[Al Arabiya] Kabul's angry reaction to the first joint U.S.-Russia drugs raid in Afghanistan was "not very understandable," a source in Russia's federal anti-narcotics agency told state news agencies Sunday. I'm not baffled. Are you baffled?
"The Afghan authorities were informed of the operation, units from the country took part in the operation and therefore it is not very understandable why there has been such a reaction," the source told the ITAR-TASS news agency.
The source in the Federal Service for the Control of Narcotics spoke after Afghanistan's Caped PresidentHamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai reacted furiously to the first joint U.S.-Russian drugs raid, calling it unsanctioned and a violation of Afghan illusory sovereignty.
The raid on drug labs producing heroin and morphine took place late Thursday in the eastern province of Nangarhar.
Earlier Sunday, a senior source in the delegation of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who was on an official visit to Vietnam, called Karzai's reaction "incomprehensible."
The representative in Kabul of the Russian anti-drugs service, Alexey Milovanov, told AFP on Saturday that the operation was conducted by the Afghan ministry of interior.
Russians "simply acted as advisers, according to an agreement between our two countries permitting the presence of Russian advisers during a drug raid," he said.
Russia frequently criticises what it describes as the inadequate anti-drug policies of United States and NATO forces in Afghanistan, which it says lead to an increased flow of drugs into Russia through Central Asia.
Afghanistan produces about 90 percent of the world's opium.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/02/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under: Narcos
#1
I'm not baffled. Are you baffled?
Nope. Not me. And the Russians are less naive about these things than your average American. I'm guessing it was a rhetorical baffle.
(Itar-Tass) - Afghanistan's Caped PresidentHamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai is fully satisfied with the information on a joint Russian-American anti-drug operation, carried out on October 28 five kilometres away from the Afghan-Pak border, the head of the Russian Federal Drug Control Service, Viktor Ivanov, told news hounds on Monday.
According to Ivanov, initially Karzai was displeased because he had not been fully informed of the future operation, in which the Afghan Interior Ministry also participated.
"At the present moment, the Interior Ministry has made a written report to him on the operation. He is fully satisfied with the information, and has no claims," Ivanov said.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/02/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
Yemen, under pressure to crack down on militants operating there after a foiled bomb plot involving US-bound parcels, began the trial in absentia on Tuesday of the radical US-born preacher, wanted dead or alive by Washington.
Anwar al-Awlaki, who has been linked to a failed bombing of a US-bound plane in December 2009 that was claimed by Yemen's al Qaeda wing, is thought to be hiding in southern Yemen.
Also on Tuesday, the trial of a Yemeni journalist and al-Qaeda expert was set to continue in Sanaa. Abdulelah Shai is being tried for alleged links to al-Qaeda, including helping to publicise the views of Anwar al-Awlaki.
Awlaqi, who holds both Yemeni and US citizenship, and his relative, Othman al-Awlaqi, were both charged in absentia in a Yemeni court with "incitement to kill foreigners and members of security services."
The charges arose during the trial of Hisham Mohammed Assem, a Yemeni, who was in the court on Tuesday to face charges of killing French energy contractor Jacques Spagnolo near Sanaa last month.
The court action comes as Yemen is in the spotlight after parcel bombs to the United States were traced to the ancestral homeland of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
The US Treasury has blacklisted Awlaki as a "specially designated global terrorist", a move that freezes any assets he may have under US jurisdiction.
Earlier this year, the United States authorised the CIA to capture or kill him. Awlaki has also been linked to an army major who went on a shooting spree that killed 13 people last year at Fort Hood in Texas.
[Al Arabiya] Support is growing in the U.S. military and administration of President Barack B.O. Obama for shifting to the CIA operational control over elite special forces teams secretly in Yemen, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday, as an alleged Saudi bombmaker became a key suspect behind two parcel bombs posted to the U.S. on cargo planes.
Citing unnamed officials, the newspaper said the foiled mail bombing plot by suspected al-Qaeda Islamic fascistiin Yemen has added urgency to an administration review of expanded military options.
Officials said such a shift would allow the United States to strike suspected thug targets unilaterally with greater stealth and speed, the report said.
Allowing U.S. Special Operations Command units to operate under the Central Intelligence Agency would also give the United States greater leeway to strike without the explicit blessing of the Yemeni government, the paper said.
In addition to streamlining the launching of strikes, it would allow the Yemeni government deniability because the CIA operations would be covert, The Journal said.
The White House is already considering adding armed CIA drones to the arsenal against Islamic fascistiin Yemen, the paper said.
Yemeni officials have been reluctant to publicly acknowledge U.S. aid in its counterterrorism campaign, given the high anti-American feelings in the country.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/02/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Arabia
#1
Problem is, I doubt the Farms ability to understand, much less run such operations in this day.
#4
I have a plan for Yemen. Came to me when I was listening to an audio book about the Byzantines.
You see, the Byzantine Emperor (Justinian, I think) asked the Christian King of Ethiopia to send an expedition to Yemen to punish the Jewish King of Yemen for abusing Christians.
I'm not saying rolling back to those days would be ideal, but I gotta think it would be an improvement.
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
11/02/2010 10:15 Comments ||
Top||
#5
TW,
If the suicide bomber incident (where 7 CIA and a Jordanian agent died) is any indication, operations will be much safer if the military conducts them.
In the above case, they took a reports editor and station chief in the middle of "injun country," then let the inter-personal politics in the station get out of control. Almost every rule of operational security was broken in that incident, largely because the people in charge did not have operations experience (or even much training).
Puting today's CIA in charge of operations in Yemen is like puting a bunch of librarians in charge of fighting the Hell's Angels.
/with apologies to librarians
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
11/02/2010 11:53 Comments ||
Top||
Millions of air travellers face sweeping new security tests, including passenger profiling and checks against a secret watchlist, it has emerged.
Searches could be carried out according to race, ethnicity, age and gender a move certain to anger civil rights groups fearing Muslims will be disproportionately targeted.
The examinations will also check for criminal convictions, immigration problems and links to terror suspects.
Passenger profiling has been resisted by previous Home Secretaries because it means far greater numbers of travellers will be stopped, searched and barred from flying.
#3
Searches could be carried out according to race, ethnicity, age and gender...
So, knowing the panty-boy government types, all white, middle-aged and middle class men will be pulled out and searched because they could be "radical" and members of the tea party.
AP article so just the first few paragraphs here. From last week.
TOKYO -- Japan may increase the size of its submarine fleet, officials said, as concerns rise that the expansion of the Chinese navy is tipping the regional balance of power.
The Defense Ministry said a bigger submarine fleet is under consideration, with a firm proposal likely to come as early as December. According to Japanese media reports, the number of submarines would be increased from 16 to 22 over the next four years, a substantial rise that could generate concern from neighboring China.
Though well outnumbered by the Chinese -- who now have about 60 subs -- the Japanese navy's submarine fleet is significantly augmented by U.S. subs deployed throughout the region. Japanese subs are generally believed to be better equipped than many of the Chinese vessels and are hard to detect.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/02/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Good! Subs will be a good investment. Surface ships are easy targets for supersonic cruise missiles.
#2
ION FREEREPUBLIC > DRONES [UCAVS] TO INFLUENCE UK'S F-35C BUY. By the Numbers, MANNED-VS-UNMANNED-TO-BUY.
IMO Artic also read, US-NATO MANNED PLANES WANNA BE "MOTHERSHIPS", US-NATO MISSLES WANNA COVERT INTO MULTI-PURPOSE/FUNCTION, SPY-FLY-N-DIE "TRANSFORMERS" [UCAV flown and launched from another larger Motherly UCAV].
#4
Japan's subs are among the best in the world and their ASW gear is world class as well. What they do not produce in-country, they buy from the US and enhance where they can. Nowadays, the US gets the enhancements back because of technology transfer agreements.
#5
Japan was defeated by submarines, more than any other weapon in WWII. It's no surprise they would recognize their value. Especially against a power that is dependent upon oil imports, as they also were and still are.
#8
CHINESE MILITARY FORUM > RUSSIA, CHINA, + KOREA OPPOSE JAPAN | JAPAN MEETS ITS MATCH IN TERRITORIAL DISPUTES.
ARTIC = NIPPON-VS-SAME on KURILS [Russia], SENKAKUS = DAOYUS [China], + now DOKKDO [Two Koreas].
* SAME > CHINA REJECTS US INVOLVEMENT [diplomatic mediation = 3-Way Talks] IN CHINA-JAPAN ISLAND ROW [Daoyus = Senkakus].
* SAME > MORE TURF WARS FOR JAPAN AFTER RUSSIA"S MEDVEDEV VISITS DISPUTED KURILS ISLANDS.
----------------
* WMF > EAST ASIA MAKES FULL PREPARATIONS FOR WAR: US, JAPAN, SOUTH KOREA, RUSSIA, CHINA, + JAPAN [India, etal.?] CONDUCT MAJOR MILITARY EXERCISES THROUGHOUT WESTPAC + SE ASIA.
* SAME > US SAYS US-JAPAN "MUTUAL DEFENSE" TREATY CLAUSE DOES NOT APPLY TO DISPUTED KURILS
[but does to DAOYUS = SENKAKUS].
* SAME > RUSSIAN NATO ENVOY ROGOZIN: FORMER JAPANESE KURILS NOW BELONG TO RUSSIA BY VIRTUE OF JAPAN'S DEFEAT AND "UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER" TO RUSSIA + ALLIES IN 1945. "UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER" MEANS THE WHOLE OR PART OF ANY SOVEREIGN JAPANESE LANDS, NATION + OUTLYING TERRITORIES, BELONG TO THE VICTORS AND CAN BE CLAIMED BY SAME AS INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED "SPOILS OF WAR". JAPAN'S CLAIMS OF FORMER KURILS ISLANDS IS A "NON-ISSUE".
Eight sentences of the two-page article, in accordance with current Fair Use rules.
After four years in prison for violently resisting arrest, with eleven more to go on his sentence, Dutch terrorist Jason (Jamal) Walters, aka Abu Mujahied Amriki, said in an open letter that he has renounced Islamic radicalism.
"The image that the world only exists of believers and infidels, in which the latter are motivated only to destroy the former, is a childish and coarse simplification of reality," Walters said.
-- Jason Walters
"The ideals that I once honored have been lost and I have come to realize that they are morally bankrupt," Walters said in what he called a "review document" written from the maximum-security prison in Vught. It was published recently in the Dutch daily De Volkskrant.
Walters is a leading member of the jihadist Hofstadgroep, made up of Islamists primarily of Moroccan origin. The group was led by Mohammed Bouyeri, who is serving a life sentence for killing controversial Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh in 2004.
In 2004 Walters resisted arrest for plotting to kill Geert Wilders and Ayaan Hirsi Ali, causing a 14-hour siege during which he threw a grenade at police, injuring four policemen.
"It's better to burn out than it is to rust" could be the summary of Mr. Walters' brief rise and fall as a follower of the hard jihad of the sword. The son of an African-American soldier father and a Dutch mother, Walters and his younger brother followed their father into Islam as teenagers, then quickly found their way to jihad. Before he was twenty our boy had made his way to Pakistan to train with jihadi groups, and a year later he was arrested after that violent siege mentioned above. He was convicted, although the Dutch legal system is revisiting the concept of a terror group. Having had four years to reflect in prison, he's realized that violent jihad corrupts by harming innocent Muslims and turning them against Islamic rule, so he's given it up. As the article points out, he doesn't regret the goal of the Caliphate, just as others who have come to abjure violent jihad say that Al Qaeda, etc. erred when they brought destruction upon the Ummah by attacking an overwhelming opponent.
Nb: this comment is based on a number of articles read at Rantburg and elsewhere.
[Iran Press TV] The outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has denied responsibility Nope. Wudn't us.
for a kaboom in Turkey's largest city, Istanbul, which injured 32 people.
The group said on Monday that it was not involved in the attack because of the unilateral truce it declared in August. It also announced the extension of the truce until Turkey's next general elections expected to be held in June.
Meanwhile, ...back at the ranch... the Turkish interior minister said earlier more time was needed to make a definite conclusion about the parties behind the kaboom in Istanbul.
"We have information. But we will make a statement once we are sure and after various dimensions have been evaluated," Besir Atalay said on Monday. "I can say no more!"
Earlier on Sunday, a blast hit a police patrol at Taksim Square, wounding 17 civilians and 15 coppers. No one was in life-threatening condition.
The Turkish minister went on to say that no one had been nabbed in connection with the incident so far.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the Sunday attack. What'd you expect him to do? Say 'nice work'?
"I want to reiterate once again that we will never allow those who aimed at disturbing Turkey's tranquility, stability and security. Such attacks will not prevent us from fulfilling our targets of unity and development," Erdogan said.
In June, a kaboom rocked a bus carrying military personnel in Istanbul, killing several people and wounding dozens of others.
The PKK grabbed credit for the June attack against the Turkish military.
Begin boilerplate...
The PKK, listed as a terrorist group by Turkey and much of the international community, took up arms against the central government in 1984, sparking a conflict that has claimed some 45,000 lives.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/02/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
Chesser is the young man from Virginia who posted online threats to the creators of South Park over an episode that featured Mohammed in a bear costume. Chesser said that they would "probably end up" like Theo Van Gogh, along with links to help people identify where they lived. He also posted speeches by Anwar al-Awlaki justifying the killing of those who insult Mohammed. He now faces up to 30 years in prison. Ha ha.
The end of another very bright and over-enthusiastic young man prone to fads. One wonders what he'll write about violent jihad after a few years...
[Geo TV] Senators on Monday expressed great displeasure over the issue of law and order situation in the country and urged the government to take pro-active measures to improve the situation.
Starting discussion on the motion to discuss law and order situation in the country, Haji Adeel said the situation in most parts of the country is deteriorating particularly the situation in Bloody Karachi needs immediate attention of the government.
"Previous governments announced to start operation in Bloody Karachi several times but nothing was done practically to fulfill their promises to maintain peace in the economic hub of the country," he said.
He was of the view that there are many kinds of mafias active in Bloody Karachi who are taking benefit from the deteriorating situation in the city.
Haji Adeel urged government to depute military in the city as the situation is not in control of the provincial government.
Abdul Malik Baloch said that he fully endorses the point of view of Haji Adeel as his points are based on reality.
He said the cases of kidnapping for ransom are highest in Balochistan and it seems that there is no writ of the government there.
He was of the view that Balochistan is in the hands of warlords who are taking benefit from the situation.
Babar Khan Ghauri, Minister of State for Ports and Shipping taking part in the discussion said some elements were trying to cash Bloody Karachi situation which should not be done as it is part of the country.
He said that MQM would favor every move of de-weaponizing Bloody Karachi but added that no one comes forward to take this step.
Ghauri urged to solve basic issues to overcome big problems as minute issues turn into calamities.
Afrasiyab Khattak taking part in the discussion said that mafias targeted each and every person in Bloody Karachi beyond any party affiliation, cast or creed.
He said that Pakhtoons are bravely fighting against beturbanned goons in Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa and other parts of the country, while they are being targeted in Bloody Karachi.
He was of the view that ANP leaders visited Bloody Karachi several times for talks as political issues must be solved through dialogue and reconciliation.
"We all must accept the reality that Bloody Karachi is for all and no one can restrain anyone from entering the city," he maintained.
Prof Ibrahim said the country is passing through a critical juncture as the coalition partners are not on the same page on important issues.
He said that there is dire need to sort out solution to the crisis in Bloody Karachi as the situation in the economic hub of the country has reached its climax.
Earlier, Prof Khursheed and Haji Muhammad Adeel moved a motion to discuss law and order situation in the country which was accepted by the House.
Later, the House was adjourned to meet again on Tuesday at 10.30 am.
Also, senators belonging to Pakistain Mohammedan League (PKM-Q) staged a token walk out from the House over the issue of price hike in the country.
Leader of the Opposition in Senate, Waseem Sajjad criticized the performance of the government in overcoming price hike and law and order situation.
The opposition in protest staged a token walk out and boycotted the proceedings of the House.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/02/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[5 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#1
I believe the Pakistani military will act soon to save the country. Bet money on it.
Mr 10% is an ineffective ruler in these dire times.
The Paki people are caught in the middle.
#2
Dinah, you forgot the scare quotes on "save". Military rule is just as bad for Pakistan as civilian rule -- they're just slightly more efficient in the wrong direction.
[Arab News] The apartments in the upscale Colaba neighborhood of Mumbai were for the noblest of causes: giving shelter to maimed Indian war veterans and the widows of those slain in battle.
But the Adarsh Housing Society in Mumbai appears to have been a huge scam, with nearly every one of the valuable units being sold for a song to a clutch of top politicians, their kin and retired generals in a scandal that has rocked India's ruling Congress Party.
The scandal, first reported last week in The Times of India newspaper, is considered so toxic that Congress Party chief Sonia Gandhi appointed India's defense minister and finance minister to investigate.
Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, the top elected official in Maharashtra state where Mumbai is located, offered to resign over the weekend after media reports revealed that his mother-in-law and other relatives had apartments in the building.
Accept his offer, dear Sonia -- there must be consequences!
The scandal comes at a sensitive time for the Congress Party. Chavan is slated to play host to Barack B.O. Obama when the US president visits Mumbai this weekend. Party leaders have not made a decision on whether to accept Chavan's resignation and quickly replace him.
The land in the upscale neighborhood in southern Mumbai had been earmarked for a six-story building of apartments for disabled veterans, war widows and heroes of the 1999 Kargil conflict between India and Pakistain that raged for three months across the disputed Kashmire region.
But the original blueprints for a modest building were cast aside and in its place arose a 31-story luxury high-rise, even though zoning laws and environmental regulations appear to bar tall buildings along the coast.
Of the 103 apartments in the building, only three went to families connected to the Kargil conflict, according to the Asian Age newspaper.
The remainder went to two retired Indian army chiefs, a former naval chief, relatives of federal ministers and scores of top politicians and bureaucrats in Maharashtra.
The apartments, finished in 2008 and bought for as little as 6 million rupees ($130,000), are now worth about 80 million rupees ($1.8 million) in Mumbai's highly inflated real estate market, according to media reports.
India's opposition parties have demanded the government come clean on who authorized the changes in the building plans and who allocated the apartments to powerful officials.
The defense ministry has ordered an investigation into the building, said Sitanshu Kar, a defense ministry front man.
Chavan has directed municipal officials to begin proceedings to expel the residents, and the local utility company has threatened to cut off power and electricity to the building.
And some of the recipients have rushed to distance themselves from the building, with the former military commanders offering to give back their apartments.
The allegations come just weeks after the end of the Commonwealth Games, which were marred by accusations of sleaze and corruption.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/02/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
[Arab News] King of the Arabians, Sheikh of the Burning Sands, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah's invitation to Iraq's political parties for reconciliation talks in Riyadh aims to protect the war-torn country's unity and identity, said Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal on Sunday.
"There will be no preconditions for this initiative either from Soddy Arabia or other countries," he told news hounds. "We don't have any reservation on any person heading Iraq's government."
In his appeal on Saturday, King Abdullah said: "I invite his Excellency President Jalal Talabani ... and all parties that took part in the elections and the political process to your second country Soddy Arabia, to Riyadh, after the blessed Haj season (for a meeting)."
King Abdullah said the talks would be held under the auspices of the vaporous Arab League in order to seek solutions for all outstanding problems that stand in the way of forming a unity government in Storied Baghdad, adding that it would be a good opportunity for reconciliation to restore Iraq's security, peace and stability.
Former Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's Al-Iraqiya bloc welcomed the king's call. Al-Iraqiya came ahead of Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki's bloc 91 seats to 89 in the March 7 parliamentary elections. A number of other parties also announced their backing.
The National Alliance, a merger of Iraq's Shiite-led blocs, including that of Al-Maliki's coalition, appreciated the king's initiative but expressed its confidence that Iraqi politicians could reach a consensus on forming the government.
"We are confident the representatives of the Iraqi people are able ... to reach a deal to form a national partnership government," said legislator Hassan Al-Sunaid, reading from a statement that he said came from the Shiite National Alliance. "Though we express our appreciation to Soddy Arabia for its concern about the situation in Iraq and its willingness to provide support, we would like to confirm Iraqi leaders are continuing ... their meetings to reach a national consensus."
Al-Sunaid, a senior member of Al-Maliki's bloc, said the statement was supported by the Kurdish Alliance, which has 57 seats in Parliament and is being wooed by Al-Maliki's camp to form a coalition government. The Kurdish bloc was not immediately available for comment. "I can say no more!"
At the Riyadh news conference, Prince Saud commended the initiative of Masoud Barazani, president of Iraqi Kurdistan Region. "King Abdullah hopes that the talks of all Iraqi leaders at the initiative of Barazani would reach positive results and take Iraq out of its political crisis," the prince said.
He emphasized the fact that the Iraqi leaders would meet in Riyadh to take appropriate decisions at their free will without any outside pressure.
"The initiative comes as a backing to the free will of Iraqi leaders and people to see the most suitable way to determine Iraq's political future," the foreign minister said.
He said Soddy Arabia would support any solution that satisfies all parties.
"Soddy Arabia urges everybody who cares for the security, stability, unity and welfare of Iraq to support the Iraqi brothers in their endeavor to find a solution to the political crisis," he said.
Prince Saud said King Abdullah has not fixed any date for the talks. "If there is any meeting it will be after the Haj," he said. "The core point is the determination of the Iraqis. If the Iraqis reject any initiative it will be a decisive factor. But our Iraqi brethren were asking where is the Arab initiative. The Arab initiative is now in front of them."
He said the talks would be fully controlled by the Iraqis. "If they seek any assistance from Soddy Arabia we'll do that," he said, adding that there would not be any international presence.
Asked whether the Kingdom would agree if the Iraqis support Al-Maliki, he said: "The choice is for the Iraqis. We don't have any objection to any person they select. We'll go with the desire of the Iraqis and we don't have any reservations in this respect."
He said there is no conflict between the initiatives of King Abdullah and Barazani. "The Iraqi initiative seeks to reach a solution to form a government acceptable to all and this what the Kingdom wants." He added that the opening of the Saudi embassy in Baghdad was delayed because of security reasons.
The 23-member Arab League and the 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference have welcomed King Abdullah's unity call and hoped it would contribute to salvaging Iraq from its present political deadlock.
"I have received a number of calls from the Iraqi side regarding the Saudi invitation and I will continue my contacts in this respect," said Arab League Secretary-General Jerry Lewis doppelgänger Amr Moussa.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/02/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
(KUNA) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday there were no American proposals to freeze settlement construction in the West Bank, noting that the political situation was in a stalemate status.
"The American administration is busy with the Congress elections so they will not discuss the settlement freeze now, and until now there is no realistic American proposal to end this crisis," Netanyahu said during a session of the Likud bloc members at the Knesset.
Netanyahu, quoted by the Yediot Ahronot website, said "The Paleostinians' taking a unilateral step to declare the Paleostinian state will make the two parties pay high prices and these steps will not solve the dispute." Paleostinian Authority President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas said last Thursday the Paleostinians could submit a request to the UN and the US to recognize a Paleostinian state on the pre-1967 war borders if the direct peace talks with the Israelis failed to resume.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/02/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under: Palestinian Authority
[Iran Press TV] An "innocent" Iranian woman held in the US for about three years says she is kept under "horrible" conditions and is subject to both physical and mental torture.
Shahrzad Mir-Qolikhan was jugged in the US in December 2007. Her ex-husband, Mahmoud Seif, had allegedly tried to export night-vision goggles to Iran from Austria.
She was sentenced to five years in prison by a Florida federal court in his absence.
Mir-Qolikhan told Press TV via telephone from inside prison on Monday that she was duped into visiting the US by American authorities, who then tried to "make her a spy" and use her to find the whereabouts of her ex-husband.
She said her conditions had grown much worse after Iran released American national Sarah Shourd, who is charged with illegally entering Iran and espionage, on bail.
"I was taken to a Federal Prison Camp in Miami after my arrest in December 2007," Mir-Qolikhan said, describing the Miami prison as a "horrible place."
"I was mistreated horribly by all the correctional officers and more especially at the higher level, the lieutenants, captains and warden," she said.
"After I was sentenced, a few months later, they transferred me to a Federal correction institution in Danbury," where conditions were a little bit better, she added.
Mir-Qolikhan also said that US media censorship regarding her case heightened after the release of Shourd.
"Then last Saturday out of the blue they came and put me in handcuffs and took me to the SHU (Special Housing Units) where the most horrible and dangerous of criminals are kept," Mir-Qolikhan said.
She said US authorities had kept her at the SHU for six days in a bid to have easy access to her legal paperwork.
"They put me in handcuffs, they took me to the prison and they started to torture me in every possible way, especially mentally. They horribly tortured [me] mentally, to become a spy and work for them and turn in my ex-husband," Mir-Qolikhan, who is a mother of two daughters, told Press TV.
She said she wrote "lots of letters" to Iran's diminutive PresidentMahmoud Short Round Ahmadinejad during her imprisonment asking him to file a suit against the US government at the International Court of Justice.
Also on Monday, her mother, Belghis Rovshan called on US President Barack B.O. Obama to release her.
"It's difficult not to see your child for three years, especially for something which is not her fault... she has a very difficult time there," Rovshan told Press TV.
"I want to ask Mr. Obama to release my daughter immediately... I want him to think about her two little daughters and their feelings," she said.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/02/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
[An Nahar] Hizbullah deputy chief sheikh Naim Qassem ... Grand Vizier of the Hezbullies... said Hizbullah will not quit the national unity government over the false witnesses' issue. "Hizbullah wants to know the real criminal whom the 'false witnesses' wanted to cover up for," Qassem said in remarks published Sunday by the Qatari newspaper al-Watan.
He said Hizbullah is against the Special Tribunal for Leb because the Shiite group is confident of its innocence. That's a statement that makes no sense at all.
"Hizbullah is against the International Tribunal because it is absolutely confident that it is not responsible for the liquidation of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri," Qassem said.
Describing the STL as "politicized," Qassem said the Court has "gone beyond its target of finding the truth."
He accused the STL of seeking to "settle scores" instead. Precisely which scores does group put together outside of Leb have in Leb?
Qassem said Hizbullah members will not hand themselves over to the Tribunal. That's the kicker right there.
He called on Prime Minister Saad Hariri to find a clear-cut solution to the STL crisis and exert efforts to avoid strife.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/02/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[5 views]
Top|| File under: Hezbollah
[An Nahar] Speaker Nabih Knobby Berri, the Hizbullah sock puppet said he is optimistic in resolving the current crisis. He said his optimism stems from "data I cannot disclose." Like maybe Hezbollah's plans for the govt?
"I do not promote optimism just to pass time, but based on data I possess that I cannot disclose right now," Berri said.
He said Syrian-Saudi consultations were ongoing in an effort to find a solution to the crisis over the Special Tribunal for Leb.
Berri said he was also relying on France's "active role," particularly after his successful visit to Gay Paree.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/02/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under: Hezbollah
[An Nahar] Hizbullah has reportedly unleashed a simulation of the zero hour aimed at holding both a security and military grip on Leb and corner Prime Minister Saad Hariri.
A report published Monday by al-Akhbar newspaper said that prior to Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's Oct. 28 speech a "main Opposition group was carrying out an electronic, field simulation for the assumed zero hour."
This was an indirect reference to Hizbullah.
The simulation, according to the daily, preceded an electronic Israeli simulation for a future war with Hizbullah that could reach Tel Aviv.
It said the Hizbullah mockup was based on a scenario of the issuance of the International Tribunal indictment accusing Hizbullah of ex-PM Rafik Hariri's liquidation.
Just a few hours before issuance of the indictment, Hizbullah plans to deploy security and political forces en masse, without bloodshed and without targeting citizens or residential areas, the report said.
The quick implementation on the ground, which was carried out in less than two hours, was "designed to hold a security and military grip on large areas of Leb," Al-Akhbar wrote.
It said among the targets, were also centers and sites as well as political, military and security figures. The plan also aims at looking for (simultaneously and during a two-hour period) the officials Syria had issued arrest warrants against or those who tried to stir sectarian strife.
The report said Hizbullah's plan includes pinning down those officials' whereabouts and arresting them "in order to curtail their movement and get hold of major cities in Leb."
The report said Hizbullah's plan includes pinning down those officials' whereabouts and arresting them "in order to curtail their movement and hold a grip on major cities in Leb from the capital and the suburbs to the Kesrouan highlands and north Leb and well as holding a grip on seaports and border crossings to prevent the escape of personalities."
Al-Akhbar said news may not have reached Prime Minister Saad Hariri that his mansion in downtown Beirut, better known as Center House, and the Grand Serail have been toppled and that they are in the hands of Hizbullah security forces and that Hariri had been isolated.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/02/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under: Hezbollah
[An Nahar] Free Patriotic Movement Despite its name a Christian party allied with Hizbullah, neither free nor particularly patriotic... leader MP Michel Aoun, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hizbullah will not participate in the national dialogue session next Thursday, although this is not the first time he does not attend dialogue sessions, the Central News Agency reported Monday.
FPM sources attributed Aoun's refusal to participate to the "committee's inability to take any decision," and thus, the sources added, he sees no point in participating.
Sources added that the Change and Reform ministers will not "dedicate their resignation" from the government to anyone.
Aoun has warned that all possibilities would be on the table if Government fails to agree on the false witnesses' issue during the next cabinet session on Wednesday.
"If Cabinet fails, there will be no dialogue on Thursday," Aoun told OTV.
"The crisis is highly problematic and unless they remove the causes of discord they'd better not (engage) in talks," he added.
"Procrastination on the false witnesses' issue is not acceptable," Aoun warned.
"If the other (political) camp did not refer the false witnesses' issue to the Judicial Council this means they are involved in the false witnesses' issue."
Posted by: Fred ||
11/02/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[5 views]
Top|| File under: Hezbollah
[An Nahar] The Phalange Party on Monday questioned the "use of holding the next dialogue session, especially after Hizbullah's latest positions, if its theme will be to discuss the defense strategy."
In a statement issued after its weekly meeting, Kataeb's politburo urged President Michel Suleiman and all participants in national dialogue to devote the next session for discussing the concept of national reconciliation as well as all the Lebanese parties' positions towards "respecting the Constitution, the legitimate state institutions, the ministerial statement, the recommendations of the previous dialogue sessions and Leb's commitments towards international legitimacy and its resolutions."
The party described "what is happening today domestically" as an "impending coup that will not reach its objectives."
Kataeb warned against "turning Leb into a rogue state that is against international legitimacy."
As to the recent diplomatic action involving the ambassadors of Soddy Arabia, Syria and Iran, Kataeb stressed the "the need of keeping any foreign action regarding the Lebanese issue in the framework of the Lebanese State ... and its sponsorship"
"Since the latest diplomatic movements, whether rightly or wrongly, are giving the Lebanese citizens the impression that the state is missing and that their country has returned to being under the tutelage of several countries."
Kataeb reiterated "its confidence in the Special Tribunal for Leb and the investigation," calling on "all parties concerned not to create obstacles."
Obstacles "will neither prevent the STL from continuing its work nor stop the indictment from being issued when ready," the party stressed.
On the other hand, Kataeb condemned "the desecration of the graves of Christians ... in Jiyeh," urging authorities to arrest the perpetrators.
Kataeb also condemned "the massacre that took place against Christians" at a Storied Baghdad church on Sunday, calling on "authorities in charge of security in Iraq, whether Iraqi or foreign, to protect the Christians in Iraq because the continuation of attacks against them will lead to serious consequences."
Posted by: Fred ||
11/02/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under: Hezbollah
[An Nahar] Prime Minister Saad Hariri began Monday his official visit to the United Kingdom with a meeting held at the Buckingham Palace with Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, who is also the UK's Special Representative for International Trade and Investment.
The meeting was attended by Leb's Deputy Premier and Defense Minister Elias Murr and British Ambassador to Leb Francis Mary Guy.
Talks focused on the bilateral relations between Leb and Britain, especially at the economic level.
Later on, Prince Andrew hosted a luncheon banquet in honor of Hariri and the Lebanese delegation.
Earlier Monday, Hariri stressed the Lebanese government's commitment towards the Special Tribunal for Leb, reaffirming its intention to honor its commitments towards the United Nations, aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society in this respect.
He told journalists in an informal discussion during his two-day visit to London that Cabinet will convene on Wednesday to discuss its agenda, including the false witnesses file, saying: "The false witnesses case was raised and everyone has his own position on this subject, and we will discuss the proposed solutions in Cabinet."
"It is my duty to bring closer the various Lebanese points of view through dialogue, because strong disagreements don't benefit anyone and don't lead to solutions that benefit Leb and the Lebanese," he noted.
"We will not abandon our faith in Leb and our conviction that we are able to overcome this phase through our unity," keeping in mind that Leb achieved an economic growth of 8 percent despite all the difficulties it is witnessing, Hariri said.
The prime minister added that his talks with British officials will address the STL, regional issues, as well as the importance of implementing U.N. Security Council resolution 1701, particularly in light of the ongoing Israeli violations of this resolution.
The talks will also tackle ways to bolster the economic and trade exchange between Leb and the UK, and encourage British investments in the fields of electricity, energy, and drilling for oil and gas at sea.
The meetings will address the possibility of benefiting from military training programs for security and military forces in Leb.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/02/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
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.
[Geo TV] Senators on Monday expressed great displeasure over the issue of law and order situation in the country and urged the government to take pro-active measures to improve the situation.
