[Yemen Post] After more than 3 months spent in the Kingdom of Soddy Arabia recovering from the wounds he received in his presidential compound attack, Saudi officials are claiming that president President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower... will not be returning home after all.
This is not the first time that such claims have been made since the arrival of the embattled autocrat in the Kingdom. Only a couple of months ago, foreign diplomats were selling Saleh short, declaring that the Americans and the Saudis had managed to make him see the danger lying in his return to Yemen. A few days after that, Saleh delivered a defying speech, swearing to return to his homeland.
And although he has yet to honor his promise of "see you soon in Sana'a", Saleh has many times before proven to be a hard person to read, often going against popular consensus or wishes.
The U.S Department said on Thursday that it believed that Saleh was ready to sign the transfer of power proposal, as he promised, adding that the fourth time would be the charm...
Most security analysts agree that only a speedy political solution could prevent Yemen from sinking into an aggravated armed conflict. But even if president Saleh decides to make his exit from Yemen's arena of power, who's to say that his family members are.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/18/2011 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Turkey does not need United States' mediation to solve a long-lasting crisis with Israel over a deadly 2010 flotilla raid, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Saturday.
"We do not need mediation ... for Israel in any way," Davutoglu said during a televised presser in the central province of Konya when asked to comment on the possibility of the U.S. helping to resolve their differences.
"There is no such situation in which mediation is needed. The demands of Turkey are clear" if its former ally Israel wants to improve relations, Davutoglu said.
"No one should test our resolve on this matter," he said, adding that Israeli-Turkish relations might be on the agenda among other issues of a meeting between Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and U.S. President Barack B.O. Obama next week on the sidelines of the UN general assembly.
"The Americans are probably the people who best understand Turkey's position on this issue," Davutoglu added.
Israel and Turkey have been locked in a bitter dispute since May 2010 when Israeli naval commandos stormed a convoy of six ships trying to reach the Gazoo Strip in defiance of an Israeli naval blockade, killing nine people.
Earlier this month Turkey expelled the Israeli ambassador and froze military ties and defense trade deals.
Relations plummeted still further when Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened to send warships to escort any Turkish vessels trying to reach Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,-ruled Gazoo.
Obama will discuss the political crisis in Syria and wider turmoil throughout the Middle East in talks in New York on Tuesday with Erdogan, deputy U.S. national security advisor Ben Rhodes said on Friday. Obama will also likely address the rift between Turkey and Israel.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/18/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
The general Turk at the radar screen
Rubbed his hands with glee
And grinning pressed the button
That started World War Three.
[Dawn] The US ambassador to Islamabad said in remarks broadcast Saturday that there is evidence linking the Haqqani cut-thoat network to the Pak government, a charge that could raise tensions in an already strained anti-terror alliance between Washington and Islamabad.
The US and NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the cut of the American pants... blame the Haqqani network for many of the attacks in Afghanistan, including this week's strike on the US Embassy.
The group -- affiliated with both the Taliban and al Qaeda -- and its army of several thousand fighters is widely assumed to be based just over the Afghan border in Pakistain.
US officials have long suspected links between the Pakistain military and the Haqqani network.
But needing Pak cooperation to beat al Qaeda and stabilize Afghanistan, they rarely say so publicly and as directly as Ambassador Cameron Munter did in an interview with Radio Pakistain that was broadcast Saturday.
"The attack that took place in Kabul a few days ago, that was the work of the Haqqani Network," Munter said during the interview.
"And the facts, that we have said in the past, (is) that there are problems, there is evidence linking the Haqqani network to the Pakistain government. This is something that must stop."
The army and the government were not available for comment.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/18/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
time for blunt talk
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/18/2011 10:58 Comments ||
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[Emirates 24/7] The Haqqani network, one of the most feared jihad boy groups in Afghanistan, would take part in peace talks with the Kabul government and the United States only if the Taliban did, its leader Sirajuddin Haqqani told Rooters on Saturday.
The Haqqanis technically fall under the command of the Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Blinky Omar, though US officials believe they can act independently.
The group has become so confident after battlefield gains, that it no longer has sanctuaries in Pakistain, and instead felt secure inside Afghanistan, said Sirajuddin in a rare interview, by telephone from Qazi's guesthouse an undisclosed location.
In what Sirajuddin described as a further sign of strength, the Haqqanis are also consolidating their hold on eastern Afghanistan, forcing rival jihad boy groups out of territory they have claimed.
The thug leader is described by US forces in Afghanistan as one of their most lethal enemies. The United States has posted a bounty of up to $5 million for him.
The Haqqanis rejected several peace gestures from the United States and 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... 's government in the past because they were an attempt to "create divisions" between thug groups, he said.
Any further efforts to do so would fail, added Sirajuddin.
"They offered us very very important positions but we rejected and told them they would not succeed in their nefarious designs. They wanted to divide us," said Sirajuddin.
"We would support whatever solution our shura members suggest for the future of Afghanistan," he said, referring to the Afghan Taliban leadership.
Pak security analyst Ejaz Haider described Sirajuddin's comments as a shift.
"Sirajuddin's statement now is significant as a signal to the United States. That 'we are prepared to talk if you want to talk seriously and as part of the larger dialogue with the Taliban'," he said.
Despite hopes that talks with the Taliban could provide the political underpinning for a US staged withdrawal from Afghanistan, the discussions are still not at the stage where they can be a deciding factor.
Months of talks between the two sides -- a crucial building block in any eventual political solution -- have yet to develop into serious negotiations.
Washington has repeatedly pressed Pakistain to go after the Haqqani network it believes is based in the unruly North Wazoo ethnic Pashtun tribal region near the Afghan border.
"Gone are the days when we were hiding in the mountains along the Pakistain-Afghanistan border. Now we consider ourselves more secure in Afghanistan besides the Afghan people. Senior military and police officials are with us," said Sirajuddin, believed to be in his late 30s.
"There are sincere people in the Afghan government who are loyal to the Taliban as they know our goal is the liberation of our homeland from the clutches of occupying forces."
Posted by: Fred ||
09/18/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
This statement was sanctioned by the Pak ISI?
Posted by: Paul D ||
09/18/2011 9:16 Comments ||
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#2
We have reached out to them with an opportunity to surrender. They have chosen to reject it, which triggers our jihad against them. Focus the satellites and break out the UAVs -- happy hunting, guys!
[Dawn] Mian Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Müslim League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... , chief of PML-N, said here on Friday that peace could be restored in Bloody Karachi only by ruthless action against troublemakers.
He also stressed the need for exposing political sponsors of Bloody Karachihit mans, land grabbers and extortionists. Mr Sharif said that the PPP-led government was too incompetent to govern the country.
Speaking during the workers` convention here, Mr Sharif criticised the Pakistain People`s Party-led federal government over failure to steer the country out of serious crises, including poor law and order situation in Bloody Karachi. He said the government`s unwillingness to allow debate on growing Bloody Karachi violence in the National Assembly forced the Supreme Court to take the suo motu notice.
The PML-N leader accused the government of "plundering national wealth with both hands".
He said top guns of the government were busy receiving kickbacks and enjoying foreign trips at the state expense instead of attending to the misery of the flood, dengue and terrorism victims.
Mr Sharif said the government`s indifference led to the killings of scores of people in Bloody Karachi.
Without naming names, he said certain groups intentionally created a law and order situation in Bloody Karachi to weaken national economy.
He said peace could be restored in the port city by an across-the-board action against target-killers, land grabbers and extortionists and their political sponsors.
The PML-N leader alleged that several political parties were involved in Bloody Karachi violence that had made the lives of the locals miserable for no fault of theirs.
He however, didn`t name those parties.
He said the current serious socioeconomic and security crises had been pushing the country towards a revolution and that his party would be part of it in the larger national interest.
He further said bad governance had left Pakistain alone in comity of nations.
The PML-N leader said members of the ruling coalition parties were busy spending luxurious life. He said foreign loans had been fast increasing since PPP formed government in the centre.
He stressed the need for re-directing the country towards peace and development.
"We don`t agree to the government`s agenda. It`s pushing the country into deeper crisis," he said.
About widespread damages to public life and property by rains and flooding in Sindh, Mr Sharif said political parties should set aside their differences and get together to mitigate the sufferings of the calamity-hit communities. He said political parties should also come to the help of dengue victims.
He said prolonged power scheduled power outages had brought industries to a standstill rendering thousands of people jobless but the government had miserably failed to attend to the energy crisis.
The PML-N leader regretted that the 450 megawatts rental power plant rusting at Bloody Karachi Port for months had yet to generate electricity.
He also said the plant was costing the kitty millions of rupees a month.
Mr Sharif said arrival of another rental power plant in the country was around the corner but those at the helm of affairs were more interested in finalising commission for the award of its contract than ensuring its early arrival.
He said had he been the prime minister, he would have prioritised smooth electric supply to domestic and industrial consumers. He said if his party was given the chance to form government in the Centre after the next general elections, an early solution to power crisis would be ensured.
Earlier, former provincial minister and Awami National Party leader Farid Toofan announced to join PML-N.
He said having served ANP for over 45 years, he had been asked to `surrender silently` instead of complaining of the excesses of the party`s government against party workers.
He said he however, preferred to speak for workers and was forced into quitting party.
During the public meeting, workers of two PML-N groups repeatedly exchanged hot words. The leaders asked them not to do so but to no avail.
Some workers protested fresh party nominations in Beautiful Downtown Peshawar by wearing black armbands and displaying placards.
Noted among those in attendance were Sardar Mehtab Abbasi, Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, Ahsan Iqbal, Pir Sabir Shah and Rehmat Salam.
Earlier in the day, the PML-N chief visited the Lady Reading Hospital to inquire after the maimed schoolchildren, whose van was attacked by forces of Evil on the city outskirts on Tuesday.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/18/2011 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Iraq has recovered $116 million from bank accounts in La Belle France belonging to an official from ex-dictator Saddam Hussein's regime, the country's anti-graft watchdog said in a statement seen on Saturday.
The Commission on Integrity said the funds comprised $106 million deposited in UBAF, a French-registered bank whose shareholders include 19 Arab banks and Credit Agricole, and the equivalent of $10 million in foreign currency deposited in several banks in La Belle France.
It said in the statement published on Thursday that the accounts had been registered "under one of the former regime members," but did not say which official specifically.
It said it had obtained the funds with the help of the U.S. embassy in Storied Baghdad ...located along the Tigris River, founded in the 8th century, home of the Abbasid Caliphate...
The announcement comes after the anti-corruption watchdog's former chief stepped down earlier this month, citing political interference in his work.
He slammed Iraq's leaders following his resignation, describing graft as "part of the struggle for power" in the country.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/18/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
$116 million? That's chump change from to Sad-ass and his former minions.
Posted by: Barbara ||
09/18/2011 9:19 Comments ||
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[An Nahar] A group of Russian politicians arrived in Damascus ...The City of Jasmin is the oldest continuously-inhabited city in the world. It has not always been inhabited by the same set of fascisti... Saturday to meet Moscow ally President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad One of the last of the old-fashioned hereditary iron-fisted fascist dictators. Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor... and opposition figures in a bid to broker talks aimed at ending violence in the country, news agencies reported.
"Russia cares about the fate of the Syrian people. That's why we want to find a way to stop a negative scenario developing," Russia's Interfax quoted Ilyas Uumakhanov, vice president of the Russian upper house, as saying.
"Russia is against any external interference in Syria's domestic problems and is ready to assist where it can with internal political dialogue, which should take place in a peaceful atmosphere, without victims," he said.
"We intend to assess the situation, lead the consultations with the different political forces," he added.
Syria's SANA news agency said the group began a four-day visit to meet "independent politicians and the opposition."
No date was given for the meeting with Assad, and it was not clear which opposition forces the delegation intended to meet.
Russia has continued to support the Syrian regime despite its crackdown on protests that the United Nations ...an international organization whose stated aims of facilitating interational security involves making sure that nobody with live ammo is offended unless it's a civilized country... estimates to have killed around 2,600 people.
The Russians arrived a day after security forces in Syria rubbed out at least 22 people in operations across the country, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, as pressure mounted on the regime to end the crackdown.
Moscow has refused to support Western sanctions against Assad and argued that equal pressure should also be placed on the protesters who refuse to engage Assad in direct talks.
President Dmitry Medvedev has said that some of those taking part in the Syrian demonstration had links to "terrorists."
Posted by: Fred ||
09/18/2011 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] National Struggle Front parliamentary bloc leader MP Walid Wally Jumblat ... Druze politician, head of the Progressive Socialist Party, who's been on every side in Leb at least four times. He'll sell you his friends for a dollar, but family comes higher because of shipping and handling... is reportedly seeking to normalize ties with the Democratic Gathering bloc to confront the new electoral law that is based on proportional representation.
Al-Liwaa daily said Saturday that Social Affairs Ministers Wael Abou Faour, who is loyal to Jumblat, made a speech on Friday during an event organized by the politicians of the Progressive Socialist Party.
Several members of the Democratic Gathering attended the event, including Karim Hamadeh, the son of deputy Marwan Hamadeh.
MP Hamadeh along with three other politicians split with the Democratic Gathering over the naming of a prime minister in January.
Hamadeh and the three MPs nominated 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. while Jumblat's faction supported Najib Miqati, who was eventually named prime minister.
Al-Liwaa said that the presence of both parties in Friday's ceremony was a sign that Jumblat was seeking to bring the four MPs back to his camp to confront the proportional representation which he has rejected.
Upon his return from Gay Paree, Jumblat will invite the Democratic Gathering MPs to the ceremony organized by the Association of Social Work, the daily added.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/18/2011 00:00 ||
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"Druze politician, head of the Progressive Socialist Party, who's been on every side in Leb at least four times. He'll sell you his friends for a dollar, but family comes higher because of shipping and handling"
[An Nahar] Special Tribunal for Leb Persecutor Daniel Bellemare might issue an indictment against parties throwing accusations at the STL, the court's front man Marten Youssef said.
Youssef told al-Mustaqbal ... the Future Movement, political party led by Saad Hariri... daily published Saturday that judicial authorities at the tribunal are hearing the accusations made against the court but this does not affect the work procedure of any of the involved judges.
"Bellemare however could resort to accusing or issuing an indictment against those making the accusations," he said.
"We can't expect any measure from him in this regard but the court is seriously looking at these accusations," he added.
Youssef reiterated that the STL is expecting Leb to implement its international commitments and take the necessary measures to find the four suspects accused of involvement in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's Feb. 2005 liquidation.
"Not providing evidence in the indictment doesn't mean there is no such evidence," he said to refute Hizbullah's claim that the indictment issued by the STL against four of its members was baseless after it relied on the circumstantial evidence of telecom data.
The tribunal will work on presenting the evidence when the trials start, Youssef added.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/18/2011 00:00 ||
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Never usually one to do anything without great fanfare, Niall Ferguson, the bombastic television historian, has quietly married Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the former Dutch MP, who lives under a fatwa after writing the screenplay for Submission, a film critical of Islam.
Henry Kissinger, the former American secretary of state, who was the subject of a biography by Ferguson, 47, was among the guests at the wedding in Boston, Massachusetts. He provided Ferguson with access to his White House diaries and letters for what the historian calls a warts-and-all biography.
None of the Harvard historians three children are understood to have been at the ceremony. He divorced their mother, Sue Douglas, a former newspaper editor, to whom he was married for 17 years, amid much tabloid coverage last year.
Ali, 41, who lives under police protection in America after the assassination in 2004 of Theo van Gogh, the director of Submission, is due to give birth to the couples first child in the next few months. The couple met at party in May 2009.
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.
[An Nahar] Turkey does not need United States' mediation to solve a long-lasting crisis with Israel over a deadly 2010 flotilla raid, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Saturday.
The US ambassador to Islamabad said in remarks broadcast Saturday that there is evidence linking the Haqqani
Wazoo
Nawaz Sharif
President-for-Life Bashir 
Walid 
Najib Miqati
