an hour or several, they will explain in detail how it's really the fault of the Bilderbergers and the Jooooooooos, or something equally absurd to the sane mind.
In a lawsuit filed in October, seven British activists claimed they were legally justified to break in and sabotage the factory of EDO MBM Technology near Brighton, on the south coast of England, in January 2009, at the time of Operation Cast Lead.
Believing that the company was violating export license regulations and sending arms components to Israel, the activists, from a group called Smash EDO, said they wanted to "slow down" the manufacture of components that were allegedly being sold to the Jewish state.
See? Jooooooooooooooooooos!!!!111!!!!!!11! And they control the world, too.
The protesters threw computers and file cabinets out of the factory windows and smashed machinery using hammers, claiming they were seeking to prevent "Israeli war crimes in Gaza."
The seven admitted breaking in and causing the damage but were acquitted when the jury found them not guilty of conspiring to cause criminal damage, despite video-taped interviews of the activists that outlined their intention to cause criminal damage and "smash up" the factory.
The activists used the "lawful excuse" defense -- committing an offense to prevent what they say was a more serious crime because EDO was "complicit in war crimes."
No wonder Britain is falling to pieces, with that kind of philosophy made the law of the land.
Judge George Bathurst-Norman told the jury: "You may well think that hell on earth would not be an understatement of what the Gazans suffered in that time."
The judge said that? Britain is clearly doomed.
EDO managing director Paul Hills denied in court that the company supplied components to Israel but said it did make parts for F-16 fighter planes.
Actual facts clearly were immaterial. Wow.
Judge George Bathurst-Norman said that, despite Hill's denials, it was clear that there was enough evidence to the contrary and that the certificates required for arms export licenses were "not worth the paper they are written on," as they can be easily manipulated.
According to The Guardian, the judge highlighted the testimony by Green Party MP and anti-Israel activist Caroline Lucas, who had tried to justify the action by saying, "All democratic paths had been exhausted and, crucially, that their actions were driven by the responsibility to prevent further suffering in Gaza." Trials go so much faster when judges are corrupt.
South Korea's prime minister has offered to resign for failing to get parliamentary approval to scrap the planned relocation of government offices out of Seoul, news reports said Monday.
Prime Minster Chung Un-chan expressed his intention to step down during a private meeting with President Lee Myung-bak on Saturday, the mass-circulation Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported, citing an unidentified government official.
The post of prime minister is largely ceremonial with little decision-making power, but the person holding the position leads the country if the president becomes incapacitated.
Chung had led Lee's efforts to spike the previous government's plan to relocate more than half of 15 government ministries in Seoul and a nearby city to a site, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) to the south, citing possible inefficiency and waste of taxpayer money.
The National Assembly, however, voted down Lee's push last week, forcing him to start work on implementing the original plan that proponents say would help foster balanced regional development and resolve Seoul's worsening traffic and housing problems. And to avoid losing their entire government if the Norks decide to attack.
Security forces fanned out across China's Urumqi city on Monday, the first anniversary of deadly unrest that laid bare deep-seated ethnic tensions in the country's far-western Xinjiang region.
Urumqi, the regional capital, erupted in violence on July 5 last year, as the mainly Muslim Uighur minority vented decades of resentment over Chinese rule of Xinjiang by attacking members of China's dominant Han ethnic group.
In the following days, mobs of angry Han took to the streets looking for revenge in the worst ethnic violence that China had seen in decades. The unrest left nearly 200 dead and 1,700 injured, according to government figures.
Restaurants and shops in the city remained open and busy at the weekend, but the urban bustle belies strong fears on both sides of the ethnic divide of further violence.
Armed and riot police patrolled the city centre — on foot, in vans or on motorcycles — and the number of security forces has gradually increased in the run-up to Monday.
Authorities staged massive anti-riot exercises in recent days and 40,000 security cameras have been installed throughout the city of nearly two million people, according to state media.
The city's mainly Uighur quarter was under particularly high surveillance. Security vehicles lined one of the main squares on the edge of the district, popular with locals for its food stalls.
Uighurs say the July 2009 violence was sparked when police cracked down on peaceful demonstrations staged over a factory brawl the month before in southern China in which two Uighur migrant workers were reportedly killed.
China blamed "separatists" for orchestrating the unrest.
Does the province have oil or mineral wealth or is this a matter of buffer zones, influence into central asia, and pride? I'd always thought the region was dirt poor.
Assuming it is dirt poor, I should think China could create a Special Administrative Zone (like Hong Kong) for their and Tibet to mollify the less violently inclined folks and make the International community happy. I would then refer to Taiwan using the same terminology even though Taiwan is not actively under Chinese control.
Making friends and influencing people wherever they go.
LEADERS of the global Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir have called on Australian Muslims to spurn secular democracy and Western notions of moderate Islam and join the struggle for a transnational Islamic state.
British Hizb ut-Tahrir leader Burhan Hanif told participants at a conference in western Sydney yesterday that democracy is "haram" (forbidden) for Muslims, whose political engagement should be be based purely on Islamic law.
"We must adhere to Islam and Islam alone," Mr Hanif told about 500 participants attending the convention in Lidcombe.
"We should not be conned or succumb to the disingenuous and flawed narrative that the only way to engage politically is through the secular democratic process. It is prohibited and haram."
He said democracy was incompatible with Islam because the Koran insisted Allah was the sole lawmaker, and Muslim political involvement could not be based on "secular and erroneous concepts such as democracy and freedom".
His view was echoed by an Australian HT official, Wassim Dourehi, who told the conference Muslims should not support "any kafir (non-believer) political party", because humans have no right to make laws.
Mr Dourehi also urged Muslims to spurn the concept of moderate Islam promoted by governments in the West, including in "this godforsaken country" of Australia.
"We need to reject this new secular version of Islam," he said. "It is a perverted concoction of Western governments.
"It is a perversion that seeks to wipe away the political aspects of Islam and localise our concerns. We must reject it and challenge the proponents of this aberration of Islam."
The conference, which followed the theme The struggle for Islam in the West' was the first major event held by the Australian branch of HT since a seminar in 2007 which coincided with calls for the group to be banned.
HT is outlawed in much of the Middle East but operates legally in more than 40 countries, campaigning for the establishment of a caliphate or Islamic state.
HT's platform rejects the use of violence in its quest for an Islamic state, but supports the military destruction of Israel.
But the group's presence sparked angry protests outside as members of the Australian Protectionist Party (APP) yelled anti-Islam chants. The APP met in a small park to express their need to "protect" the Australian way of life.
Conflict between the APP and HT amounted to an exchange of words, anti-Islam chants and the occasional drive-by of young Muslim men yelling obscenities from their car at the APP protesters.
One passer-by, a young Muslim man, yelled at the APP group: "You people have absolutely no idea", sparking a fiery exchange of accusations and finger-pointing.
Nick Folkes, the Sydney organiser for the APP, believes that the HT should be banned in Australia and thinks that practising sharia law should be illegal in Australia.
Indeed.
"Sharia law is an archaic legal system that treats woman as second-class citizens," he said.
"We're not asking them to change their skin colour or religion. But if they come here, they must reject sharia law."
Posted by: Fred ||
07/05/2010 00:00 ||
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#3
If they give up infiltration of the Labor Party, I'm all for it.
Posted by: Grunter on Lord Howe Island ||
07/05/2010 20:13 Comments ||
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#4
#1 Strip their right to vote. Posted by: gorb
Only if it's done with a .45 round to the back of the head, gorb. That's the only way to be absolutely sure you succeed.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
07/05/2010 20:19 Comments ||
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#5
Sharia Law should be illegal - yes.
HT should be banned - no.
Banning doesn't make people/things go away or cease to exist. It often has the opposite effect. And it's useful to know who these people are and what they think and do.
Posted by: A ban on banning ||
07/05/2010 20:22 Comments ||
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#6
Banning doesn't make people/things go away or cease to exist. It often has the opposite effect. And it's useful to know who these people are and what they think and do.
Or, track down all those currently members or associated with Hizb-ut-Tahrir and similar groups (cell phones and lap tops and web sites, oh my!), lock them up or send them back where they came from, and then ban HuT, et al. Would you be ok with that, A ban on banning?
Because, really, some things are beyond the pale. Civilization not meant to be a suicide pact, and all that.
France is considering forcing tourists and any others who shun government advice and travel to danger zones to foot the costs to free them if they are kidnapped.
Turkey's foreign minister says his country will cut diplomatic ties with Israel if it does not apologize for the commando raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla that killed eight Turks and a Turkish-American. But on Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will not apologize for the raid.
Posted by: ed ||
07/05/2010 10:41 ||
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Let's do that, and end all the pretence. Then the honourable prime minister of Turkey can end up accidentally declaring war on Israel in the process of his posturing toward his Arab and Iranian audience, at which point his electorate can finally decide whether the ego boost is worth the cost.
Turkey being a secular, moderate and pro-western country is the foundation of Germany's security strategy wrt to Muslims residing in Germany. Mosques catering to Turks in Germany are actually run by the Turkish state, i.e. Erdogan.
If this break happens Germany will be forced to choose between Turkey and Israel (and the US).
Erdogan will force this choice.
Some politicians (mostly center-right) could afford to take Israel's side when Israel fought Arabs and Turkey was an ally of Israel, but this situation would be very different.
This development is the worst nightmare of the German political class.
Vielen Dank, dass Du hat uns das Deutsche Aussicht erklaert, Jaique Brown3988! Understanding that there is more beyond simple antisemitism disguised as anti-Zionism is quite helpful. Also, I will be better prepared when I visit Germany next month after an absence of fifteen years.
YJCMTSU. The VP who wanted to break Iraq into three nations based on religion credits the dumbass who opposed the surge as a Senator with W's victory. Pravda never rewrote history that well...
Vice President Joe Biden said after a three-day trip to Baghdad that the American people will see President Barack Obama's Iraq policy as a success when the "combat mission" ends on schedule Aug. 31. Biden said the administration "will be able to point to it and say, 'We told you what we're going to do, and we did it.'"
"I think America wins," Biden told POLITICO in an end-of-trip interview at the ambassador's residence in the sprawling U.S. Embassy complex. "I sound corny, but I think America gets credit here in the region. And I think everybody gets credit, from George Bush to [President Obama]. at least he credited Bush, after opposing his policy from day one.
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/05/2010 15:19 ||
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The Obama administration is quick to grab credit from others and quick to blame others.
The doorbell rang at Little Pioneers Preschool just before 2 p.m. Wednesday, and a man asked to be let inside.
He had several tattoos on his face, including one under his left eye that reads "FTW," and a large eyeball-looking one on his neck. He carried a brown bag, according to a Pasco County Sheriff's Office report.
School owner Susan Singletary refused to let him in, said sheriff's office spokesman Kevin Doll, and she went into a play room and dialed 911.
But somehow, which wasn't clear today, the man got through the locked door at 6631 Boyette Road. According to the school's website, the doors remain locked for the safety of the children, but parents have a code and may enter at anytime.
There is no indication the man has children who attend the school, Doll said.
While the next few minutes could have gone very wrong, the unwelcomed man would soon be arrested by Pasco deputies without anyone being injured. After getting inside, the intruder went into a play room where Singletary and a teacher stood and he started screaming.
"Don't listen to God. He is not real. Listen to Allah," the man yelled.
He told them not to look at him and he screamed some more, Doll said. "Don't feed those crying babies. Let them die!"
It wasn't clear how many -- if any -- children were nearby. School staff members declined to comment today.
Singletary tried to distract him, Doll said, by asking him what he was carrying in the bag. He took out a multiblade knife which also had brass knuckles attached.
When deputies arrived shortly after, the man was on his knees and appeared to be praying.
"I am the supreme being," he told the deputies. "I wanted to cleanse the babies. I am here through God."
Let's see: disheveled, tattoos, prison record, talking crazy. Yep, I think I know when he converted and why ...
They arrested without incident 22-year-old Ottis Dawayne Ryan, of 30718 Clearview Drive, Wesley Chapel. He was booked in on a misdemeanor charge of carrying a concealed weapon and a felony charge of armed trespassing. Bail is set at $5,500.
#1
After hearing about this fruitcake, and observing him for a few seconds, I imaged the LEO doing two things simultaneously. Saying "Oh-kay", while reaching for his holstered gun. Just to make sure that it is good and ready.
#12
He was arrested 2010/07/03 on a BURGL ARMED charge.
According to Paco's link (which has a picture of this winner), he was arrested on 6/30 (which would have been Wednesday) and charged with two offenses, total bail $5150. Then on 7/30 he was arrested again, this time bail was set at $150K (which is better, but still...). Disposition in all cases was JAPL, which according to teh internet (which is never wrong) is code for where he's locked up.
For or against?
In an unusual sign of accord between the two major political parties, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani announced over the weekend that the government and the opposition would hold a national conference on ways to combat terrorism.
The announcement came days after 42 people were killed and hundreds were wounded when two suicide bombers struck the famed Sufi shrine Data Darbar on Thursday night in Lahore, the capital of Punjab Province.
The attack incited street protests in Lahore on Saturday, and it provoked complaints that law enforcement was not doing enough to protect holy sites from sectarian militant groups.
Nawaz Sharif, the leader of the main opposition party, Pakistan Muslim League-N, deplored the attack at a news conference on Saturday. It is time, he said, for the government to hold a national conference on terrorism and open talks with the Pakistani Taliban, “who are ready to talk and ready to listen.”
Posted by: ed ||
07/05/2010 10:49 ||
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[Dawn] Federal minister for religious affairs Hamid Saeed Kazmi on Sunday said that a majority of ulema do not favour suicide attacks but some of them are reluctant to condemn them unconditionally.
Speaking to media representatives in Multan, Kazmi said some families in southern Punjab send their children to seminaries where they are brainwashed and indoctrinated.
These children are then used for acts like these, Kazmi said.
He further said that suicide bombings are fundamentally suicides and the bombers "will go to hell" for their acts and for trying to spread anarchy in the country.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/05/2010 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] Ulema of different schools of thought adopted on Sunday a joint resolution condemning Thursday night's terrorist attacks on Data Darbar, and calling for immediate arrest of the culprits.
The Ulema said that suicide attacks were against the teachings of Islam and vowed to foil any plot to fan sectarian violence in the country.
The resolution was passed at a meeting of the Ulema with Interior Minister Rehman Malik.
Since the Data Darbar attack hardline religious groups and Ulema have come under severe pressure to take a stand against terrorism and the meeting appeared to be the first step towards building a consensus in the run-up to a proposed national conference to work out an improved strategy to combat and eliminate terrorism.
The Ulema also demanded a ban on display of arms and stern action against extremist organisations. They announced their decision to observe a 'black day' against terrorism. "All religious schools of thought are united against terrorism," the resolution said.
Sunni Rehbar Council's leader Mufti Munib-ur-Rehman who did not attend the Islamabad meeting accused some federal and provincial ministers of supporting terrorism or having links with the leaders of banned organisations. Addressing a press conference in Karachi, he said the government had failed to arrest even a single criminal involved in terrorist activities and attacks on places of worship.
The meeting in Islamabad was attended by Maulana Mohammad Asad Thanvi (Jamia Ashrafia, Sukkur), Maulana Abdul Jaleel Naqvi (Islamabad), Mufti Mohammad Usman (Jamia Darul Khair, Karachi), Maulana Aslam Thanvi (President of Tehrik-i-Ulema-i-Pakistan), Mufti Mohammad Haseeb Qadri (Jamia Naeemia, Lahore), Maulana Hafiz Mohammad Iqbal Rizvi (Nazim-i-Ala of Jamiat Ulama-i-Ahle Sunnat Pakistan), Farhat Hussain Shah (Markazi Nazim, Manhajul Quran Council), Syed Asad Alam Naqvi (Karachi), Maulana Ahmed Hassan Chishti (Golra Sharif), Maulana Ahmed Naeem Shahzad (Eidgah Sharif, Rawalpindi), Mufti Mujeebur Rehman (Jamia Muhammadia, Rawalpindi), Maulana Naeem Raza Jafri and Aneesul Hassan (Jamia Madinatul Ilm), Allama Akhtar Abbas (Imambargah, G-6 Islamabad), Syed Izhar Bukhari, Maulana Abu Bakar Sadiq (Khateeb Markez Ahl-Hadith, G-6 Islamabad), Nazir Farooqi and Zahoor Alwi.
At a news briefing after the meeting, Ulema read out resolutions of their respective organisations and reiterated the consensus fatwa issued earlier by 43 Ulema. It declared: "Suicide attacks are against the spirit of Islam and humanity. Whosoever kills a Muslim has nothing to do with Islam."
The interior minister said the bombing at Data Darbar was an attack on Islam and the government and Ulema had vowed to foil the designs of anti-Islam elements. The meeting decided to hold a 'peace walk' and asked the Ulema to submit proposals for promotion of religious harmony.
"A new legislation is being introduced against banned outfits and the federal government is closely working with the provinces to combat terrorism," Malik said.
He said that a 'third force' was attempting to trigger sectarian violence and carry out acts of terrorism. He warned the 'enemies' that the nation had complete consensus on eradicating terrorism and said the Ulema had already issued a 'joint fatwa' against suicide attacks. "The nation is united against attempts to fan sectarian violence and hatred," he added.
The minister said PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif had hinted at some 'control strategy' to eliminate terrorism and "I welcome it".
"We will work with the Punjab government to do away with hatred and extremism and continue to fight till restoration of peace. President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, (Punjab Chief Minister) Shahbaz Sharif and Nawaz Sharif all are on one page for elimination of terrorism. The president and the prime minister are ready to meet Mr Shahbaz on the issue of terrorism," he added.
Answering a question about the Punjab chief minister's recent statement accusing him of spreading religious hatred and not sharing intelligence, Malik said: "I will resign if it is proved that I stopped intelligence sharing." He challenged the Punjab CM to resign if it was proved wrong.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/05/2010 00:00 ||
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No lawyer was present in the Anti Terrorist Court (ATC) to attend proceedings of Mumbai attack case due to a strike call given by Punjab Bar Council to condemn Data Darbar attacks, upon which Judge Akram Awan postponed the hearing till July 10.
Law enforcement agencies had arrested seven accused including an important commander of defunct Jihadi outfit Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, Abdul Wajid allies Abul Qama and Mazhar Iqbal allies Zarar Shah, allegedly involved in the case. All the accused were charged with abetting Ajmal Kasab.
In previous proceedings, the court instructed Ministry of Interior to write a letter to Indian authorities for handing over both Kasab and Ansari to Pakistan to proceed further the case, but the reply from India had not been received so far.
The Federation has appointed Akhtar Awan as new public prosecutor of the case.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/05/2010 00:00 ||
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Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, the former Punjab chief minister and the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) central leader, on Saturday blamed the Punjab government for the security lapse that led to the loss of 42 lives in the Data Darbar attack. Talking to reporters after visiting the Mayo Hospital to inquire about the health of those injured in the suicide bombings, Elahi said the tragic event was a result of a security lapse. Launching a scathing attack at the Punjab government, he said God would punish the men who had failed to protect the lives of the devotees, just like the suicide bombers who had killed the innocent followers of Hazrat Ali Hajvery (RA) Data Gunj Bakhsh. He said that "the people are already cursing the senseless rulers, now the outcome of this tragic event will further fuel the fire, which will eventually result into the ouster of the government". Continuing his attack on the government, he said that instead of taking concrete steps to counter terrorism and save innocent lives, all the government had done was "transfer a few officials and reshuffling others here and there".
Posted by: Fred ||
07/05/2010 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani said on Saturday that the government will take action against militants in southern Punjab only if the Interior Ministry, intelligence agencies or the Punjab government provide solid and credible information about the existence of terrorist outfits in the area.
The prime minister said this while talking to the journalists after he visited the Ganga Ram Hospital to inquire after the health of people who had been injured in Thursday's suicide attacks in Data Darbar.
Earlier, the PM also visited the shrine of Data Gunj Bakhsh and laid floral wreaths on the grave of the saint and offered fateha.
Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Punjab Finance Minister Tanveer Ashraf Kaira, Lahore Commissioner Khusro Pervez and Pakistan People's Party (PPP) leaders from Punjab also accompanied the prime minister.
Speaking on the occasion, PM Gilani said that the government had conducted successful operations in Swat and the Malakand Division. "We will also take action against terrorists now wherever they (terrorists) challenge the writ of the government," he said, adding that terrorists had lost their hold in Waziristan and were now targeting civilians in the cities to divert attention.
Gilani stressed that terrorism could only be dealt with if federal and provincial governments worked together, side by side. He said he had summoned a joint meeting of all the security and law enforcement agencies next week to formulate a comprehensive strategy to deal with terrorism.
Responding to a question about allegations levelled by PPP leaders against the Punjab government, the PM said terrorism was the biggest problem facing the country and no political party could combat terrorism and extremism on its own.
The PM said political parties should avoid indulging in a "blame game".
Posted by: Fred ||
07/05/2010 00:00 ||
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Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif has said his party is ready to convene a national conference to address the root causes of terrorism and to chalk out a national policy to deal with the threat.
Addressing a press conference at his residence in Raiwind on Saturday, Nawaz said that if the government called such a conference, the PML-N would ensure its active participation in the event.
Nawaz urged the government not to "look towards" the US to decide the country's fate and instead take the initiative in negotiating with the Taliban. "They (the US) are holding talks with the Taliban, so Islamabad should adopt the same policy at local level," he said. He pointed out that terrorism was directly linked to the government's foreign policy. He also called for the implementation of the suggestions of the National Assembly's committee on national security.
The PML-N leader claimed that the Interior Ministry and the intelligence agencies working under its control were not cooperating and sharing information with the Punjab government. "No evidence regarding the presence of terrorists in southern Punjab has been found," he said.
Condemning Thursday's terror attacks on Data Darbar in Lahore, the PML-N chief expressed his sympathies with families of all those who had lost their loved ones in the attack. He stated that he had suggested to Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif that a new counter-terrorism force should be formed to combat terrorists in the province.
Nawaz warned that terrorism was expanding at an alarming rate. "No place in the country is safe these days and the terrorists can strike anywhere including mosques, hospitals, hotels, restaurants and even the army headquarters," he said.
However, Nawaz said he was not facing any threat from extremists and terrorists.
"Unfortunately, in the prevailing situation, a few political parties and ministers are indulging in point scoring," he said, adding that it was being suggested that the Punjab government was somehow responsible for the terrorist attacks.
He said that statements of some federal ministers were "extremely unpleasant and awkward" and they could damage the integrity of the country.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/05/2010 00:00 ||
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Following the suicide attacks on Data Darbar, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has once again stressed that military action against terrorists in Punjab is vital. KP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain told reporters on Saturday that terrorists in Punjab were carrying out attacks against various sects.
"Terrorists are neither Pathan nor Punjabi. However, terrorist centers and their mentors are present in Punjab," the KP information minister said. Hussain urged the Punjab government to be more focused on terrorism, as terrorists were now trying to trigger sectarian violence by starting activities in the name of Brelvi and Deobandi sects. "The KP government has time and again informed the Punjab government regarding the danger of terrorism," he said. "The Punjab chief minister is willing to curb terrorism in the province," Mian Iftikhar said, adding that terrorism should be eliminated through joint efforts. The KP government has time and again demanded a decisive military action against terrorists, which it believes, are hiding in Punjab.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/05/2010 00:00 ||
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The Taliban will soon launch their own 'media regulatory authority' to monitor TV channels, radio stations and newspapers to "stop propaganda" against Islam, a Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman said on Saturday. "We are working on a Taliban media regulatory authority, which should be operational in the next few days. It's main objective is to monitor the media closely, so that no false statement regarding Islam and its ideologies is made, nor any disputed matter is discussed in the media," Muhammad Omar, a self-proclaimed TTP spokesman said in a statement emailed to media offices. He said, "If anyone tries to carry out such practices, he or she will be fined first. If he or she does not refrain from such practices, then the person will be executed under a suo motu action." More details would be given soon, Omar added.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/05/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
So they're on the same sheet of music as the White House, then?
The Punjab government was informed of possible terrorism threat to mosques and shrines in the province, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said, a private TV channel reported on Saturday. The interior minister rejected the comments made by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif, that the federal intelligence agencies were not sharing intelligence reports with the Punjab administration. Talking to journalists in Islamabad, Malik said he would resign if it was proven that he has "stopped sharing intelligence with the Punjab government," and challenged the Punjab chief minister to resign if proven right. He added that he was ready to face any inquiry and would be pleased, should the PML-N wish to send their people for the inquiry. Malik said it could be possible that Nawaz was not properly informed, adding that Shahbaz Sharif should not distract from the issue.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/05/2010 00:00 ||
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The Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) on Saturday branded the attackers who blew themselves up at the shrine of Sufi saint Data Gunj Bakhsh in Lahore, killing 43, as "enemies of Islam".
OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu "strongly condemned the horrendous suicide attacks", the pan-Islamic group said in a statement.
"Those who committed such deplorable terrorist acts are enemies of Islam and humanity and should be brought to justice," Ihsanoglu said.
First you'll have to gather the scraps of themselves they left behind. And surely this condemnation doesn't extend to the holy men who piously encouraged such barbarism, what with them being so peaceful and all.
Two suicide bombers blew themselves up among crowds of devotees at the Sufi shrine, leaving 43 dead and scores more injured on Thursday. No one has yet taken responsibility for the attack.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/05/2010 00:00 ||
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MQM Quaid Altaf Hussain has urged the government to eliminate hideouts of terrorists and sectarian seminaries. "People should boycott those religious leaders who cover up terrorism," he appealed, addressing public telephonically. He condemned Data Darbar attacks and said that terrorist attacks are a reaction to US policy and drone attacks so 'the US is equally partner in subversive activity at Data Darbar.' "I get used to tell the nation about malicious intentions of terrorists but my voice was not heard. Every time, some political elements began propaganda against me: Altaf Hussain is spreading panic among people etc. I repeatedly demanded that security of three holy shrines including Data Darbar, Bibi Pak Daman and Bari Imam should be beefed up," he said. He said Hazrat Ali Hajveri was such a religious personality that his devotees hail from all over the world. "An attack on his shrine is a great tragedy not only for Pakistan but for the entire Islamic world. The perpetrators cannot escape the wrath of Allah," he said. "I beg people in the name of holy saints of Islam that they should make arrangements for their security at their own because government has completely failed to protect them," Altaf said, adding that if the government could not act upon policies against terrorism it should better quit. He said the youth of Pakistan should be awakened now or else the existence of the country would be jeopardized. Altaf said that he would continue to make struggle against terrorism until his last breath. He asked the people not to get provoked on the matter as they should refrain from damaging public property.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/05/2010 00:00 ||
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[Geo News] Former Amir Jamat-e-Islami Qasi Hussain Ahmed Sunday said RAW and MOSAD are trying to fuel sectarian hatred by attaching shrines.
Addressing a seminar on Kashmir issue here at Mansoora, Qazi Hussain ruled out establishment of peace in the country unless necessary changes are made to the foreign policy.
He said police in a bid to shirk its responsibility terms the acts of terrorism as suicide attacks or put it's the blame on religious organizations.
Qazi said negotiations with India must not be initiated unless and until India recognizes Kashmir as a disputed territory.
Chairman People's Freedom League Occupied Kashmir, Farooq Rehmani on the occasion said Kashmiri's will never make any compromise with Indians.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/05/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Rantburg needs an India-Pakistan/English dictionary. MOSAD? Not MOSSAD?
Posted by: Eric Jablow ||
07/05/2010 12:18 Comments ||
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Defense Minister Ehud Barak said during a meeting of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that Israel has no interest in creating a confrontation with Turkey, but that it would be incorrect "to close our eyes to the depth and nature of the trends we see there."
Barak warned that additional flotillas may likely be sent, such as the one organized in Lebanon. He also said that the flotilla slated to leave from Iran may not be entirely out of the picture.
#1
Israel needs an "active cultivation program". Its intelligence services should build communities of "friends of Israel" in those countries that matter. These are foreigners who no matter what, if relations are friendly or hostile, will be pro-Israel.
For instance, Israel should have long ago cultivated military to military ties with Turkey, as well as having friends in every major Turkish faction. And when such people give warnings, they should be taken seriously early on and countered.
Erdogan's faction should have been neutralized a long time ago, at least as far as its anti-Israel stance.
#2
Israel has had decent relations with the Turkish military, who buy their technology. It's the Islamicist government led by Erdogan who are hamstringing both the military and relations with Israel.
#3
It's the Turkish people who've gone islamist and the Turkish military which recognizes that it cannot buck that tide for now. Especially when the Americans have abandoned the Israelis.
The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, will come under intense pressure today to extend his 10-month freeze on the building of settlements in the West Bank when he meets the US President, Barack Obama, in Washington. Despite the freeze, building has continued in the past seven months thanks to loopholes and violations. Preparations are under way for a construction boom this northern autumn.
Mr Obama is expected to press hard for a continuation of the freeze despite warnings from the Israeli right that it would vigorously oppose such a move. Large settlement expansion would imperil the fragile ''proximity'' talks between Israel and the Palestinians. White House aides made it clear last week that Mr Obama wanted to ''capitalise on the momentum'' provided by the freeze.
The main goal of the White House meeting would be to move towards direct peace talks with the Palestinians, Mr Netanyahu said on Sunday. ''Whoever wants peace must hold direct talks for peace,'' he said, but he has given little indication what concessions he is prepared to make and said on Friday that his government's position on settlements had not changed.
The 10-month freeze, which excludes building in East Jerusalem, is due to end on September 25, about the same time as the period set for proximity talks. The Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, set a building freeze as a precondition for entering talks.
The Israeli Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, has urged Mr Netanyahu to resist pressure to extend the freeze, saying concessions to Palestinians have not brought results. At least two other members of Mr Netanyahu's inner cabinet of seven have made their position clear. ''We will renew building when the moratorium ends,'' Moshe Ya'alon said. ''There is no chance that Mr Netanyahu will extend the freeze,'' Benny Begin said.
Leaders of the settlers warned last week that they would launch an ''unprecedented struggle'' if they were not permitted to resume building. Settlers' organisations have advertised in the Israeli press, accusing Mr Netanyahu of ''trampling on'' the settlements.
Settlement Watch, an Israeli organisation, said preparations were being made for a massive construction boom this northern autumn on the assumption the freeze will be lifted. ''There are approved plans for between 40,000 and 50,000 housing units waiting,'' the organisation's director, Hagit Ofran, said. ''The only thing they need is for the mayor [of each settlement] to sign the permit. On 26 September, those mayors will have a big pile of permits on their desks.''
#1
"I hear ya wanna destroy those Iranian nuclear bomb factories... Off-topic, nice little country ya got there -- be a shame if your new houses were destroyed by Iranian nukes, donchathink?"
#2
Obama is meddling in the sovereign affairs of Israel. I wish he would be as concerned about the provocations by Hamas, Hezbollah, Syria and Iran. But then again his middle name is "Hussein."
[Al Arabiya Latest] Israel's cabinet on Sunday backed a plan to grant broader powers to the committee investigating a deadly raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, an official statement said.
"The government has unanimously decided to extend the powers of the Tirkel Commission," it said. "The commission of inquiry will be joined by two experts and will hear witnesses speaking under oath."
Israel set up the Tirkel Commission in the wake of growing global pressure to look into its botched operation of May 31 in which Israeli commandos killed nine Turkish activists while intercepting a fleet carrying aid to Gaza.
Last week, the committee's chairman, Yaakov Tirkel, threatened to resign unless his panel was given wider powers. The retired judge had asked for two assistants to work with the three-man panel, whose deliberations are being monitored by two foreign observers.
According to the statement, two experts would be added to the panel, and it would also be able to hear witness testimony under oath.
But Tirkel's other requests -- which reportedly included a request that the panel be upgraded and transformed into a government commission of inquiry with the power to recommend sanctions against political and military leaders -- were not mentioned.
Last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he saw no reason not to agree to Tirkel's demands, but he made clear that the extended mandate would not allow the committee to hear any direct testimony from troops involved in the raid.
Tirkel's inquiry is being conducted in tandem with another probe by the military, known as the Eiland Committee, which is due to complete its work by July 11.
Israel says its commandos used force after they were attacked with sticks and stabbed as soon as they landed on the deck of the Mavi Marmara Turkish passenger ferry. But those on board the ship insist the troops opened fire as soon as they landed.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/05/2010 00:00 ||
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#2
I wouldn't expect any action against Iran for another couple of years (seriously). Posted by: crosspatch 2010-07-05 13:15
Two years? Well, of course, that timetable would allow for a new president who is more understanding, sympathetic, and supportive of our good ally, Israeli...Unless Iran is able to fast-track their way to a nuclear weapon more quickly. Then things might happen more quickly.
Moon addresses many of the tactical issues necessary for a successful strike: intelligence, stealth, blinding of radar and detection systems, deception, logistics, and re-fueling. The Iranian facilities are "hardened." I wonder if Israel has the means to deliver bunker buster bombs that can penetrate and destroy these facilities?
#3
I believe it is more likely that change will come to Iran from within rather than from outside. I would carefully watch events in Lebanon over the next 6 to 12 months.
Note that Najaf, Iraq is traditionally the center of Shiite theology and that with every passing year, Najaf will likely gain more and more influence. Qom, Iran has certainly lost influence over the people of Iran and this loss of influence may spread throughout the Shiite population globally as the clerics of Qom are increasingly seen as corrupt thugs bent on gaining and maintaining power and wealth and using the Islamic religion only as a mechanism to that end. The people of Iran are becoming skeptical of the legitimacy of the mullahs and are growing more cynical of the "Islamic Revolution".
#5
We talk talk talk about the hardened target Iran has. And some worry that they will be able to withstand our's or Israel's attacks. The hardened sites can be dealt with like any hardened site. You can envelope it, bypass it, ya know, 10 level tactics and I vote to bypass them. Killing the people that go to and from the sites are another story. The 26 divisions Iran has are sitting out in the open, their communications are sitting out in the open, their infrastructure is weak, their logistical line of communications to the military is weak, the lines to support the civilians is even weaker. We don't need to hit the bunkers. Hit them in their soft spots, their comms, their, oil, their military bases, their scientists.
Leave the Cities alone. You destroy the logistics that feeds the cities and you will have mass starvation in short order and we will have to support another population.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
07/05/2010 18:51 Comments ||
Top||
#6
crosspatch, good point re Najaf.
Otherwise,
No refineries = No petrol = No Iranian mini-empire*
A top Iranian Air Force commander says the Army plans to equip all border bases with domestic unmanned areal vehicles (UAVs) within the next few months.
"These drones are to carry only reconnaissance missions for the time being," Deputy Operations Commander Majid Pirhadi told Fars News Agency on Sunday.
He said that the Army would prioritize deployment to bases on its southern and western borders. Pirhadi went on to add that the Air Force was also set to procure target and decoy, combat, and research and development drones in the near future.
Noting that the Iranian armed forces have stepped up efforts to enhance the design and manufacturing of homemade drones, Pirhadi said the army was in the last stages of developing long-range drones. The drones will help bolster the army's offensive and defensive capabilities, the commander stressed.
In April, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) announced that Iran's 'stealth' drone, Pehpad, was scheduled to become operational in the second half of the current year. Pehpad is a radar-evading unmanned aerial vehicle capable of bombing and conducting reconnaissance missions.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/05/2010 00:00 ||
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Moscow stands to lose billions of dollars in arms and aerospace deals with Iran if the Kremlin sticks to its guns and refuses to deliver the S-300 air-defense missiles to the country, the Nezavisimaya Gazeta daily reports.
Iran will just turn to China for its weapons systems, thus depriving Moscow of a major source of revenue, the newspaper further said.
Russia announced it would freeze delivery of five mobile S-300OPMU batteries to Iran after the United Nations Security Council imposed sanctions on Tehran on June 9 over its refusal to abandon its nuclear program.
These included harsher financial controls and an expanded arms embargo.
This incensed Tehran, which had been complaining for months that Moscow was dragging its feet on delivering the truck-mounted S-300s under a 2007 contract.
Russia cited 'technical difficulties', but it was under intense pressure from the United States, as well as Israel, not to supply the missiles.
Tehran wants the system for air defense purposes. The S-300 can engage multiple targets, missiles and aircraft at ranges of more than 100 miles at low and high altitudes.
Iran's Parliament speaker, Ali Larijani, said last week during a visit to the Syrian capital of Damascus that the S-300 contract was concluded before the Security Council passed Resolution 1929.
"It's an old contract," he said, "Therefore it has nothing to do with the resolution. Moreover, it's a defensive weapon."
Nezavisimaya Gazeta reported that Russia's immediate financial losses over the S-300 will amount to $800 million plus penalties for breach of contract estimated at $400 million.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/05/2010 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
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.
France is considering forcing tourists and any others who shun government advice and travel to danger zones to foot the costs to free them if they are kidnapped.
The doorbell rang at Little Pioneers Preschool just before 2 p.m. Wednesday, and a man asked to be let inside.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak said during a meeting of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that Israel has no interest in creating a confrontation with Turkey, but that it would be incorrect "to close our eyes to the depth and nature of the trends we see there."
Israeli defense minister, PA leader vow to keep communication lines open.
The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, will come under intense pressure today to extend his 10-month freeze on the building of settlements in the West Bank when he meets the US President, Barack Obama, in Washington. Despite the freeze, building has continued in the past seven months thanks to loopholes and violations. Preparations are under way for a construction boom this northern autumn.
