(KUNA) -- There are signs that the Taliban may be interested in figuring out a political settlement, which ultimately is going to be critical for consolidating Afghanistan, President Barack B.O. Obama said on Thursday.
Not if you pull out enough troops to leave the way clear for a Taliban kinetic win, Mr. President.
In a speech to U.S. Army forces of the 10th Combat Aviation Brigade in Fort Drum, New York, Obama said his decision to begin withdrawing U.S. troops from Afghanistan was not taking place "precipitously".
For a very tight and uncustomary definition of precipitously, anyway.
"We are going to do it in a steady way to make sure that the gains that all of you helped to bring about are going to be sustained," he said, adding: "But because of your outstanding work, what we have been able to do is train an additional 100,000 Afghan soldiers so that they can start carrying on the fight".
Yes, and with one of the goals being to bring the entire force up to a second grade reading and calculating level within the next year or two, and at some point have them adopt the twin ideas of shooting at the enemy and not getting stoned while on duty so that they can actually see the enemy they're shooting at, they'll be ready for independent action before you know it.
Areas like Kandahar are more secure than they have been in years, the President told the troops, adding: "Because of you, we are now taking the fight to the Taliban instead of the Taliban bringing the fight to us." "It is also because of you that we had the platform to be able to go after bin Laden and al Qaeda," he said, referring to the killing of the terrorist leader by U.S. forces in Pakistain last month. "And we have decimated their ranks. Al Qaeda leadership -- half of them have been killed, and most of them are not operating as effectively as they could." The United States is "only bringing out 10,000 (troops from Afghanistan) by the end of this year," Obama said. "We are going to bring out all 33,000 that we surged by next summer. But there is still some fighting to be done. And then we are still going to have 68,000," he affirmed.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/24/2011 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Taliban
#1
Paris Peace Talks II. If we're lucky.
Who knows, Mahmood, maybe if we talk nice, they'll leave sooner!
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/24/2011 6:21 Comments ||
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#2
Yes, it's time to start the table discussions and prepare the patio, if any of 'em fought like Montanyards with us, bring 'em ought and prepare them to return.
#3
The United States and, after the Article 5 invocation NATO can't really afford anything less than a decisive victory and yet this is going to end in humiliation and defeat.
The West has an overwhelming military advantage but at the same time the West is also politically incapable of winning wars. Per Clausewitz winning a war means imposing one's will upon one's enemy, and that notion is abhorrent to our political class as it would hurt our enemies' feelings and offend their sensitivities.
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan committed an act of total war and a war crime against the United States, causing more casualties than Pear Harbor and they're getting away with it. Nuts!
Posted by: Barbara ||
06/24/2011 16:01 Comments ||
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#6
Should've flattened Kabul on 9/12/01.
I used to think that was insane. Now pretty much sure it would have saved lives.
We will have an opportunity to do what no other empire has had, we could NUKE THEM ON THE WAY OUT.
Close the passes, destroy the bridges and give them something serious to cry about and tell stories about for the next 300 years. Then the Paks.
Posted by: S ||
06/24/2011 17:09 Comments ||
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[Dawn] The Taliban dismissed President Barack B.O. Obama's announcement of US troop withdrawals from Afghanistan as "only as a symbolic step," in a statement released Thursday.
The Taliban "consider this announcement, which currently withdraws 10,000 soldiers this year, only as a symbolic step which will never satisfy the war-weary international community or the American people," it said.
The statement, emailed to media by Taliban front man Tariq Ghazniwal, also accused the United States of "repeatedly giving false hopes to its nation about ending this war and claiming baselessly about victory".
The Taliban said the solution to the Afghan crisis "lies in the full withdrawal of all foreign troops immediately" and said that until that happened "our armed struggle will increase from day to day".
It made no reference to contacts with the Americans. Afghan president Hamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai ... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use... announced last week talks were underway and US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has said US officials are involved in preliminary talks with the Taliban.
The Islamic fascistiaccused Obama of having "no respect" for demands to end the war given US-Afghan government negotiations over a strategic partnership agreement which will forge a long-term relationship between the two.
Obama announced Wednesday that 10,000 US troops would leave Afghanistan this year and all 33,000 forces sent as part of a surge ordered in late 2009 would be home by next summer.
As he made the announcement, he said that "the tide of war is receding" and "the light of a secure peace can be seen in the distance."
Posted by: Fred ||
06/24/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Not to be outdone, as per DAILY TIMES.PK it appears that many mainstream Afghans are wary of POTUS BAMMER'S PHASED PULLOUT OF US TROOPS, + FEAR THAT THEIR OWN KABUL GOVT. WILL DEVOL TOWARDS RADICAL/ISLAMIST-DOMINAT GOVT, REPRESSION, + TYRANNICAL RULE, ETC. IFF THE US LEAVES.
[Tolo News] Elections Special Tribunal on Thursday announced the results of its investigation into parliamentary elections and overturned nearly 25 percent of last year's election results.
The tribunal, formed by President Karzai to investigate fraud allegations in last year's parliamentary elections, announced 62 protesting candidates as winners of the elections.
Chief of the Special Tribunal, Sediqullah Haqiq, called for prosecution of fraud organisers in last year's elections.
Sediqullah Haqiq said: "In light of our investigations and constitution one by one they should be prosecuted because of shortcomings now and then."
Mr Haqiq strongly criticised the counting processes of electoral commissions.
Parwan, Kapisa, Uruzgan, Nimroz, Panjsher and Bamyan are the provinces where slight changes have taken place after the recounting process.
In response to Special Tribunal's announcement of the results, the Afghan House of Representatives disqualified the Afghan Attorney General.
Parliamentarians believe that Afghan Attorney General is behind all the parliamentary vote mess.
Once again politicians called the work of the special tribunal unconstitutional and urged the international community and the United Nations ...boodling on the grand scale... to step in for a final decision.
But Deputy Attorney General Rahmatullah Nazari see the decision of parliamentarians to disqualify the Attorney General against constitution and internal regulations of the house.
"Articles 91 and 92 in the constitution clearly state that summon should take place based on well-founded reasons. There is no acceptable reason,"Mr Nazari said.
Parliamentarians warned of taking to streets and holding demonstrations nationwide if even one member of the house is thrown out.
Key opposition leader Abdullah Abdullah ... the former foreign minister of the Northern Alliance government, advisor to Masood, and candidate for president against Karzai. Dr. Abdullah was born in Kabul and is half Tadjik and half Pashtun... warned that Karzai's system will collapse if the government keeps trampling Afghan laws.
President Hamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai ... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use... is making efforts to undermine the credibility of the constitution so that he could run for presidential elections for a third time, Dr Abdullah said.
"There is no doubt that there were problems in parliamentary elections, but it was not to the extent to break laws for it," he said. "From the very beginning formation of the special tribunal was illegal and now its decision is also illegal."
Dr Abdullah said the investigation of special tribunal into last year's election is unconstitutional.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/24/2011 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Somali President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed on Thursday appointed Abdiweli Mohamed Ali as prime minister, replacing Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed who resigned under a reconciliation accord.
"He has the personality and the kind of knowledge that makes him fit to become the prime minister," the president said in announcing Ali's appointment. "I'm quite confident that he will be up to the challenge of the hard conditions our country is encountering."
Ali, a Somali-American, is a former deputy prime minister and former planning minister.
Plenty of experience seeing the destruction of all his works, then.
The speaker of parliament Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden, who has been at loggerheads with President Sharif over the choice of the new prime minister, commended the new appointee.
"He'll be our own, in-house American -- he'll fix everything, that's what they do!"
"The president and I have confidence in the new prime minister and I also agree to his nomination. We need to put our differences behind us and take on the difficult tasks ahead," Aden said.
Political activity in recent months in Somalia has been paralyzed by infighting, notably between the president and the speaker.
"The country is under heavy pressure and needs people who are ready to work. I will form my government within days in order to face the difficult tasks ahead," Ali said after his appointment.
Ali, who has a doctorate in economics, taught at Niagara University in Buffalo, New York, before joining the Somali transitional government (TFG), a statement from the government said.
A nice little Catholic school with some good programs, one of the ones my father was associated with.
He has a master's degree in public administration from Harvard, a taxation qualification from Harvard Law School, and a master's in economics from Vanderbilt University.
President Sharif and parliament leader Sharif Hassan signed a deal in the Ugandan capital Kampala on June 9 extending their terms for a year, pushing back polls due in August.
The agreement also called for Abdullahi Mohamed to resign within 30 days and for the president to name his successor, subject to approval by parliament.
Before changing his mind on Sunday, Abdullahi Mohamed had initially refused to resign and his supporters staged two days of protests in Mogadishu that left at least two people dead.
Elections for president and speaker of parliament will now have to take place before August 20, 2012.
The TFG, which was set up in 2004 in Kenya and owes its survival to the international community, has been weakened by infighting among its leaders which has worsened as the end of the mandates approached.
Uganda, which contributes several thousand troops to the African Union ...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful... 's AMISOM force that is propping up the TFG, had expressed concern that if the infighting continued AMISOM forces might lose their recent military gains in Mogadishu.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/24/2011 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: al-Shabaab
#1
SOmalia needs to be split into 3:
Somaliland (north west, functional);
Puntland (north east would be functional with aid money it never gets thanks to the TFG); and
South Central (includes Mogadishu. Basket case)
the TFG is just an organ for defrauding the UN out of large sums of cash and spending it at Java House Nairobi
[Emirates 24/7] A Bangladeshi court on Thursday sentenced the younger son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia Three-term PM of Bangla, widow of deceased dictator Ziaur Rahman, head of the Bangla Nationalist Party, an apparent magnet for corruption ... to six years in prison for laundering nearly ê1 million through bank accounts in Singapore, a lawyer said.
Arafat Rahman Koko, who was tried in absentia and is currently in Bangkok, was fined $5.2 million for the crimes, carried out when his mother was last in power between 2001 and 2006, said state lawyer Mosharaf Hossain.
"The court has convicted Arafat Rahman Koko and given him six years' imprisonment... for earning money illegally and laundering money through Singapore," Hossain, who represented the government in the case, told AFP.
"He will be nabbed when he gets back from Bangkok or -- as there is an agreement between Thailand and Bangladesh -- there is the possibility the government will begin extradition proceedings against him," he added.
The court also sentenced Ismail Hossain Saimon, son of a former shipping minister and a co-accused in the case, to six years in prison and the same fine, Hossain said, adding that Saimon is currently on the run.
Analysts said the verdict could trigger street demonstrations by Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its Islamist allies, who have dismissed the charges against Koko as politically motivated.
The BNP has recently staged protests against the government's plan to scrap a system of holding national elections under a neutral caretaker administration.
Koko was frequently referred to as one of the most powerful men in Bangladesh when his mother was prime minister for her second term from 2001 to 2006.
Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) suffered a crushing defeat in elections in December to her bitter rival and current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Both women were charged with corruption during the regime of a 2007 to 2009 army-backed caretaker government, and each spent a year behind bars only to be released as part of deals to ensure they took part in the election.
Zia's eldest son, Tareque Rahman, also faces a string of corruption charges. He is currently living in London.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/24/2011 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under:
Rewritten from a CNN summary...
Negotiators for the Venezuelan government are awaiting the decision from prison inmates to end their stand off, now in its seventh day.
The prison riot began June 12th in two prisons when two rival prison gangs attacked each the using weapons. The death toll in the riots stands at 22.
The Rodeo I prison riot ended a few days ago, while at Rodeo II a core group of about 50 inmates refuse to surrender to authorities, but are in contact and negotiations.
Both prisons are in Guatire, which is about 50 kilometers from Caracas,the capital of Venezuela.
So far Venezuelan National Guard troops have seized seven rifles, five shotguns, three carbines, one submachine gun, 20 guns and four revolvers, 91 weapons magazines and eight hand grenades.
It sounds like the prison smuggling system is in fine fettle...
#1
On one of the Vzland blogs or El Univeral (I can't remember) there was the obligatory picture of the assortment of weapons captured from the Cong prisoners. I swear by GreenSteve (pbuh) there was a shutter gun in the upper left hand portion of the picture.
I'll try to find. Looked like a single shot breech loading pistol with a tree carved body. The sort of heat you'd expect the neighborhood jinn to be packing if you ran into it near the spot.
1 picture, top row of pistols... you'll know the shutter-gun when you see it.
Posted by: S ||
06/24/2011 13:17 Comments ||
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#4
*blink* Thank you, S. I hope someone who understands what they're looking at will explain -- clearly I was not intended by Nature for the reality of weaponry, only the Platonic idea.
The cellphone of Osama bin LadenÂ’s trusted courier, recovered in the raid that killed both of them last month, contained contacts to a militant group that is a longtime asset of PakistanÂ’s intelligence agency, according to senior American officials.
It appears that Bin Laden used the group, Harakat-ul-Mujahedeen, as part of his support network inside the country. And it raised questions about whether the group and similar ones helped shelter and support Bin Laden on behalf of the ISI, in light of the fact that it had mentored Harakat and let it to operate in Pakistan for at least 20 years.
The revelation may provide a crucial clue about Bin LadenÂ’s secret journey after he slipped away from American forces in the Tora Bora. It may help show how and why Bin Laden or his protectors chose Abbottabad.
Harakat has deep roots in the area, and the group's network would have enhanced Bin LadenÂ’s ability to function in Pakistan. Its leaders have strong ties with both Al Qaeda and Pakistani intelligence, and they can roam freely because they are Pakistanis, something the foreigners in Al Qaeda cannot do.
Even today, the groupÂ’s leader, Maulana Fazlur Rehman Khalil, one of Bin LadenÂ’s closest associates, lives untroubled by Pakistani authorities on the outskirts of Islamabad.
Posted by: S ||
06/24/2011 17:31 Comments ||
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#3
"All right, guys, we've got the tracker/listening programs in place on those devices? Good -- let's do the same to all
devices they contact, and all the ones that contact those... And all computers turned on in the vicinity of any such device until we've got relationships and locations mapped out. After that we can start giving the UAVs and Afghan Special Forces their targets -- they've been itching for a new project, and they've got all those newbies to train up to replace our guys when they're pulled out..."
/The jihadis don't understand that djinns are much less fearsome than electronics wallahs starting a new project.
#4
My Starfish are less high tech, they mainly just sorta,well, ummmm.. suck the fluids out of the eye sockets, ears, and other available (LOLA!) orafishes.
Posted by: S ||
06/24/2011 17:59 Comments ||
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[Dawn] The United States is not prepared to continue the same levels of military aid to Pakistain unless it sees some changes in the relationship, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ... sometimes described as the Smartest Woman in the World and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as Another Daniel Webster ... said on Thursday.
"When it comes to our military aid, we are not prepared to continue providing that at the pace we were providing it unless and until we see some steps taken," Clinton told a Senate committee.
She didn't specify the steps, but stressed it was time for the United States and Pakistain to ensure their interests and actions are aligned.
Clinton also said Washington did not believe the top levels of the Pak government knew that al Qaeda leader the late Osama bin Laden ... who is currently warming his feet by the fire with Hitler and Himmler... had been hiding in a Pak city before he was killed by US forces there last month.
The United States has been giving Pakistain about $3 billion in aid annually in recent years, much of it for the military.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/24/2011 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#1
Clinton also said Washington did not believe the top levels of the Pak government knew that al Qaeda leader the late Osama bin Laden
had been hiding in a Pak city before he was killed by US forces there last month.
I guess that statement could be true, if you exclude the military, ISI, most of the Islamic interns and minions right up President 10% from the definition of "top levels"
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/24/2011 10:09 Comments ||
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#2
The top levels didn't need to know exactly where Mr. bin Laden and family were being kept, just that they were protected and properly taken care of.
[Dawn] Success is possible in the war in Afghanistan even if Pakistain fails to fully cooperate in countering gun-hung tough guys along its border, Defense Secretary Robert Gates told AFP Thursday.
With Pakistain taking some positive steps, Gates said: "I think that as long as the picture stays mixed like that, that we can be successful."
Posted by: Fred ||
06/24/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Afghan war success just as possible without Pakistan help as with it.
[Dawn] The Jamaat e Islami Pakistain and the Ikhwanul Muslimoon (Moslem Brüderbund) of Egypt, on Wednesday decided to join hands to solve issues faced by Mohammedans all over the world and to promote the true image of Islam.
Brilliant idea! Between the two of you, the truth will be plain for all to see. And it makes things easier for our electronics johnnies to have more connections to listen in on.
The leadership of the two parties made the announcement in a meeting at the Ikhwanul Muslimoon headquarters in Cairo on Wednesday, says a blurb issued by the JI media office.
Both the parties also decided to strengthen the relations between Islamic movements in different countries, and to counter propaganda against Islam.
A three members JI delegation, led by the JI chief Syed Munawar Hasan, is currently on a four day visit to Egypt on the invitation of the Ikhwanul Muslimoon chief Dr. Muhammad Badei.
Formal talks between the two sides were held between the JI chief, Secretary General Liaquat Baloch and JI Foreign Affairs chief Abdul Ghaffar Aziz, and the Moslem Brüderbund chief Dr Muhammad Badei, Secretary General Dr Mehmudul Hasan and other central leaders.
The two sides held detailed discussions which focused on the need for closer and stronger ties between Islamic movements all over the world. Also discussed during the meetings were the latest situations in Kashmire and Paleostine.
JI chief Syed Munawar Hasan congratulated the Moslem Brüderbund leadership and the Egyptian people on the successful revolution in their country, and also paid homage to the deaders of the Tehrir Square. He also welcomed the recognition of the Ikhwanul Muslimoon's legal status within Egypt, and the formation of the Freedom and Justice party.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/24/2011 00:00 ||
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[16 views]
Top|| File under: Jamaat-e-Islami
#1
"Strengthen relations between Islamic Movements" > read, ".... ... AND BTW, FYI WE'RE GETTING NUKES"!
[Dawn] An anti-terrorism court on Thursday postponed the indictment of six paramilitary soldiers accused over the shock killing of an unarmed youth at a public park this month, prosecutors said.
It was the second time this week that the indictment had been delayed to allow the soldiers more time to engage lawyers.
Members of Pakistain's Rangers paramilitary rubbed out Sarfaraz Shah, 25, in Bloody Karachi on June 8 after he was accused of robbery, but his family has demanded justice, insisting he was an innocent student.
The daylight murder was filmed live by a local cameraman and subsequently broadcast round the clock on national television channels, the brutality of trained security officers in uniform shocking the country.
The six soldiers and a civilian, who accused Shah of robbery, were produced before judge Bashir Ahmed Khoso on Thursday, public prosecutor Mohammad Khan Buriro told news hounds.
"The court gave the accused a last chance" to hire lawyers and adjourned the proceedings until Friday, he said. If they do not find lawyers, the court will assign them legal aid, he quoted the judge as telling the accused.
The indictment was previously adjourned on Wednesday for the same reason.
Faced with a media tirade over the killing, the government took the rare step of removing the chiefs of police and Rangers in Sindh province, of which Bloody Karachi is the capital.
The widely aired footage of the killing showed a clean-shaven Shah, wearing black trousers and a navy shirt, pleading for his life before he was shot twice.
He then begged for help while the soldiers appeared to do nothing but watch him fall slowly and lapse into unconsciousness.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/24/2011 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
(KUNA) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced his readiness to order withdrawal to the 1967 borders, on condition issue of Paleostinian refugees be resolved outside Israel and the latter be recognized as a Jewish state, the "Maariv" newspaper said on Thursday.
Recognize Israel and give up the right of return? Never happen, but now they'll be demanding the pre-June '67 lines as final and non-negotiable. Thank you, President Obama.
Netanyahu expressed his position in front of the US President's advisor for the Middle East, Dennis Ross, and the U.S. envoy to the grinding of the peace processor, David Hale, Maariv said.
The prime minister has expressed his position to foreign affairs commissioner in the European Union, Catherine Ashton, and envoy of the Quartet ... The Quartet are the UN (xylophone), the United States (alto), the European Union (soprano), and Russia (shortstop). The group was established in Madrid in 2002 by former Spanish Prime Minister Aznar, as a result of the escalating conflict in the Middle East. Tony Blair is the Quartet's current Special Envoy.... for peace in the Middle East, Tony Blair, Maariv said.
This is the first time that Netanyahu has spoken about his willingness to accept the principle of negotiation on the basis of the 1967 borders, despite his attack towards the US President, who announced his initiative for holding the negotiations on the basis of the 1967 border line with an agreed exchange of lands, it added.
"Ross and Hale, Ashton and Blair during their meeting with Netanyahu expressed their concern towards the Paleostinians to approach the United Nations ...what started out as a a diplomatic initiative, now trying to edge its way into legislative, judicial, and executive areas... in order to recognize the Paleostinian state in September and they persuaded him to accept the principle of the boundary lines of the 67 for the resumption of negotiations," it said.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/24/2011 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Palestinian Authority
#3
Bibi knows the Palestinains will not accept the very reasonable demands he's making. Flipping the issue on who is being difficult for those paying attention.
I am meeting Titin, 39-year-old Indonesian wife of Mubarok, alias Utomo Pamungkas, one of the terrorists in prison for his role in the 2002 Bali bombing. Titin has never spoken to a foreigner before. It's not easy to meet the wife of a jihadi; permission is first required from her husband, who is serving a life sentence in the Metro Jaya Detention Centre in Central Jakarta.
Titin and her daughters, Asma, 11, and Qonita, 9, sit in the brightly lit Dunkin' Donuts in teeming Yogyakarta, Central Java. No one notices the fully veiled woman and her daughters. It's a surreal situation: here is the radical Muslim family of a notorious terrorist at ease in an American fast-food outlet, the type that attracts "infidels" and attracts deadly attacks.
Titin has not told her daughters of their father's background, or why he is in solitary confinement. When the girls visit him, every six months, she tells them he is living at a university: "They know only that their father is studying at a school for adults. I think they are too young to understand the truth."
Titin stands by her man, claiming his role in the bombing was indirect. Mubarok's bank account was used to transfer money to fund the Kuta bombings. He helped send explosives to Bali and drove a van used in one of the blasts to the island. An Afghan war veteran trained in the southern Philippines, he and most of the other Bali bombers taught religion an Islamic boarding school in East Java.
Asked if she is committed to jihadi principles, Titin hedges. Recently she was approached to teach at a madrassa and enroll her children. JI constantly tries to recruit the family, and Titin claims she struggles to avoid its clutches.
#1
Clearly the jihadi parent believes the orphaned children can live off the glory of a parent gone (or not, as the case may be) to Paradise, and therefore no longer needs food or shelter.
#2
"daughters, Asma, 11, and Qonita, 9 . . .When the girls visit him, every six months, she tells them he is living at a university. . . . I think they are too young to understand the truth."
At ages 9 and 11, they think a prison is a university? Are they just naive, or stupid? Or is mommy stupid?
Posted by: Barbara ||
06/24/2011 21:49 Comments ||
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#3
Same stuff gets taught in prisons & universities....
Five Russian scientists who died in a plane crash on Tuesday had been helping Iran with nuclear secrets, it has been revealed.
They were among 45 killed when the plane's lights failed in heavy fog and careered into a motorway before bursting into flames - leading conspiracy theorists to believe it was a deliberate plot to kill the nuclear experts.
Russian security sources confirmed that the dead scientists worked at the controversial Bushehr nuclear plant on the Iranian Persian Gulf.
#6
Too messy to be a op by our hebrew friends. Too many dead Jane and Joe Blowinskis. Now if these five guys left the airport in a van that later ran off a thousand foot cliff.... then maybe...
[An Nahar] The controversial issue of the Special Tribunal for Leb could be discussed at the national dialogue table if Premier Najib Miqati failed to agree with Hizbullah and the Free Patriotic Movement Despite its name a Christian party allied with Hizbullah, neither free nor particularly patriotic... on how to include a clause on the court in the cabinet's draft policy statement.
The 12-member ministerial committee that met under Miqati at the Grand Serail on Wednesday did not discuss the tribunal issue but al-Liwaa daily said that the representatives of Hizbullah and FPM chief Michel Aoun ...a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hizbullah... have stressed to the premier their rejection to mention the STL in the policy statement.
According to al-Liwaa, the delegates informed Miqati that Saad Hariri Second son of Rafik Hariri, the Leb PM who was assassinated in 2005. He has was prime minister in his own right from 2009 through early 2011. He was born in Riyadh to an Iraqi mother and graduated from Georgetown University. He managed his father's business interests in Riyadh until his father's liquidation. When his father died he inherited a fortune of some $4.1 billion, which won't do him much good if Hizbullah has him bumped off, too. 's national unity cabinet was toppled in January due to the bickering between the March 8 and 14 forces on the court. "That's why, the government that came after it should not adopt a clause that led to the collapse of the (previous) cabinet."
The representatives of Hizbullah and Aoun suggested to Miqati to replace the name of the international tribunal in the policy statement with "justice and the truth" in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's Feb. 2005 liquidation, the newspaper added.
The differences between Miqati on one side and Hizbullah and the FPM on the other, forced the prime minister to leave the tribunal clause outside the draft policy statement that he suggested to the committee on Wednesday.
Al-Liwaa did not rule out the possibility to discuss the controversial issue at the national dialogue table although the dialogue commission had approved the tribunal clause in one of the first meetings it held in 2006.
But a minister, who refused to be identified, expected in remarks to As Safir daily that the STL clause to be drafted in a way that "wouldn't antagonize the international community and wouldn't provoke any local party."
High-ranking ministerial sources also told An Nahar newspaper that the tribunal clause would be the last item to be discussed by the committee, pending consultations and a possible deal among the majority forces.
They stressed, however, that the majority of cabinet members believe that Leb should remain committed to international resolutions particularly after foreign diplomats stressed to Miqati the importance of Leb's commitment to the international tribunal.
Miqati also believes that the government should not disregard the STL in its policy statement in view of current international developments.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/24/2011 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Hezbollah
#1
D *** NG IT, iff the MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD in Egypt can relabel itself as the PARTY OF DEMOCRACY + FREEDOM [or twas it JUSTICE?], SO CAN HEZBOLLAH!
[An Nahar] Hizbullah on Thursday condemned life jail terms imposed in Bahrain against Shiite opposition activists who have taken part in anti-government protests in the Sunni-ruled kingdom.
"These repressive measures expose the mentality of the Bahraini authorities, which rejects any attempt to reform the political system, and highlight the falsehood of their claims on seeking dialogue with the Bahraini people's representatives, who are being dragged to jails and subjected to oppression and torture," Hizbullah said in a statement.
The Shiite party accused the Bahraini authorities of dragging the kingdom into a dilemma "with the support of outside forces seeking to perpetuate their dominance over Bahrain's decision."
"While the international community should firmly and robustly stand in the face of these repressive measures, deafening silence is reigning over the international institutions and the influential nations in the world order, which claim keenness on human rights ...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions... and freedoms, in a manner that exposes their hypocrite behavior and double-standards policy," Hizbullah added.
A Bahraini court sentenced eight Shiite opposition activists to life in prison Wednesday for "plotting to overthrow" the kingdom's Sunni rulers, nearly a week ahead of a national dialogue proposed by the king.
The National Safety Court of first instance also placed in durance vile 13 others for two to 15 years on similar charges, state news agency BNA added.
A member of Bahrain's largest Shiite formation, the Islamic National Accord Association (Al-Wefaq), slammed the sentence as contradicting King Hamad's ...King of Bahrain (since 14 February 2002), having previously been its emir (from 6 March 1999). He is a Sunni, while the rest of Bahrain is predominantly Shiite... calls for dialogue, set to begin on July 1.
The verdicts drew an expression of concern from Washington, which stations its Fifth Fleet in the small but strategic Gulf archipelago.
The kingdom said in an English-language statement by the Information Affairs Authority late on Wednesday that the "sentencing sends a message that law and order will be preserved."
This will reassure "the majority of the population of Bahrain that their security will not be allowed to be compromised by violence or attempts to overthrow the regime or by the calling for the establishment of an Islamic republic," it added.
The Gulf kingdom's government reiterated its calls for national dialogue.
"Those who attend the dialogue will show leadership and distance themselves from the radical elements and therefore prove to the international community that the majority believes in this inclusive forum to pave a better future," it said.
The defendants "do not represent any significant number of the population who actually believe that the way forward is through dialogue and peaceful means," it added.
Khalil Marzouq, a member of Al-Wefaq has slammed the sentences as contradictory to the king's calls for dialogue.
"There are political forces, some of whom have received harsh sentences today, which have not been invited for dialogue," said Marzooq in excerpts of a speech he gave at a presser in Manama posted on Al-Wefaq's Facebook page. "How will there be a dialogue without those figures?"
U.S. State Department deputy front man Mark Toner said: "We are concerned about the severity of the sentences handed down ... in Bahrain. We're also concerned about the use of military courts to try these civilians."
"Such steps are at odds with the universal rights of Bahrain's citizens," he told news hounds.
And U.N. leader the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon ... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan... on Thursday hit out at what he called the "harsh" life jail terms imposed in Bahrain.
Ban urged the Bahraini authorities to "allow all defendants to exercise their right to appeal and to act in strict accordance with their international human rights obligations, including the right to due process and a fair trial."
He also called on the authorities to "do everything possible to create an environment conducive for the start of a concrete national dialogue.
But Bahrain's government said "the nature of recent incidents and the threat to national security makes the Law of National Safety a legitimate means to prosecute the perpetrators in a court, where they had access to legal counsel and representation, for bringing the country to the brink of total anarchy."
Scores more activists are facing trial on charges linked to Shiite-led protests that rocked the kingdom for a month from mid-February, in the semi-martial court set up under a "state of national safety" decreed by King Hamad.
Bahrain's interior ministry said 24 people, including four coppers, were killed in the unrest. The opposition said scores were tossed in the calaboose, amid widespread allegations of torture, while hundreds were dismissed from their jobs.
Four people have been sentenced to death and three others to life in prison over the killing of two coppers during the protests. Nine others were placed in durance vile for 20 years after being convicted of abducting a policeman.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/24/2011 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[9 views]
Top|| File under: Hezbollah
Osama bin Laden, in a letter recovered from his compound in Pakistan, wrote that the name al-Qaeda lacked a religious element, something to convince Muslims worldwide that they are in a holy war with America. He considered using Taifat al-Tawhed Wal-Jihad, meaning Monotheism and Jihad Group. Another candidate was Jama'at I'Adat al-Khilafat al-Rashida, meaning Restoration of the Caliphate Group.
Bin Laden was unhappy that the group's full name, al-Qaida al-Jihad, for The Base of Holy War, had become known simply as al-Qaida. Removing the word "jihad," bin Laden wrote, allowed the West to "claim deceptively that they are not at war with Islam." The letter, which was undated, was discovered among bin Laden's final writings.
At the White House, the documents were taken as reinforcement for Obama's effort to eliminate religiously inspired words from the government's language of terrorism. "The information that we recovered from bin Laden's compound shows al-Qaida under enormous strain," Obama said Wednesday in his withdrawal from Afghanistan speech, "Bin Laden expressed concern that al-Qaida had been unable to effectively replace senior terrorists that had been killed and that al-Qaida has failed in its effort to portray America as a nation at war with Islam, thereby draining more widespread support."
In a letter sent to Zawahri within the past year, bin Laden said al-Qaida's image had been damaged because of attacks that have killed Muslims, particularly in Iraq. In other writings, bin Laden wrote that he was frustrated that so many of his trusted longtime comrades had been killed or captured.
Using his couriers, bin Laden could still exercise some control over al-Qaida. But increasingly the men he was directing were younger and inexperienced. Often, the generals who had vouched for these young jihadis were dead or in prison. And bin Laden, stuck in his walled compound, was annoyed that he did not know so many people in his own organization.
#1
Restoration of the Caliphate Group aka, the RCG sweet, sounds like a late 60s conglomorate.
Should have run it up the flagpole and see if any drones saluted. Let's do lunch, have you gun hung d00ds call my minions, we'll work up a mission statement, which will be the next big thing.
Posted by: S ||
06/24/2011 13:32 Comments ||
Top||
#2
If it's all about the marketing, the product isn't good enough to stand on its own. Marketing helps a good product sell better, but cannot for long make a lousy product sell well -- word of mouth spreads news of poor quality amazingly quickly, and once the reputation is there, it's amazingly expensive to get customers to try again, even after extensive and expensive improvements have been made.
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.
[Tolo News] Elections Special Tribunal on Thursday announced the results of its investigation into parliamentary elections and overturned nearly 25 percent of last year's election results.
Somali President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed on Thursday appointed Abdiweli Mohamed Ali as prime minister, replacing Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed who resigned under a reconciliation accord.
Khaleda Zia
Hillary Clinton
Quartet
I am meeting Titin, 39-year-old Indonesian wife of Mubarok, alias Utomo Pamungkas, one of the terrorists in prison for his role in the 2002 Bali bombing. Titin has never spoken to a foreigner before. It's not easy to meet the wife of a jihadi; permission is first required from her husband, who is serving a life sentence in the Metro Jaya Detention Centre in Central Jakarta. 
Najib Miqati
the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon
Osama bin Laden, in a letter recovered from his compound in Pakistan, wrote that the name al-Qaeda lacked a religious element, something to convince Muslims worldwide that they are in a holy war with America. He considered using Taifat al-Tawhed Wal-Jihad, meaning Monotheism and Jihad Group. Another candidate was Jama'at I'Adat al-Khilafat al-Rashida, meaning Restoration of the Caliphate Group.
