#1
I think the Admiral is letting his ambitions for promotion, probably both for himself and his forces, overwhelm his better judgment.
An essential element of what they do is anonymity, to the point where they use ad hoc unit designations, assemble units from scratch for a given mission, then disassemble them afterwards.
This covers the gamut of operational concerns, be it national "plausible deniability", operational deceptions, or even "making it look like an accident".
Often it is much like the advice given to Bender by God in Futurama: "When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all."
Which is hard if a reporter for CNN is standing there, illuminating your position with a camera at night, shoving a microphone in your face and asking you what you are doing here on a beach in Somalia at 3am? Remember that Charlie Foxtrot?
#2
#1 I think the Admiral is letting his ambitions for promotion, probably both for himself and his forces, overwhelm his better judgment.
Posted by Anonymoose
General Curtis E. LaMay might agree with you as well. I certainly do.
#3
Marcus Luttrell of Lone Survivor, via his Facebook page, as been asking for more silence....Doesn't think it's good for the teams.... and he is still extremely close to the teams.
#6
To say that, "The better part of valor is
discretion" is nearly to admit to the buffoonery of Falstaff, but valor is not enhanced by the lack of discretion either. LTG Vaught is right on this one.
Your son, and my son depend on OPSEC. Loose lips, sink ships, helicopters, trucks and troops.
The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is expected to have a large presence in Afghanistan after complete withdrawal of US combat troops from Afghanistan, Washington Post reported.
They will contribute in operations by US Special forces in Afghanistan.
US officials have said that the agency's paramilitary capabilities are seen as tools for keeping the Taliban off balance and protecting the government of Kabul.
CIA's Kabul stations which have as many as 1,000 employees will expand its collaborations with the Special forces when the drawdown of the conventional troops begins.
"I have no doubt that Special Operations will be the last to leave Afghanistan," said Navy Willaim McRaven, the Special Operations Commander who led the operation that killed the late Osama bin Laden ... who no longer has to waste time and energy breathing... last year.
The number of the CIA presence in Afghanistan in the next several years has yet to be determined.
In some scenarios, the CIA and Special Operations troops could share territory and lists of Taliban targets with Afghan forces.
The CIA Paramilitary operatives were the first US personnel to enter Afghanistan after the Sept. 11 attacks; linking up with Northern Alliance fighter's weeks before US military commandos arrived.
The agency controls counterterrorism pursuit teams made up of dozens of Afghan fighters funded and trained by CIA.
CIA will concentrate to hold Kabul and Bagram Airbase rather than having remote outposts. The death of seven CIA employees and contractor in a suicide kaboom by a double agent at a CIA base in Khost province ... across the border from Miranshah, within commuting distance of Haqqani hangouts such as Datta Khel and probably within sight of Mordor. Khost is populated by six different tribes of Pashtuns, the largest probably being the Khostwal, from which it takes its name... underscored the vulnerability of remote outposts.
"We can lose the countryside, but I don't think we are going to lose Kabul and Bagram," a former CIA officer said.
The US government plans to pull out around 22,000 troops from Afghanistan decreasing the overall number of US troops to 68,000. This comes the US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta ...current SecDef, previously Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Panetta served as President Bill Clinton's White House Chief of Staff from 1994 to 1997 and was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 1993.... said that the withdrawal process will accelerate and US could end up combat operations by mid 2013.
The CIA and Special Forces who remain behind will continue to do their share of killing people and breaking things. But it won't be, you know, combat.
#1
>"We can lose the countryside, but I don't think we are going to lose Kabul and Bagram," a former CIA officer said.
BS flag down on this one. They don't have enough SOF operators NOW! Where are even more going to come from?
Suicide bombers and Chinese 103's will be raining down on both. Notice he did NOT mention Kandahar. The Taliban Shadow Government Government in Exile is waiting just across the border in Pakland. The fall of Saigon will look like a well organized withdrawl compared to what is likely to happen in Afghanistan.
#2
Who will stop the orcs when they cross from Pakistan?
Posted by: Paul D ||
02/09/2012 7:07 Comments ||
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#3
I think a Congo War solution is in order. The US could snap its fingers and the place would be up to its eyebrows in mercenaries overnight. Then just pay the mercenaries a bounty for Taliban penises.
#4
Just need to provide CIA/SF assistance to the tribes and clans that have reliably killed Taliban and their allies. Keep the buggers busy enough that they don't have the time and resources to do anything meaningful outside of the next village again.
#5
Procopius2k,
You are assuming the Barack Obama wants to win this thing. I see a Laos solution whereby the CIA and a bunch of "sheep dipped" military conduct a shadow war until the Pak army moves in and takes over.
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
02/09/2012 12:29 Comments ||
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#6
Don't go there, Moose. Steven Pressfield already did in The Profession, and how that ends ain't pretty...
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/09/2012 12:43 Comments ||
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[An Nahar] Egyptian judges probing alleged illegal foreign funding of non-governmental organizations on Wednesday accused domestic and foreign groups, including American ones, of illegally meddling in politics.
The NGOs are operating "without license," and their work "constitutes pure political activity and has nothing to do with civil society work," Judge Sameh Abu Zeid told a presser.
The judge said December raids on 17 offices of local and foreign NGOs as part of a probe into illegal funding had been conducted "according to the law."
"It is a very large and complicated case involving hundreds of people and organizations, Egyptian and foreign," he said.
He said dozens of people had been referred to trial because there was deemed to be enough evidence.
Among them are 19 Americans, a fact that prompted a trio of leading U.S. senators to warn Egypt that the risk of a "disastrous" rupture in ties had "rarely been greater."
Abu Zeid said "there is much evidence, including witness accounts, expert accounts and confessions. There are 67 items of evidence," Abu Zeid said.
The groups being investigated include the U.S. International Republican Institute (IRI), the National Democratic Institute (NDI), Freedom House and the German Konrad-Adenauer Foundation.
"The foreign organizations are not civil society groups but branches of organizations based abroad," said Abu Zeid.
He said security agencies had repeatedly refused to register the NGOs who "have been working in Egypt for years on tourist visas.
"They received orders from abroad to do this and were told not to get work permits. They also violated Egyptian tax laws."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/09/2012 00:00 ||
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[Yemen Post] Tribal leaders of Hajja province have alleged that the Houthi ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates.... group breached most agreements reached with them, pointing out that they use children in their fighting against tribes and Salafis.
Locals of Kushar district of Hajja reiterated that their areas witnessed relative calm after dozens of both sides were killed and maimed.
They said the Houthi group has plans to expand and control on some district of Hajja and other governorates.
On the other hand, front man of the Houthi group Mohammad Abdul-Salam denied these claims, saying that the Soddy Arabia provide the gunnies with dates and milk, and encourage them to fight the Houthis.
However, there is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened... tribal men said all the Houthi fighters do not belong to their areas, emphasizing that they were brought from Saada and other areas.
Secretary-General of the Nasserite Unionist People's Organization in Hajja, Zaid Arjash, told media outlets that the Houthi group surrounds some areas and deprive civilians from commodities and medicines, indicating that the group merely uses mediations and agreements as tactics.
"We tried to reach agreements with the Houthis, but they always violate them and assassinate tribal leaders and dignitaries" he added.
Arjash said that the tribal men fiercely fight to defend their areas, citing that dozens of Houthi fighters were killed and their corpses are still thrown on the mountains.
He made clear that the tribal men only have light weapons such as AK 47 and the Houthi fighters have mortars, RPG and tanks.
Arjash appealed to all human rights ...which are usually entirely different from personal liberty... groups and media outlets to pay attention to the humanitarian tragedies in Hajja, affirming that approximately 5000 families were displaced as a result of the Houthi aggressions on their villages.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/09/2012 00:00 ||
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[Yemen Post] Outgoing President President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it... will return to Yemen to vote in the early presidential elections due to be held on February 21, the state-run 26 September newspaper said on Tuesday.
The newspaper said Saleh received a number of Yemenis at his residence in New York, pointing out that Saleh's health becomes better and he would be in Yemen before the polls date.
It further said Saleh thanked all officials, military and security commanders, and tribal leaders who contacted him to reassure his health.
The remarks of Saleh,s return came after a protester threw his shoe at Saleh, outside a hotel on Central Park South.
Yemeni protesters criticized Saleh's presence in the United States in which he receives treatment for injuries he suffered when a bomb went kaboom! in the mosque of the presidential palace last June.
Yemeni analysts said the reports stated about the return of Saleh was a response to a recent address of Vice President Abdu Rabu Masour Hadi in which he did not mention Saleh.
Vice President launched on Tuesday his electoral campaign and delivered a speech in which he did not commend Saleh as he used to do in previous addresses. Following the address, news headlines of Yemeni media outlets focused on Hadi's ignorance to Saleh.
In the launch ceremony attended by leaders of Yemeni parties, officials and foreign diplomats, Hadi praised the Yemeni protesters who took to streets to demand the ouster of Saleh.
Hadi warned of challenges Yemen faces, indicating that he would do best to overcome. "People are no longer able to be patient over the suffering that has lasted longer that it should have," the vice president said.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/09/2012 00:00 ||
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[Yemen Post] Secretary General of the Yemen Journalist Syndicate Marwan Damaj has accused the National Security headed by Amar Mohammad Saleh of surrounding the state-run Al-Thawra newspaper and its staff.
He expressed his sorrow as some journalists cooperated with security services that are currently surrounding their institution, pointing out that most journalists of Al-Thawra refused to work until the removal of the gunnies.
Member of YJS, Mohammad Shobaitah, said that Al-Thawrah is still under the control of the gunnies who have surrounded the newspapers since last Thursday, urging all Yemeni journalists to stand against such violations.
YJS had stressed that the gunnies affiliated to Saleh attempt to raise turbulence and chaos with the aim of disturbing the early presidential elections scheduled for February 21.
Meanwhile, ...back at the wine tasting, Vince was about to start tasting his third quart... dozens of Yemeni journalists demonstrated on Tuesday before the cabinet, demanding to promptly take the gunnies out of Al-Thawra, expressing their solidarity with its staff.
They further demanded the interim government to send military enforcements to protect Al-Thawra and its staff, condemning threats and violations against its staff.
The Federation of Arab Journalist has condemned the "brutal attack" against the state-run Al-Thawra and its staff, considered this event as serious. It asked the Yemeni concerned authorities to immediately end the siege and arrest the gangs.
For its part, the International Federation of Journalists called the Yemeni government to act decisively to stop the diehard supporters of Saleh from perpetuating control over public media.
"This is a serious incident which also represents a test of the interim leadership's commitment to genuine change, including respect for press freedom," said IFJ President, Jim Boumelha.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/09/2012 00:00 ||
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A gang of Muslim extremists inspired to launch a deadly UK terror campaign by hate preacher Anjem Choudary were jailed for a total of nearly 95 years today.
Lynchpin Mohammed Chowdhury, 21, and righthand man Shah Rahman, 29, planned to plant a bomb in the Stock Exchange and were seen scouting other potential targets including Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and the London Eye.
A handwritten hit list containing the names and addresses of Boris Johnson, the dean of St Paul's Cathedral, two rabbis and details about the American Embassy was also found at Chowdhury's east London home.
Members of the gang hoped to launch a co-ordinated shooting and bombing attack on the capital in a 'Mumbai-style' atrocity in the run-up to Christmas 2010.
Six of the nine men had been personally taught by former Islam4UK spokesman Choudary, while four were also in contact with notorious convicted terrorists Abu Izzadeen and Sheikh Faisal.
Choudary has since claimed his former pupils' plans were 'taken out of context' by police.
Posted by: Fat Bob Unotch3711 ||
02/09/2012 09:47 ||
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#1
I would love to see Chavez last few months stripped of power, his entire program collapsing, his allies driven out of power, and him despised by the people on the street as a loser.
A MUSLIM convert who ran a website that posted threats against the creators of the television show, South Park, has entered a guilty plea.
Jesse Curtis Morton, also known as Younus Abdullah Mohammad, was charged last year with communicating threats and has been in custody since his arrest in Morocco in October. At a plea hearing overnight in federal court in Virginia, Morton pleaded guilty to conspiracy, communicating threats and using the internet to intimidate.
Another operator of the Revolution Muslim website, Zachary Chesser, was sentenced last year to 25 years in prison. Chesser admitted he posted threats against the South Park creators for insulting the Prophet Mohammed by airing an episode that depicted Mohammed in a bear costume.
[Dawn] Pakistain's High Commissioner to Britannia Wajid Shamsul Hasan said that Pakistain would be left with no option but to support Iran if Israel attacks it. Looking forward to takin' on dem Jooze...
In an interview to a British newspaper The Sun published Wednesday, Hasan expressed his concerns over the United States' "Drone Wars" that have taken the lives of hundreds of innocent civilians in Pakistain.
"We know the damage -- destroyed schools, communities, hospitals. They are civilians -- children, women, families. Our losses are enormous," the newspaper quoted him as saying.
"I think time is running out until the Pakistain government can take a stand. They will have to at some stage take punitive actions to stop them. They have got means to take such actions to defend their own frontier and territories," Hasan further added.
Hasan urged British Prime Minister David Cameron ... has stated that he is certainly a big Thatcher fan, but I don't know whether that makes me a Thatcherite, which means he's not. Since he is not deeply ideological he lacks core principles and is easily led. He has been described as certainly not a Pitt, Elder or Younger, but he does wear a nice suit so maybe he's Beau Brummel ... to convince the US that the drone attacks were counter-productive, making the American "the most hated people in the minds of the people in Pakistain."
Talking about Iran, he said: "We wouldn't like to be seen as part of Israel's campaign against any country. If Israel attacks Iran, it will have an impact on Pakistain as well."
"We will have to safeguard our own interests. We also have a Shia population in Pakistain who will not take it lying down."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/09/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
Nice try, Wajid, but no Subway Hoagie for you today - AFGANISTAN, CENTASIA, + CAUCASIA, i.e sovereign lands once controlled by ancient Persia + Seljiks, etc., is IMO more in danger of being territorially used by contempor Iran as a new, physical anti-US Nuke-WMDS "Ho Chi Minh Trail" than distant Pakistan is.
PAK is at best a secondary or minor support front unless a US-Iran War expands outside of Iran proper.
OTOH, PAK'S LR NUKES + PRO-IRAN ISLAMISTS IN GOVTSHARE WOULD BE MOST USEFUL TO TEHRAN, ESPEC IN DETERRING US-NATO STRIKES AGZ DEFENDING IRANIAN MIL + BASIJ FORCES BOTH DOMESTIC + OUTSIDE OF IRAN.
#7
Personally I do not wish to breath Israeli fallout.
But, oh well.... There are worse things.
Yesterday I had the pleasure(?) of talking with a fellow form Hamburg. It was informative to learn that Hitler is alive and well.
Posted by: kelly ||
02/09/2012 18:19 Comments ||
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#8
D *** NG IT, no way Hitler can still be alive - I times met Him long ago + he was already massively overqualified for AARP + Social Security as a [eloquent] Super-Senior Citizen.
[Dawn] Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday barred the government from appointing a new defence secretary, DawnNews reported That seems to be in practice the prerogative of the Mighty Pak Army and the ISI...
The Pakistani version of separation of powers.
The court accepted the petition for a formal hearing of ex-defence secretary Lt-Gen (r) Naeem lodhi against his removal.
Justice Azeem Khan Afridi also issued an interim order to the acting Defence Secretary Nargis Sethi to continue her office till further orders.
The court would now issue its verdict after assessing the constitutional and legal standing of Lodhi's sacking.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/09/2012 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] Senators from both side of aisle on Wednesday condemned brutal killing of Mir Bakhtiar Domki's wife and daughter in Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It may be the largest city in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... and called for early arrest of the killers involved in this crime.
Speaking on a Point of Order, Shahid Bugti said that Mir Bakhtiar Domki's wife and daughter were bumped off when they were retuning home after attending wedding ceremony of his son in Bloody Karachi.
He said that they had no enmity with any one and women and kiddies are never targeted both in Baloch and Pakhtun society.
Hasil Bizenjo said that killing Balochi innocent women and kiddies would mar the situation in Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... and would encourage those who talked against the country's interests.
Abdur Rahim Mandokhel strongly condemned the killing and said it was unfortunate that now women were being killed for political gains. He said that they were struggling for the last 64 years for the supremacy of law and constitution.
Prof Khursheed Ahmed said that it was a deplorable act and demanded immediate arrest of the killers. He said that situation in Balochistan was getting worse and time has come to work collectively for bringing normality there.
Zahid Khan said that prudent policy should be devised to improve the situation.
Sherala Malik condoled Domki's wife and daughter deaths and said that all political parties should join hand and devise a strategy to stop such tragic incidents.
Naeem Hussain Chatta said that it was a brutal act of terrorism peace must be restored in Bloody Karachi and Balochistan. He said that Nawab Akbar Bugti was among those politicians who fully supported creation of Pakistain and always struggled for strong federation.
He said that Chief Justice of Pakistain also took suo moto notice of the incident which was a positive development.
Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri ...Central Secretary General of JUI-F, member of the Pak senate, formerly provincial minister of Balochistan. He has a master's degree in Islam and runs a madrassah... said that practical steps should be taken to arrest the culprits behind this crime. He said that almost three days have been passed but no culprit was incarcerated so far.
Abdul Nabi Bangash, Haji Adeel, S M Zafar, Sabir Baloch, Kalsoom Parveen, Seemi Sadiqi, Maulana Saleh Shah, Najma Hameed and Haroon Akhtar also condemned the incident and called for early arrest of the killers.
Meanwhile, ...back at the pie fight, Bella opened her mouth at precisely the wrong moment... Leader of the House Syed Nayyer Hussain Bukhari said that those forces who wanted to destabilise Balochistan would be unearthed.
He said that the issue should also be brought before the Parliamentary Committee of National Security.
He said that both Federal and Sindh governments were trying to arrest the culprits involved in this heinous crime. He said that we equally shared sorrow and grief over the dear departed family, and termed the incident a condemnable act.
He said that Pakistain's integrity was top priority of the government.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/09/2012 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] The Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, prime minister in Gazoo, Ismael Haniya, is on Friday to make a visit to Iran, which is celebrating the anniversary of its 1979 Islamic revolution, Iranian government officials said.
The Paleostinian was to be received by Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi, the officials said, without giving other details or the duration of the visit.
Media said Haniya would hold talks with Iranian officials and receive an honorary degree from Tehran University.
Israel views Hamas as a terrorist group and has accused Iran of being its main arms supplier.
Iran's diminutive PresidentMahmoud Short Round Ahmadinejad, who is to give a speech on Saturday to mark the day 33 years ago the revolutionaries claimed victory over the deposed regime of the U.S.-backed shah, has strongly backed the Paleostinian cause.
He has voiced Iran's longstanding policy of rejecting the continued existence of Israel and of supporting foes of the Jewish state, including Hamas.
Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, last week called Israel "a cancerous tumor that must be removed, and God willing it will be."
Hamas this week signed a deal with its rival, Fatah, which runs the West Bank under Paleostinian President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial... , to form a consensus government ruling both Paleostinian territories.
Israel has rejected the union, and warned Abbas to choose between reconciliation with Hamas and making peace with the Jewish state.
A senior Fatah official has told Agence La Belle France Presse the new Paleostinian government would be announced in Cairo on February 18.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/09/2012 00:00 ||
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The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on Tuesday blasted the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) for saying that thousands of MILF fighters have left and joined the MNLF. Khaled Musa, MILF information deputy, said Nur Misuari, chair of a faction of the MNLF, was dividing the Bangsamoro people. Misuari served as regional governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao from 1996 to 2001. He led a bloody uprising in Sulu shortly before the 2001 regional polls, fled to Malaysia, and was eventually arrested there.
Musa said, "We call on MNLF Chairman Misuari not to engage in mudslinging to destroy us because we in the two fronts are all brothers and are fighting for the same cause -- that of pushing forward Moro-rule and self determination in Mindanao's Moro territories."
Misuari said the MILF is no longer able to launch combat against the Philippine government because so many of its followers have went over to his MNLF. He added that many MILF members have lost confidence in their organization's now 14- year peace talks with national government.
Misuari was even reported to have called "bogus" the MILF's peace overture with the Aquino administration as he accused its third party facilitator, Malaysia, of plotting with the rebel group's leader, Al-Haj Murad, to hide Malaysia's interest over Sabah, a mineral-rich state. Misuari said the Philippines never waived its claim of Sabah, which he said was owned by the Sultanate of Sulu.
Musa described Misuari's latest pronouncement as "sour-graping and show bitterness" over Malaysia for having extradited him to Manila after the rebellion in Sulu in 2001 when he was about to lose power as ARMM regional governor.
#1
The Net/Blogs still say foreign $$$, Arms + Fighters, etc. are being sneaky-sneaked = trickled into the Philippines as part of a buildup for new insurgency, includ a possib final showdown wid Manila.
Which is likely the all-but-Govt-affirmed reason why the US wants to preemptively set up mil presence wid the PHIL + AUS - the US WANTS ITS FORCES THERE ALREADY WHEN THE SEA ASIA + PHIL JIHAD DOES BREAK OUT.
The European Union on Wednesday urged the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to sign a peace agreement to end their conflict. EU envoys went to Cotobato to meet Philippine and MILF representatives and encourage them to intensify their negotiations and "reach a settlement at the earliest possible moment."
An EU statement said, "The EU believes that the timing is right for a decisive push towards an agreement and that such an opportunity must not be missed. The parties need to constantly remember that the conflict has an enormous cost on the region and that economic development will only be possible with peace."
#1
Iff what I'm reading on the MSM-Net proves correct, it'll be the US-VS-CHINA-VS-NUCLEAR?-ISLAM in a threeway for control of GUAM-CNMI-WESTPAC REGIONS = PACOAS.
"... ... and Beyond" AMAP AFAP, wid lotsa Nukie Love.
#1
India has now cut off Iran from its rice, because Iran hasn't paid its tab. I suspect the same will hold true for other commodities. India will only provide them for cash up front. And Iran is rapidly running out of cash.
#5
China will get a discount on Iranian oil, so India will probably do the same. Wonder if Iran is all current on their Bushehr reactor payments? Russia was calling for cash up front. They stopped a few times in construction when the MMs did not fork over the cash.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
02/09/2012 17:27 Comments ||
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Iran's parliament on Tuesday decided to summon President Mahmoud Short Round Ahmadinejad for questioning over a long list of accusations, including that he mismanaged the nation's economy.
The summons was the first of its kind for an Iranian president since 1979. It follows a petition by a group of politicians for a review of policy decisions by Ahmadinejad, who has come under increasing attacks in recent months from the same hard-liners who brought him to power.
Another step in the power struggle between President Ahmadinejad and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to Ay Pee, which adds more than a splash of hot pepper sauce to the bubbling pot of events in that part of the world.
Iran today warned it is capable of carrying out military strikes on U.S. interests around the world if America attacks the Islamic Republic. The U.S. has tried to force Tehran to scrap sensitive nuclear work through sanctions targeting Iran's central bank and Iranian government assets. But Iran's ambassador to Moscow said on Wednesday that the U.S. would be making a mistake akin to suicide by risking a military strike on them. Translation: We know we can't do squat agains the Continental USA, so we will threaten all your overseas interests instead! Because we're so awesome. Or so sucky. Whatever....
'The Americans know what kind of country Iran is,' Ambassador Seyed Mahmoud-Reza Sajjadi said. 'They are well aware of our people's unity. And that's why Iran is fully able to deliver retaliatory strikes on the United States anywhere in the world,' he added through an interpreter.
'The issue of a military attack from America on the Islamic Republic of Iran has been on the agenda for several years,' Mr Sajjadi said, adding Iran would never strike first.
#3
I'm sick of their threats. if we had a real leader he would say... " if any of our assets around the world are attacked, short-round's nuts will be for sale on e-bay" or words to that effect. it's time we show them what a real retaliation is like.
#5
Mullah Omar and the Taliban managed to do more than 'squat' against the ConUS.
Afghanistan ended up with a huge reward. The US and NATO are begging Omar and the Taliban to come to the negotiating table, accept Western danegeld and return to power in Afghanistan.
Operation "Enduring Freedom" poses no danger to the "not enemy per se's" nuts. Operation "Infinite Justice" which might have was cancelled after a couple of days lest the enemy take offense.
Why should a rational but hostile Iran realistically fear Western retaliation after the 9/11 precedent?
#9
Bambi's already succombed to the blackmail by ignoring them, pulling out troops, and trying to bridle Israel--they aren't just saber-rattling before the election. We might be prepared for some sort of proxy retaliation over increased sanctions and the job insecurity of nuke scientists just to prove their cowardly point...especially if they really start confiscating Iranian assets under US control, including foreign branches of banks (one of the few things Obama has actually done that may be effective):
"I have determined that additional sanctions are warranted, particularly in light of the deceptive practices of the Central Bank of Iran and other Iranian banks to conceal transactions of sanctioned parties," Obama said in a letter to Congress.
He said the new powers over Iranian assets deemed to be in US control, including foreign branches of American banks, were necessary because of "deficiencies in Iran's anti-money laundering regime" as well as "the continuing and unacceptable risk posed to the international financial system by Iran's activities."
Previously, US banks were required to reject, rather than block and freeze, Iranian transactions. The new executive order gives American institutions new powers to seize assets they encounter instead of just turning them back.
The US Treasury Department said the expanded sanctions would affect assets of all Iranian ministries and state-owned entities, including the central bank that processes Iran's oil revenues.
"These actions underscore the administration's resolve to hold the Iranian regime accountable for its failure to meet its international obligations," it said in a statement.
#10
Iran fears Israel more, because they know that unlike the US if it comes to that moment, the Israelis will kill them, and are not afraid to make the rubble bounce if that is what it takes to halt aggression and an existence threat. And the Israelis will hunt down the leaders forever. Ask the relatives of Mohammed Safady and Adnan Al-Gashey, Mohammad Yusuf al-Najjar, Kamal Adwan, Kamal Nassir, Ali Hassan Salameh (1979) and even Atef Bseiso (in 1992) about מבצע זעם האל (Mivtza Za'am Ha'El).
#12
You know sometimes I think that if the Embassy of a foreign nation is national territory, then how hard would it be to blow every single Iranian embassy apart in every nation of the world just because we were sad that the Iranians don't understand worldwide domination.
[An Nahar] The European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... is making contingency plans in case it needs to evacuate EU citizens from Syria and is mulling a ban on flights into and out of the country, bigwigs said Wednesday.
The suspension of commercial flights is among a raft of new sanctions being debated by the EU in the face of an unrelenting crackdown on opponents in Syria after Russia and China vetoed a U.N. resolution to end the violence.
"We're trying to make things change," a senior EU official said, voicing concern that the violence could last a long time. "We're facing a wall, and we have to find a way of climbing over that wall and moving ahead."
The 27-state bloc is also discussing whether to ban the import of phosphates from Syria, freeze the assets of the Syrian central bank and suspend trade in gold and other gems in order to dry up the regime's funds, diplomats said.
The new sanctions against Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Sonny, disguised as Fredo, trying to be Mike... 's regime could be adopted at the next meeting of EU foreign ministers on February 27.
"We will get in the end new sanctions against Syria. I have no doubt about that. What will be the exact shape of sanctions is what remains to be seen," the official said.
Germany proposed a flight ban but some countries have voiced reservations, noting that keeping planes aloft may be needed in case of a humanitarian emergency, officials said.
The EU is making contingency plans for the "worst case scenario," reinforcing delegations in Amman and Beirut to deal with any influx of EU and other citizens fleeing Syria, said another bigwig.
Thousands of Europeans are believed to be in Syria but governments are trying to determine the exact number.
The EU and members states will have a "coordinated discussion on the security in the country, on security for citizens and on contingency planning," the official said.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/09/2012 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV] Anti-Syria states are reportedly planning to hold a meeting in Turkey to discuss ways to topple the government of Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Light of the Alawites... , Press TV reports.
Ankara decided to hold the meeting after Russia and China vetoed a United Nation Security Council resolution against Syria.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly said that his country supports the Syrian opposition and groups fighting against the Assad government and that Turkey will cooperate with countries working against the Syrian government.
Informed sources say Turkey, one of the harshest critics of President Assad's government, plays a key role in a US plot to overthrow the Syrian government.
Turkey is also accused of leading a smear campaign against Syria by trying to portray government troops as being responsible for the violence in the country since last March despite Damascus ...Capital of the last overtly fascist regime in the world... saying that gangs are waging an insurgency in the country.
Meanwhile, ...back at the ranch, Butch and the Kid finally brought their horses under control... political analyst s Stephen Lendman says the US and its allies would continue their plan for a military intervention in Syria even without the UN Security Council approval.
"Washington and key NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... partners plan intervention with or without Security Council cover," Lendman wrote in his article "Heading for War on Syria" on Global Research.
"Doing so violates fundamental international law that prohibits interfering in other countries' internal affairs, except in self-defense if attacked," he added.
The analyst said Western powers are trying to replicate Libya's model in Syria. Lendman believes the recent military interventions are part of Washington's "New Middle East" project, which aims to control North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia to Russia and China's borders.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/09/2012 00:00 ||
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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.
The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is expected to have a large presence in Afghanistan after complete withdrawal of US combat troops from Afghanistan, Washington Post reported.
[An Nahar] Egyptian judges probing alleged illegal foreign funding of non-governmental organizations on Wednesday accused domestic and foreign groups, including American ones, of illegally meddling in politics.
[Yemen Post] Tribal leaders of Hajja province have alleged that the 
Outgoing President 
[Yemen Post] Secretary General of the Yemen Journalist Syndicate Marwan Damaj has accused the National Security headed by Amar Mohammad Saleh of surrounding the state-run Al-Thawra newspaper and its staff.
[Dawn] Pakistain's High Commissioner to 
David Cameron
Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday barred the government from appointing a new defence secretary, DawnNews reported
The 
Mahmoud 
Iran today warned it is capable of carrying out military strikes on U.S. interests around the world if America attacks the Islamic Republic. The U.S. has tried to force Tehran to scrap sensitive nuclear work through sanctions targeting Iran's central bank and Iranian government assets. But Iran's ambassador to Moscow said on Wednesday that the U.S. would be making a mistake akin to suicide by risking a military strike on them.
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
