[Tolo News] 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 Spokesman Imal Faizi on Tuesday told news hounds that several recent attacks were orchestrated by foreign intelligence services, despite being claimed as Taliban attacks. He also responded to recent reports that Karzai believes the U.S. has been behind some of the violence.
An Afghanistan's Caped Presidential Palace official was said to have told the Washington Post on condition of anonymity this week that President Karzai suspects the U.S. has been behind a number of bully boy-style attacks.
The Afghanistan's Caped President reportedly has a list of dozens of such attacks, inlcuding the recent assault on a popular Lebanese restauran in Kabul that left 21 dead, including 13 foreign civilians, and grabbed headlines around the world as one of the deadlest attacks on foreign nationals in Afghanistan since 2001.
Karzai has made a career out of lashing out at the U.S. military for causing civilian casualties. But if true, recent reports would indicate he has been planning a much larger indictement of the U.S. that implicates it in terrorist plots.
According to the Washington Post's source, Karzai believes the U.S. may be trying to destabilize his government or attempting to shift attention way from civilian casualties caused by Arclight airstrikes, which the Afghanistan's Caped President has denounced on multiple occassions.
The Afghan official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the sophisticated coordination and patterns of certain attacks were what initially raised red flags for Karzai.
"Some attacks launched in Kabul and other provinces have the work of foreign intelligence services behind them," Faizi said on Tuesday. "We have evidence supporting this sent by official institutions."
When responding to questions about the Washington Post report, however, Faizi said that the government had no evidence at this time indicating the U.S. was behind the attack at the Lebanese restaurant in Kabul last week.
"We do not have evidence showing whether or not it was America that attacked the Lebanese restaurant, and it was just a report published by a foreign newspaper," Faizi said. "But it is clear that some attacks are being done by foreign country's intelligence services in the name of the Taliban."
Meanwhile, ...back at the argument, Jane reached into her purse for her .38... the National Security Council has also said that the Lebanese restaurant attack was not a Taliban operation despite it being claimed by the group's front man.
The Taliban's front man Zabiullah Mujahid has disputed the Afghan officials' claims and maintained that all the attacks were in fact launched by bully boys.
Faizi nor anyone else form the Afghan government said explicitly what countries or groups exactly were suspected of being behind the attacks, or the nature of the evidence that had been gathered so far.
U.S. officials in Kabul have outright rejected the claims that there was any involvement in recent attacks, calling them "conspiratorial" and "divorced from reality", according to the Washington Post. The U.S. government has publically supported the Karzai government since its beginning, funneling billions of dollars into its budget over the years.
In recent months, Karzai has publically derided the U.S. for supposedly putting "all types" of pressure on Kabul to sign the still pending Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA), which would allow U.S. troops to stay in Afghanistan post-2014 and outline a continued military partnership between the two nations.
But whether or not Karzai's suspicions surrounding recent attacks are related to tensions over the BSA is uncertain.
In the past, most suspicion of foreign involvement in violence in Afghanistan was directed at Pakistain. For years, Afghan and foreign officials have bemoaned the involvement of Pak intelligence in nurturing bully boy groups on either side of the border.
Karzai's new allegations could be a great deal more groundbreaking. But whether or not they are true, the speculations alone confirm that relations between the U.S. and the Karzai administration have reached an all-time low.
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[An Nahar] Three years after a popular uprising forced out ex-general Hosni Mubarak ...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011... , Egypt's army is again pushing a commander to stand for president after he ousted the first civilian head of state.
On Monday, the army endorsed its Field Marshall Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's candidacy for an election he is expected to win amid a strong nationalist fervor since he overthrew president Mohammed Morsi ...the former president of Egypt. A proponent of the One Man, One Vote, One Time principle, Morsi won election after the deposal of Hosni Mubarak and jumped to the conclusion it was his turn to be dictator... .
In just over six months, Sisi has managed to win accolades from a vast section of Egyptians for leading the ouster of Morsi and crushing the Moslem Brüderbund movement to which the Islamist belongs.
Morsi was toppled after one turbulent year in office following mass street protests amid allegations of grabbing power and ruining an already deteriorating economy.
Announcing its backing for Morsi, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces said that "the people's trust in Sisi is a call that must be heeded as the free choice of the people".
Sisi is soon expected to resign as army chief and announce his candidacy in a presidential election scheduled to be held by mid-April.
A victory for the 59-year-old would keep alive a tradition of Egyptian presidents being drawn from the armed forces.
Mubarak and all of his predecessors came from the military, starting with the charismatic colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser, who ruled Egypt between 1954 and 1970.
And after Mubarak's ouster, it was Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi who ruled Egypt until the election of Morsi in June 2012. But Tantawi's tenure was marred by deadly street protests before Morsi was elected.
Sisi is riding a wave of nationalist fervor, however, amid a heavy handed crackdown on Morsi's supporters, which according to Amnesia Amnesty International has left at least 1,400 people dead.
To Sisi's supporters, he is the best option for ending three years of political instability following the 2011 uprising that ended Mubarak's reign.
And to his critics and experts it is the military's decades-old iron grip on Egypt that has once again brought an army man to the forefront after civilian leaders blew their shot at power.
"There is definitely a political vacuum with no civilian parties able to throw up a good leadership," said Mohammed Ghorab, an activist from a group that campaigns against military trials of civilians.
"We saw this with the Moslem Brüderbund, (and) they failed. We hoped that another liberal party would come up and fill the vacuum, but that didn't happen.
"Hence given the backing from a section of the society, the military is now filling the vacuum," he said in his personal capacity.
Since Morsi's ouster, Sisi has emerged as a nationalist icon, but simultaneously Egypt is also witnessing the return of the feared security services which were widely hated under Mubarak.
In recent months a deadly crackdown that began against Morsi's Brotherhood has widened, with activists who spearheaded the anti-Mubarak revolt finding themselves behind bars.
Top anti-Mubarak campaigners Ahmed Douma, Ahmed Maher, Mohammed Adel and Alaa Abdel Fattah have been detained for organizing protests the military-installed authorities say were illegal.
The authorities had defended the removal of Morsi on the back of mass street protests against his rule.
"Their current policies are a betrayal of all the aspirations of bread, freedom and social justice" of the anti-Mubarak revolution, said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui of Amnesia Amnesty International in a statement marking the third anniversary of the 2011 revolt.
She charged the security forces had also not been held to account for using "excessive" force in dealing with protests staged by Morsi's supporters who continue to demand his reinstatement.
Analysts say the repressive old regime of Mubarak is returning to the fold, but that it is unleashing even more force on dissent than before, now that the military is clearly at the helm.
"Even if the military authorities try to maintain a democratic face, it is now clear that Egypt is being overtaken by old demons of repression, authoritarianism and personal power," said Karim Bittar of the Institute of International Strategic Relations.
"The hopes aroused by the revolution of January 25, 2011 among the liberals and progressive (people of Egypt) are about to go up in smoke."
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#1
Maybe people realized that "back" to square one was an improvement from the previous regression of the 'brohood.
Yet another example of The Man for All Seasons famous quote: ...the Devil turned 'round on you, where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat?
The Egyptians realized that as bad as it may have been Mubarak represented the law the 'brohood is the Devil.
#2
Not exactly. It looks like Egyptian Army has had enough of ismaists and wants to gop the way of Mustafa Kemal. BTW, new Constitution lokks to give far more rights to Copts than under Mubarak not to mention the previous Constitution.
#3
Sounds like the Egyptians are in weasel stomping mode. Our breathless reporter fails to mention that while MB Morsi wasn't purging generals, he was trying to start a fight with Israel and Ethiopia. Nevermind that Obama sided with the removal of Mubarak, sided with appointing el-Baradai, then sided with an election which was hands down going to be a MB win.
I'm surprised Egypt has not gone full Libya, and this situation may be the best possible outcome for Egypt. The new constitution seems to be an improvement (and is pissing off all the right people). I don't think the issue is Sisi, it is who will follow him.
[Egypt Independent] Osama, son of deposed President Mohammed Morsy, told the Al Jazeera channel on Tuesday that his father's trial is a "laughing stock" because it was broadcast live with him placed in a soundproof glass cage.
"I will resort to an international tribunal," he vowed.
He also said that he was not permitted to attend the hearing despite the fact that he is a lawyer. He said that "authorities refused my attempts to visit him in prison more than once."
"I say my father was kidnapped," he added. "We (his family) only get his news from the media like everybody else."
Commenting on the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces clearing Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to run for the presidency, he said the "military coup" is trying to control the state and reinstate President Hosni Mubarak ...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011... 's regime. "The matter now is not a defense of legitimacy ," he said. "It has become a cause for the nation."
Posted by: Fred ||
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#1
"If I had a son, he would sound just like Osa...wadaminute..you guys makin' fun of me?"
[Egypt Independent] The Strong Egypt Party has rejected the nomination of Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, defense minister, considering it an infringement against the civil country and that it places military in face of any other candidate.
In a statement on Tuesday, the party said that the statement by Supreme Council of Armed Forces, which convened to mull the nomination of Sisi, affirms what they warned against, which is military engagement within politics.
The party assured the right of every civilian who fulfills the requirements in light of a political environment that allows honorable competition, and they warned that the nomination could become a confrontation between the state institutions and military leadership.
"What Egypt witnesses of political futility will not establish a country or achieve progress to it, Renaissance and civil state are not based on the old regime's leftovers, injustice, or absence of accountability. Establishing states of interests within the Egyptian country threatens security of its people," the statement added.
The party also addressed the youth saying not to be desperate, "The revolution is real and on its way, but we all need to unite with our great people to establish the country it dreams of."
Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, the party chief, left the Moslem Brüderbund before running for presidency in 2012.
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[MAGHAREBIA] The trial of salafists implicated in the attack on the US embassy in Tunis was adjourned until March 25th, AFP reported on Tuesday (January 28th).
Only three of the 20 accused were present at the trial. The public prosecutor decided last May to appeal the two-year suspended jail terms. The Tunisian government had criticised the sentences as being too lenient.
Around 80 suspects are still awaiting trial for their alleged participation in the September 2012 attack. Four assailants were killed and dozens maimed in the violence, which saw protesters storm the embassy and torch a neighbouring American school.
Tunisia has accused Ansar al-Sharia ...a Salafist militia which claims it is not part of al-Qaeda, even though it works about the same and for the same ends. There are groups of the same name in Libya, Tunisia and Yemen, with the Libyan and Tunisian versions currently most active... leader Abou Iyadh of orchestrating the incident.
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[MAGHAREBIA] The southern Libya media vacuum leaves the Sabha crisis a mystery, with everyone from local tribes, foreign mercenaries, Moamer Qadaffy's son and al-Qaeda gunnies blamed for the bloodshed.
As of Monday (January 27th), Sabha was still awaiting the military reinforcements promised by Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...
...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...
, Libya Herald reported.
Clashes began January 11th between the Toubou and Awad Suleiman tribes. But the inter-ethnic unrest reportedly created exactly the kind of security chaos sought by Qadaffy loyalists looking to raise their green flags.
"We were arbitrarily shelled by aircraft, and hundreds of people were killed and maimed. In addition, most of the people of Sabha have fled to surrounding areas out of fear," Ahmed al-Megrahi told Magharebia.
More than 150 people have been killed during the past fortnight, the health ministry said on Saturday.
"What's happening here is a bloody and grinding war in which all types of weapons are used," Sabha journalist Idris Jibji said, adding that foreign mercenaries were among the assailants.
According to Colonel Hasan al-Akouri, "There is no food, no medicine and almost no life."
"The situation is very bad. The only thing you can hear is the sound of bullets," al-Akouri told Magharebia.
"Pro-Qadaffy tribes are controlling the south. They may establish a self-rule region or a separatist state and appoint Saadi Qadaffy as the head of the new region," he added.
Qadaffy's third son is the subject of an Interpol red notice. As his father's regime collapsed, he fled in September 2011 to Niger, where he has been under house arrest. He has since spoken publicly about a "new revolution" in the country, leading many to suspect him of ties to the unrest.
"The new state will sell oil through Tripoli ports, and if it refuses, Fezzan will cut off water supplies to the capital, forcing it to give in," the colonel continued. "It's all been planned."
Others say gunnies in southern Libya are responsible for the escalating violence.
"We are fighting al-Qaeda. They want to eradicate us, in order to occupy our lands and control the borders with Chad and Niger," Libyan Toubou leader Issa Mansour told Gay Paree Match on January 13th.
Eman Solyaman al-Hamali, a 21-year-old university student from Sabha, called upon the world to intervene.
"Sabha rebels are dying every day to prevent the green rag from being raised again," the student said.
The United Nations ...the Oyster Bay money pit...
...a formerly good idea gone bad...
office in Libya is expected to begin sending supplies this week to displaced persons from Sabha.
On Sunday, the UN Humanitarian Co-ordinator in Libya appealed to "all sides to end violence and guarantee the protection of civilians".
"As a result of the festivities, the South is suffering from shortages of food supplies, medicine, fuel, and money in the banks," Georg Charpentier added.
Hospitals in Sabha, Awbari and Murzuk have been challenged to treat all casualties, he said.
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[MAGHAREBIA] Algeria is calling on imams to become fully engaged in the fight against extremism and obscurantism.
"Mosques also have a part to play in preserving society and protecting it against division and hatred," Religious Affairs Minister Bouabdellah Ghlamallah said on Wednesday (January 22nd).
Ghlamallah highlighted the values of tolerance which are deeply rooted in Algerian society.
He also recalled the Algerian people's support at the ballot box for national reconciliation, "thus placing the interests of the country supremely ahead of any other consideration".
The minister on January 16th also announced that "800 imams were trained between 2010 and 2012" and described this result as a "gradual" improvement to address the public's grievances.
"1,500 imam-lecturers and 240 principal imams, as well as muezzins and Qur'an teachers, have been recruited," he noted, adding that his department was drafting university graduates who would then undergo further training at religious institutions.
The Algerian government made its position clear.
It wants to take back control of mosques used by krazed killer groups during the "black decade" to spread messages of hatred and violence towards all those who did not share their views.
The government published a decree earlier this month to regulate these institutions, which number around 20,000 in Algeria.
This first-of-a-kind law in the country aims to enable mosques to play their primary role independently of political or other influences.
"Mosques play a guiding role, which is to bring order to what is good and outlaw what is bad," Article 8 of the decree states.
To this end, these religious institutions must "help strengthen religious and national unity, protect society from fanatical, krazed killer and excessive ideas, foster and consolidate the values of tolerance and solidarity in society, combat violence and hatred, and counter anything that could harm the country", the law says.
The law also strictly forbids "the use of mosques for the purposes of illicit or personal or collective goals or for purely material ends". Article 12 prohibits the "use of mosques to harm people or groups".
The Algerian government said that mosques should not only serve as places of worship, but also have a role in the cultural, educational and social spheres.
Authorities also wanted to regulate fund-raising in mosques. During the "Black Decade", funds were used to help terrorist groups. But now, under the new law, "collections in mosques shall be subject to administrative authorisation".
"The time has come for mosques to regain their rightful place in society," said sociologist Ahmed Kheldoun. "They should no longer be seen merely as places of worship."
"Mosques must support Algerian society in the educational and social fields too," he added.
Slima Rabhi, an academic, was delighted that this decree has been published: "Mosques must play a unifying role, not the opposite."
"Extremism and exclusion must be banned in these places to make way for messages of peace, reconciliation and openness," she noted.
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Libyan and Egyptian officials say some of the six Egyptian diplomats and embassy staff members kidnapped in the capital Tripoli have been released and the rest are to follow soon. Both officials offered no details on the late Sunday release. Five Egyptian diplomats and an embassy staff member were kidnapped late Friday and early Saturday. It was not clear who abducted them.
Libyan Foreign Ministry spokesman Said Al Asswad says two of the diplomats and the embassy staffer have already been freed. Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Badr Abdelattie confirms that some were released, attributing it to official and "unofficial" mediation. He did not elaborate.
The kidnapping followed the arrest of a senior Libyan militia leader in Egypt. Abdelattie says the two incidents were unrelated, adding that the militia leader was under investigation, without elaborating.
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[Yemen Post] On the wake of Human Rights Watch ... dedicated to bitching about human rights violations around the world... annual report, Yemen Human Rights Minister Hooria Mashour decided to become vocal about her intention to sponsor a draft-law, banning child marriage for good and align Yemen with international regulations.
"I've asked parliament to look at it urgently. Child marriage is one of our top priorities in the ministry at the moment because it affects the most basic rights of children and women," the minister told Rooters in an interview.
Minister Mashour comments come as the UN Human Rights Council is set to discuss Yemen's grappling with child marriage allegations among other issues of concern. Already, Britannia, Spain and Norway have voiced their desire to see Yemen criminalize child marriage as well as embed women rights and human rights ...not to be confused with individual rights, mind you... in general within the text of its new constitution.
Referring to conflicting reports which alleged last year that an 8-year old schoolgirl died from internal haemorrhage on her wedding night, Minister Mahsour commented, "Whether that case is true or not true, our campaign to stop early marriage will continue ... Most early marriage happens in rural areas. Even if Rawan did not die many others do, but we rarely hear about them."
However while activists have focused their attention on securing a ban against child marriage, religious groups have argued, Yemen has much graver issues to deal with, accusing campaigners of political opportunism.
Members of al-Islah, Yemen Sunni conservative faction, have traditionally opposed the imposition of a minimum legal age on marriage as they feel the matter should be referred to religious leaders and not politicians.
Ignoring the critics, Minister Mashour stressed that as an aspiring civil state, Yemen had a duty of care towards its children.
"I receive reports all the time from families and human rights activists about cases where maidens of tender years have got married. Some bleed to death. Some have complications in pregnancy," the minister stressed, adding, "We cannot stop these marriages because there is no law, but if I had this tool in my hands I could stop them. There's nothing we can do without a law."
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[Yemen Post] As part of its ongoing efforts to financially suffocate al-Qaeda and its affiliates across the region, the United Nation Security Council (UNSC) called on Monday for all countries to refrain from falling into the terror network's emotional blackmail by paying up kidnapping ransoms.
Ever since the international community tighten its control over all financial dealings as to prevent money laundering and related criminal activities, al-Qaeda saw its accession to funds greatly reduced, thus forcing the group to revert to alternative methods, mainly kidnapping.
Kidnappings have been most prevalent in Yemen, where security has been at best spotty due to an institutional breakdown in 2011, brought about by the Arab Spring movement.
Keen to support countries such as Yemen, fight al-Qaeda, the UNSC decided to pass a resolution addressing the practical matter of ransom payments. According to current data, al-Qaeda has raised over $100 through kidnappings, which funds have been used to sow discord and instability throughout.
All 15 members of the UNSC unanimously agreed that all UN country members should work together "to prevent bully boyz from benefiting directly or indirectly from ransom payments or from political concessions and to secure the safe release of hostages."
Speaking to news hounds on the sideline of the meeting Britannia Ambassador to the UN, Mark Lyall Grant emphasized, "Kidnap for ransom "has become the most significant terrorist financing challenge and remains a terrible threat to the nationals of all countries."
He added, "While numbers vary, we estimate that in the last three and a half years, Al Qaeda-affiliated and other Islamist myrmidon groups have collected at least $105 million."
It is important to note that this new UNSC resolution comes as Yolande Korkie, who was recently freed by her al-Qaeda abductors has attempted to raise her husband's ransom money. Pierre Korkie, whose health is said to be deteriorating, was kidnapped alongside his wife last May in the southern city of Taiz.
His abductors have requested a payment of $3 million for his safe release.
As it currently stands the UNSC resolution does not carry any sanction should countries or individuals should chose to by-pass the recommendation to free abductees.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/29/2014 00:00 ||
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A noble gesture. Good luck with that, guys. Seriously.
Britannia will take in hundreds of the most vulnerable Syrian refugees, including rape and torture victims, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said on Tuesday, announcing a softening of the government's stance.
Clegg said the government had been given United Nations ...boodling on the grand scale... backing to accept Syrian refugees on a case-by-case basis, but was stopping short of agreeing to take in a quota under a U.N. scheme to resettle 30,000 of the most vulnerable cases.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
01/29/2014 00:00 ||
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#8
No doubt London with its one in three are born abroad reputation!
Posted by: Paul D ||
01/29/2014 13:59 Comments ||
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#9
Absolutely stupid. Let them live in the neighboring Arab nations so they are well positioned to be used against the Assad regime for forty something years. That is the middle eastern way and we should play by their rules.
The Kurds an join Kurdistan rather than refugee camps.
[Telegraph] Iraq's goal of pumping 9m barrels a day of crude could be a game changer for oil prices and British companies
Iraq is poised to flood the oil market by tripling its capacity to pump crude by 2020 and is collaborating with Iran on strategy in a move that will challenge Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... 's grip on the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
"We feel the world needs to be assured of fuel for economic growth," Hussain al-Shahristani, Deputy Prime Minister for Energy in Iraq told oil industry delegates attending a Chatham House Middle East energy conference.
Al Shahristani said on Tuesday that Iraq plans to boost its capacity to produce oil to 9m barrels a day (bpd) by the end of the decade as Storied Baghdad ...located along the Tigris River, founded in the 8th century, home of the Abbasid Caliphate... rushes to bolster its economy, which is still shattered by war and internal conflict. Iraq was producing 3m bpd in December, according to the International Energy Agency.
Iraq's intention to challenge Saudi Arabia's status as the "swing producer" in the OPEC cartel could see a dramatic fall in oil prices if Storied Baghdad decides to break the group's quotas and sell more of its crude on the open market.
"It's very difficult to predict actual world (oil) demand by 2020 because the world economy is unpredictable," said Mr al-Shahristani.
British oil giants BP and Royal Dutch Shell are also poised to benefit from Iraq's ambitious production plans. Both companies are already managing two huge oil fields in southern Iraq which are vital if Storied Baghdad is to achieve its goal.
However, a person who gets all wrapped up in himself makes a mighty small package... even if Iraq is able to achieve its target of boost production capacity it is unlikely to be able to put in place sufficient pipeline and port infrastructure to export the additional crude.
Iraq's main export terminal for loading oil tankers at Al Faw near Basra will require billions of pounds worth of improvements in addition to the refurbishment of its pipeline network.
Iraq's ambitious plan could see it clash increasingly with the regime in Saudi Arabia, which has used its influence in OPEC over the last decade to keep oil prices above $100 a barrel. Saudi itself is now under pressure to boost output to maintain market share. The kingdom pumped 9.8m bpd in December up by about 100,000 barrels from the previous month.
Experts say that attention within OPEC, which pumps 30pc of the world's crude, could increasingly focus on compliance with more of the group's members tempted to pump more barrels to protect their share of the market as the cartel grapples with the rise of US shale oil production.
OPEC agreed in early December to renew for six months its 30m bpd output cap for the first half of the year to keep prices above $100. However, a person who gets all wrapped up in himself makes a mighty small package... quotas have in the past proved difficult for OPEC as a group to enforce without any binding penalties for over-producing. Since its restoration to OPEC following the 2003 Gulf War, Iraq has been excluded from the group's quota system to allow its economy to recover but pressure is mounting for it to comply this year.
The International Monetary Fund this week warned that Iraq's weak economy remains vulnerable to fluctuations in oil markets. Crude oil exports account for 93pc of government revenues. The IMF estimated that Storied Baghdad required an average oil price of $106.1 per barrel in 2013 to balance its budget, up from $95 in 2011 because of higher spending.
Despite Mr al-Shahristani's hopes for boosting Iraq's energy sector there are severe concerns over security amid fears the country may again be slipping toward a civil war between Sunni and Shia Moslem factions.
In a further challenge to Saudi Arabia, which is mostly closed to international oil companies, Mr al-Shahristani revealed that Storied Baghdad is working with Iran to help it attract investment ahead of the possible lifting of sanctions. Oil companies are understood to be queuing up to win Iranian oil deals.
"Iran has been in touch with us," said Mr al-Shahristani. "They want to share our contracts model and experience."
Combined, Iran and Iraq hold greater reserves of oil than Saudi Arabia and the potential with the help of international investment to match its capacity to produce oil, which currently stands at around 12.5m b/d of crude.
Rising Iran is proceeding full-bore to prove to the Islamic-Muslim world that it-n-it-alone, not any longer the Saudis, should lead + be in charge of the Islamic holy places.
[An Nahar] Two French school students who bravely ran away to fight in Syria were back home Tuesday with some explaining to do to their bewildered parents and teachers and the police.
The two boys, aged 15 and 16, flew to Turkey on January 6 with the apparent intention of crossing the border into Syria and performing "jihad" or holy war alongside the thousands of imported muscle who have joined rebels battling Bashir al-Assad's government forces.
The younger of the two succeeded in crossing the border but neither boy reached the front line, to the relief of anxious friends and family in Toulouse ...lies on the banks of the River Garonne, half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. The Toulouse metropolitan area is the fourth-largest in La Belle France... , where they were both pupils at the Arenes Lycee, or high school.
The 16-year-old arrived home on Sunday while the 15-year-old, whose repatriation was delayed by complications linked to his entering Syria, got back on Tuesday.
The latter's father appealed to journalists to leave the family alone. "We need to rest, these are very difficult moments for us," he said.
The pair face interrogation from police about how they came to be sufficiently radicalized to embark on such an adventure and the contacts they must have made in order to believe it was possible.
According to Interior Minister Manuel Valls, as many as 700 Frenchies could have joined the fighting in Syria, with perhaps one fifth of the total accounted for by converts to Islam.
Valls has described these Death Eaters as a ticking time bomb whose eventual return to La Belle France will present the country with a major security challenge in years to come.
The case of the 15-year-old has been most surprising for his parents and teachers. Brought up in a devout Moslem family, he had never shown any sign of radicalism and had no history of trouble at school or with the police.
The other boy was known to the police in connection with minor offences and comes from a family which includes several Islamist hardliners. He is suspected of having perhaps influenced his younger friend.
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[DAWN] BANNU: Thousands of villagers have fled their homes in Pakistain's North Wazoo region, fearing a major military operation by armed forces after they said dozens of people had been killed in air strikes targeting Talibs earlier this month.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... 's government says all those who were killed in the swift Jan 21 operation were bad boys, but local residents in the volatile region bordering Afghanistan said the corpse count included many civilians.
The Mighty Pak Army was not available to comment on the possibility of further operations.
Sharif has been under intense pressure from hawks within his administration to take aggressive military action against Pak Taliban after his efforts to engage them in talks floundered in recent months.
The Arclight airstrikes last week came a day after a Taliban jacket wallah killed 13 people in a crowded market near the capital Islamabad and two days after the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) -- Pak wing of the Islamist bad boy group -- killed 20 troops in the northwest town of Bannu.
Fearing another offensive by armed forces, a wave of refugees left the region to take shelter in schools, private homes and veterinary clinics in the normally more peaceful areas of Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan ... the Pearl of Pashtunistan ... on the edge of the tribal belt.
A bigwig in Bannu said 23,000 refugees had fled to the town.
"Innocent women and kiddies were hit in the air offensive in North Waziristan," said Janaat Bibi, 90, a refugee in Bannu, who added that she was suffering from high fever.
"We walked on foot for several kilometres at night until the bombing died down. Then we got a lift on a tractor and arrived in Bannu."
People in North Waziristan, a rugged land of rocky mountains and steep valleys that is home to several al Qaeda-linked groups, live in constant fear of being targeted by both the Taliban and government troops.
"They are moving their families in anticipation of an army operation," said a government relief official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
"There is no operation going on and we as a government body have not been informed about it either, but the people seem to be afraid. They want to flee before there is a state of emergency."
Many refugees in Bannu said the government had made no arrangements to provide them with shelter.
A charity wing of Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... (JI), a religious political party, was seen distributing rations and blankets to the refugees -- a frequent sight in Pakistain where Islamist groups often step in to offer relief during crises.
"We were forced to leave our house behind by the heavy pounding of the jets. On our way to Bannu we were harassed at several check posts by security officials," said Najeebullah, 26, who fled with 25 members of his family.
"We will not return to our homes unless we are satisfied that there will be no more bombings."
Posted by: Fred ||
01/29/2014 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in Pakistan
#1
The villagers flee Pakistan air attacks but not US drone attacks. I presume it's because, unlike the Pakistan bombers, the US mainly hits what they aim at, and it's not the villagers.
[DAWN] The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... government claims there has been no stoppage or ban of the launch of Malala Yousafzai's book at a university in Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. , and that it was "only an issue of venue."
Organisers and officials said the launch ceremony for the education activist's memoir "I am Malala" at the Area Study Centre of Peshawar University was cancelled after pressure from the provincial government.
News of the reported cancellation of the ceremony baffled Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who isn't your heaviest-duty thinker, maybe not even among the top five... , the chief of the Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf ...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations.... (PTI) which heads the provincial government.
"I am at a complete loss to understand why Malala's book launch in Peshawar was stopped. PTI stands 4 freedom of expression & debate," he tweeted.
Shireen Mazari, the vice president of the PTI, said Tuesday in a message on social media website Twitter: "Shah Farman Info Min KP clarified that there has been no ban or stoppage of launch of Malala's bk in Peshawar. It was only an issue of venue."
Provincial information minister Shah Farman confirmed the administration had halted the ceremony.
"It is true that we stopped them and there were many reasons for that," said Farman.
He said the venue was "not suitable" for the launch and accused organisers of using the event as a way to get money from the United States. "It was just to get more US funding," Farman said.
He said that the politically-affiliated Bacha Khan Foundation could have held the ceremony at the Awami National Party (ANP) headquarters, the Bacha Khan Markaz, at any hotel or anywhere they wanted to.
The "government is ready to support them but using educational institutions for political gains would disrupt the educational environment for the students," he said.
He said that the KP government encourages healthy debate and discussions but this book is the personal writing of Malala Yousafzai and had nothing to with educational activities of the university and was being "used for political mileage."
Khadim Hussain, the head of the Bacha Khan Education trust which was supporting the launch ceremony, said the pressure to cancel the event was a sop to bad boys.
"They stopped us to please Taliban, we will soon announce another date for the book launching," Hussain told news agency AFP.
A senior police official said allowing the ceremony to go ahead would have meant attracting Taliban attacks in future.
"Everyone knows that Taliban are against Malala, so we do not want to open another front for ourselves," the official said, requesting anonymity.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/29/2014 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
Men like late Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden do not die but stay alive in the hearts of people, said chief of the right wing Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Syed Munawar Hassan ... The funny-looking leader-for-life of the Pak Jamaat-e-Islami. He joined the National Students Federation (NSF), a lefty student body, and was elected its President in 1959. He came into contact with the Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba (IJT) Pakistan and studied the writings of Mawlana Syed Abul Ala Maududi, The Great Apostasizer. As a result, he joined IJT in 1960 and soon he was elected as President of its University of Karachi Unit and member of the Central Executive Council. He was Assistant Secretary General of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistain in 1992-93, and became Secretary General in 1993. After years of holding Qazi's camel he was named Amir when the old man stepped down in 2009... while addressing a seminar in Islamabad on Tuesday.
Hassan added that death of the Al Qaeda leader was considered a big victory for 60 per cent of the countries around the world, but the US is afraid that Bin Laden will come back to life after the withdrawal of Nato troops from Afghanistan.
Commenting on the pullout of foreign troops, the JI chief remarked that Afghanistan has become the "graveyard of science and technology" of the West.
In May, 2011 Bin Laden was shot dead deep in Abbottabad in a night-time helicopter raid by US covert forces, ending a decade-long manhunt for the mastermind of the September 11 attacks.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/29/2014 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Jamaat-e-Islami
#1
Could the 40% be muslim countries funded by Iran or Saudi?
Posted by: Paul D ||
01/29/2014 6:53 Comments ||
Top||
#2
I was thinking "The People's Democratic Republic of Lesser Rhetorica," myself.
Patron-in-Chief of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, has called for a decisive action against terrorists saying the time for dialogue has ended.
"I think we have exhausted the option of (peace) talks," Bilawal said while speaking to BBC's Lyce Doucet in an interview about talks with the Tehreek-e-Taleban Pakistan (TTP).
He added that the national consensus to hold peace talks that was built had been squandered by politicians who used 'this is America's war' as an excuse to "hide their cowardice" (an apparent reference to Imran Khan).
Bilawal remarked that the politicians of the country were "confusing the nation on purpose because they are scared." He called for all the political parties to unite against the threat posed by the TTP.
"I want to eliminate the Taleban from Pakistan," he said while adding that the attacks by the TTP were not just confined to North Waziristan. "They have been attacking us in Karachi."
If only the country had a strong leader. Like him, for example...
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/29/2014 00:00 ||
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US Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday told Pakistan it had the potential to become a future economic tiger as he backed reforms and inclusion of women and minorities.
The United States and Pakistan were meeting for the first time since October 2010 for their strategic dialogue.
Kerry, who as a senator spearheaded a multibillion-dollar support package for the country, said the United States wants stronger ties with the people of Pakistan I emphasise, with the people of Pakistan as the Afghan war which forged their partnership winds down.
He praised Prime Minister Nawaz Sharifs economic reforms, which include efforts to build Pakistans miniscule tax base, as part of a $6.7 billion loan package from the International Monetary Fund.
The United States has no doubt that Prime Minister Sharifs policies will put Pakistan on a path towards a more prosperous future, and we fully support his goal of making Pakistans marketplace a tiger economy for the 21st century, Kerry said.
Don't try this at home, your lips will fall off...
The United States has added 1,000 megawatts of capacity to Pakistans troubled electricity grid and is looking at greater cooperation in energy, education and infrastructure, Kerry said.
So we aid energy production abroad and try to choke it here in the states. How typical of the Obama administration...
Kerry also warned that Pakistans women and minorities needed to be part of its future.
We believe very strongly that Pakistan is stronger for the diversity and dynamism of its people and is strongest when every man and woman in Pakistan, regardless of religion or sect or gender, participates in full in society, Kerry said.
Pakistan has trudged forward at a growth rate of around three per cent over the past five years, short of the levels seen as needed for the youthful country to tackle widespread poverty. The growth is well below the growth clocked by East Asias tiger economies or neighbour and historic rival India.
The central State Bank of Pakistan has been more optimistic, projecting GDP growth of up to four per cent in the current fiscal year.
I'm predicting that I'll cash in on the Powerball next week...
The IMF has said that Pakistan is on track with reforms but has warned of dwindling foreign reserves and moved upcoming consultations to outside the country due to security concerns.
Sartaj Aziz, Sharifs national security adviser, said that Islamabad wanted to turn a transactional relationship into a deeper partnership in which the United States will not look at Pakistan from the two specific lenses of Afghanistan and terrorism.
Since we're bugging out of the former and see the Paks as the problem, not the solution, in the latter...
Aziz repeated common Pakistani complaints that the United States abandoned the country in the early 1990s after they collaborated to defeat Soviet forces in Afghanistan.
Of course. You weren't good for anything else back then...
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/29/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
"Pakistan's marketplace a tiger economy for the 21st century"
I didn't know there was a global market for bile and spittle.
[Ynet] An international deal capping Iran's nuclear work set the program back by just six weeks, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday, accusing Tehran of using the hiatus to hone technologies with bomb-making potential.
Iran this month began implementing the interim nuclear accord it clinched with world powers in Geneva in November, and which Netanyahu has condemned as a "historic mistake" for easing sanctions on Israel's arch-foe while letting it retain the infrastructure to make fissile materials.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
01/29/2014 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#4
See also TIMES OF ISRAEL > IRAN CAN NOW BUILD + DELIVER NUKES, US INTELLIGENCE REPORTS SAYS.
US DNI Chief James Clapper.
IIUC, IOW Rising Iran now officially a DE FACTO NUCLEAR POWER/STATE.
YOOHOO, PUDGY = NORTH KOREA, I'M A'LOOKIN AT YOU.
* Also from TOPIX > [YNet News] PENTAGON STUDY: US ILL-EQUIPPED TO TO DETECT FOREIGN NUCLEAR EFFORT.
"Foreign" read, NUCLEAR TERRORISTS/JIHADISTS.
IIUC, IOW AL-QAEDA, TALIBAN, LeT + HAQQANIS, ETAL. HARD BOYZ COULD BE NUCLEARIZING AS WE SPEAK OR POST, + THE US WON'T KNOW IT NOR WILL BE ABLE TO STOP 'EM UNTIL ITS TOO LATE???
Once knowledge is learned, its learned - the Hard Boyz can + will be considered as de facto Nuclearized even iff they don't actually possess any physical NucBombs or NucMissles per se.
* SAME > [JPost] IAF [aka Israeli Air Force = IDAF] CHIEF: ISRAEL CAN DESTROY HEZBOOLAH BASES IN LEBANON. INCLUDING ONES IN RESIDENTIAL AREAS.
IDF's capabilities is now 15X greater than its last meeting agz Hezbollah back in 2006.
* SAME > [The Blaze] ISRAEL MILITARY INTEL CHIEF SAYS THIS COLOSSAL NUMBER OF MISSLES ARE CURRENTLY POINTED AT JEWISH STATE.
Up to 170,000 Rockets + Missles whose accuracy, payload, + reliability, etc. keeps improving steadily over time.
"Dual-use"???
VERSUS
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > [Haaretz = 2009] IRAN: WE HAVE 70,OOO SUICIDE BOMBERS READY TO STRIKE ISRAEL | HAARETZ.
* HAARETZ > US INTEL CHIEF: [Pro-Al-Qaeda]SYRIA JIHADISTS [Al-Nusra Front] TRYING TO ATTACK WEST, including USA], ISRAELI MILITARY INTELLIGENCE CHIEF SAYS AL-QAIDA MILITANTS HAVE [three] BASES IN TURKEY WID EASY ACCESS TO EUROPE.
* WORLD FREE BULLETIN > WITHDRAWAL FROM IRAQ COULD MAKE IT A SAFE HAVEN FOR AL-QAEDA.
[IranPressTV] Saudi Arabia is supporting the Israeli regime in its plan to replace the holy al-Aqsa Mosque with a temple, an analyst tells Press TV in an interview.
Saab Shaath was talking to Press TV on Saturday, one day after Israeli Minister of Housing and Construction Uri Ariel called for the construction of what he called "the Third Temple" to replace the holy site.
"Al-Aqsa Mosque is currently in place of the temple," Ariel claimed.
Shaath said Saudi Arabia has always provided support for the Zionist regime's anti-Palestinian moves and "offered under-the-table support for Israel in their alliance against Syria."
"The only thing, which will stop the Israelis from going that far, is the Arab-Palestinian resistance in the Gaza Strip and in Lebanon," he said.
Shaath said Israel intends to "secure as much as they can from territories in the West Bank."
"And they will go as far as the destruction of the existing al-Aqsa Mosque since now they see the Arabic masses got used to the desecration of religious sites as we notice in Syria by the Takfiri groups and the Arab masses have been shut enough to keep it quiet, that's what they believe," he added.
Al-Aqsa Mosque is considered the third holiest site in the Muslim world.
Palestinians have denounced the Israeli plan as desecration. They say it is part of the Israeli regime's ongoing attempts to distort the Arab and Islamic history. Palestinians argue that al-Quds is the capital of a future Palestinian independent state, and that its heritage should remain intact.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/29/2014 00:00 ||
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[Ynet] Jerusalem District prosecutor's office filed and indictment with the city's district court against two of the suspects in an al-Qaeda plot to stage bombings in Israel.
Iyad Abu Sara from east Jerusalem was accused of contacting a foreign operative and supporting a terror organization. Rubin Abi Najma from a village near Nablus was indicted for an attempted attack, manufacture and possession of weapons, as well as other violations. Last week it was cleared for publication that the two were planning an attack on the US embassy in Tel Aviv.
[An Nahar] The U.N. failed to break a deadlock at Syrian peace negotiations in Geneva on Tuesday, with talks interrupted after the regime railed against Washington instead of dealing with a transition of power.
There was also no movement on bringing relief to besieged residents in Syria's central city of Homs, where U.N. trucks are waiting for access to deliver desperately needed food and medical aid.
After a difficult morning meeting on the fourth day of talks, U.N. mediator Lakhdar Brahimi said he had decided to cancel afternoon talks and reconvene the parties for "what I hope will be a better session" on Wednesday morning.
"Nobody is walking out, nobody is running away," Brahimi told news hounds after cutting short a fourth day of talks aimed at ending the bloody civil war that has claimed 130,000 lives.
The U.N.-Arab League ...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... envoy stressed that neither party bore the blame for his decision to cancel Tuesday's afternoon session after morning talks remained stuck.
"We have not achieved any breakthrough, but we are still at it, and this is good enough as far as I'm concerned," Brahimi said, adding that he was hoping for "a better session tomorrow (Wednesday) morning".
His comments followed a flurry of statements from both sides blaming the other for obstructing the morning's talks, which were marked by the regime delegation's harsh condemnation of a report that the U.S. Congress had secretly approved funding for weapons deliveries to "moderate" Syrian rebel factions.
Brahimi rejected the regime's contention that the United States, which along with Russia instigated the peace talks, was not dedicated to their success.
"I believe that they are serious and they want this track to be successful... There is no doubt concerning that," he said.
A member of the opposition negotiating team, Rima Fleihan, told Agence La Belle France Presse that Brahimi adjourned the meeting "because the regime is not cooperating on any subject, not on humanitarian issues and not on a transitional governing body."
She said the opposition had presented a preliminary transition plan laying out its "vision" for Syria, but the regime refused to engage in talks.
"We have a vision, unfortunately the regime presented nothing and refused all discussion," Fleihan said.
Tuesday morning's session saw delegates from Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad The Scourge of Hama... 's regime present a statement it wanted adopted that condemned Washington.
The statement, obtained by Agence La Belle France Presse, said "the United States has made a decision to resume arming terrorist groups in Syria."
"This decision can only be understood as a direct attempt to obstruct any political solution in Syria through dialogue," it said.
It follows a report from the Rooters news agency that the U.S. Congress secretly approved funding for weapons deliveries to "moderate" Syrian rebel factions.
Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Muqdad said that showed Washington "is not interested in the success" of the grinding of the peace processor.
A State Department front man, Edgar Vasquez, dismissed accusations of Washington supporting terrorism as "ludicrous."
"The Assad regime is a magnet for terrorists. The regime's brutality is the source of the violent extremism in Syria today," he said in a statement.
"We support the moderate political and military opposition who are fighting for the freedom and dignity of all the Syrian people."
Delegates from the regime and the opposition National Coalition have been brought together in the biggest diplomatic push yet to end a civil war that has left more than 130,000 dead and forced millions from their homes.
Expectations are low for a breakthrough, especially after the talks hit an impasse Monday when the two sides failed to agree on even the basic principles of political talks.
Despite their frustration, each side vowed it would not be the first to walk away from the talks, which are expected to last until Friday.
In the only tangible promise to emerge from the meetings so far, Brahimi said Sunday the regime had agreed to allow women and kiddies safe passage from besieged rebel-held areas of Homs.
But there has been no movement since, on either an evacuation or Brahimi's hope that aid convoys will be allowed in the areas.
The Old City of Homs has been under siege since June 2012 after rebels there rose against the regime, with an estimated 500 families living with near-daily shelling and the barest of supplies.
U.N. bodies and the International Committee of the Red Thingy have said they are on standby with aid but are waiting for approval to move in.
"The convoy is ready and still waiting to enter. The authorization has not been given yet," Brahimi said. "We haven't given up on that."
Activists in Homs on Tuesday urged opposition figures at the talks to push for the lifting of the 600-day siege.
"We need the siege lifted and to ensure that residents can enter and exit through safe corridors, without passing through regime checkpoints," the activists said in a statement.
Should the siege remain in place, "all solutions will be futile, and will do nothing to end this tragedy," they said.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/29/2014 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
#1
D *** NG IT, HHHHMMMM, HHHHHMMMM, WELL NOW DATS STRANGE, KARZAI may be making the same case over in AFPAK agz the Bammer = USA ... ...
* BHARAT RAKSHAK > KARZAI BUILDING CASE AGAINST AMERICA???
#2
She said the opposition had presented a preliminary transition plan laying out its "vision" for Syria, but the regime refused to engage in talks
Somehow I think "your bloody and battered heads on stakes in front of the presidential palace," while emotionally satisfying, won't be welcomed by the regime.
[An Nahar] Investigation revealed on Tuesday that the eight booby-trapped cars whose description was recently made public for suspecting their use in possible future bombings were all stolen in 2013 by a person called Eid Rasamni.
"Investigation revealed that these vehicles were all stolen around the same time by Eid Rasamni," LBCI television said.
It added: "Rasamni was paid a certain amount of money to hand over the vehicles to several people and networks that were positioned in the Bekaa."
LBCI had broadcast on Monday what it called a "security" list circulated by the army's Intelligence Bureau that identify eight cars that "could be used in terrorist acts," demanding security checkpoints to seize these vehicles.
LBCI noted on Tuesday that the Anti-Theft Bureau tossed in the calaboose You have the right to remain silent... Assadallah Assi and Nabil Moussawi, who was held on charges of selling cars that were booby-trapped in Beirut's southern suburbs.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/29/2014 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: al-Nusra
[An Nahar] The al-Qaeda's North Africa branch mourned on Tuesday the death of the "emir" of the al-Qaeda-linked Abdullah Azzam Brigades ... Leb's current al-Qaeda affiliate, named after a guy whose car the current head of al-Qaeda had boomed... Majed al-Majed, considering that he had traveled to Leb to "defend Sunnis."
"Today, we say goodbye to a brave leader and to an honorable man who spent his days in jihad to defend vulnerable Moslems," a statement released by AQIM (al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb) stated.
The statement, which was published on CNN's website on Monday afternoon, revealed that al-Majed had come to Leb to defend Sunnis.
"He came to Leb where Sunnis are greatly oppressed, where the government is treasonous and where there is a sectarian gang working under the commandment of Qom's rulers," it elaborated.
Addressing Hizbullah, the statement added: "I tell you, al-Majed has left behind what will deprive you of your sleep, he left men that do not accept to be treated as inferiors in their own religion."
"We will not quit until this land is free of your evil acts, unless you come back to your senses and quit oppressing Sunnis in Syria, Iraq and in other Islamic countries."
AQIM assured that "Sunnis will attain their goal and succeed in their noble cause."
The army announced on January 4 the death of al-Majed after the deterioration of his health. He was suffering from kidney problem.
Majed is the suspected head of the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, which grabbed credit for the November 19 attack against the Iranian embassy in Beirut, killing 25 people.
According to Islamist websites, he was revealed to be the leader of the Brigades in 2012.
The Abdullah Azzam Brigades group was designated in the United States in 2012 as a "terrorist organization".
It was formed in 2009 and is believed to have branches in both the Arabian Peninsula and Leb.
In 2009, Leb sentenced Majed in absentia to life in prison for belonging to a different myrmidon group, the al-Qaeda-inspired Fatah al-Islam A Syrian-incubated al-Qaeda work-alike that they think can be turned off if no longer needed to keep the Lebanon pot stirred. .
The Army Command said in a statement that he died while he was being treated at the central military hospital.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/29/2014 00:00 ||
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[Egypt Independent] The United Nations ...an idea whose time has gone... food agency is ready to deliver a month of rations to the Old City of Homs in Syria for 2,500 people once it gets a green light from all sides, a World Food Programme (WFP) spokeswoman said on Tuesday.
The UN hub in Homs is preparing an inter-agency aid convoy carrying food and other supplies for the besieged population in the rebel-held city, she said in response to a query.
"Once all parties on the ground allow the inter-agency convoy to proceed, WFP will deliver to the Old City 500 family rations and 500 bags of wheat flour, enough for 2,500 people for one month," WFP spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs told Rooters.
International mediator Lakhdar Brahimi said on Monday the Syrian government and opposition parties were still discussing how women and kiddies could leave the Old City, where the United States has said people are starving, but there had been no decision on allowing access for a convoy due to snipers and other problems.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/29/2014 00:00 ||
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The United States has restarted deliveries of non-lethal aid to the Syrian opposition, officials said Monday, more than a month after Al Qaeda-linked militants seized warehouses and prompted a sudden cutoff of Western supplies to the rebels. The communications equipment and other items are being funneled for now only to non-armed opposition groups, said the US officials.
Because the non-armed opposition would never be forced to help the armed opposition...
But the move nevertheless boosts Syrias beleaguered rebels, who saw their international support slide after militants seized bases near the Turkish border that had been under the authority of a key US-backed leader.
It could also be seen as a US reward to the opposition for its participation in ongoing peace talks with President Bashar Al Assads government in Geneva.
The US officials said the aid was being sent through Turkey into Syria, with the coordination of the Free Syrian Armys Supreme Military Council, led by Gen. Salim Idris, a secular-minded, Western-backed moderate. They stressed that the halt in supplies last month was only a precautionary measure until the Obama administration could once again verify the security of aid packages.
Items taken in December from the Bab Al Hawa crossing between Syria and Turkey have since been returned, the officials said, and US-supported rebel groups have taken steps to prevent future supplies from being diverted.
Direct, nonlethal US assistance to armed Syrian rebel units could resume soon, US officials said. They provided no indication about the status of lethal assistance such as body armor and ammunition.
Britain also suspended deliveries some six weeks ago and Turkey shut its side of the border as fears over the growing strength of extremists.
The US officials said they resumed deliveries of a range of goods to civilian actors in Syria as early as late December. These included ambulances, garbage trucks, generators, food baskets, school supplies and office equipment. The officials the aid is going to local and provincial councils and civil society groups, and the United States is confident the deliveries are reaching their intended recipients. They stressed US support for the moderate armed and unarmed opposition remains steadfast.
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01/29/2014 00:00 ||
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[Ynet] Hezbollah's security apparatus has reinforced its forces since Sunday in the organization's stronghold district south of Beirut after receiving intelligence of a planned attack.
There is an increased presence of Hezbollah personnel dressed in civilian clothing in the inner neighborhoods of the district -- which has been emptied of its residents -- according to the newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat. Lebanese Interior Minister Marwan Charbel told the newspaper that the threats will remain as long as the situation in Syrian goes unchanged.
[Huffpoo] 2008 Campaign REDUX:
"This needs to be the year Congress lifts the remaining restrictions on detainee transfers and we close the prison at Guantanamo Bay --- because we counter terrorism not just through intelligence and military action, but by remaining true to our Constitutional ideals, and setting an example for the rest of the world," Perhaps a Venezuela prison venue is the example he seeks.
#1
We could follow the Geneva Convention. Give the inmates a court martial to determine if they are illegal combatants. If they are found guilty, execute them.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
01/29/2014 9:55 Comments ||
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#2
As I recall, and I'm certainly no expert on the Geneva Conventions, the inmates need merely get a field court: if obviously an illegal combatant, one can mete out punishment then and there.
If I were president (don't worry, no one's asked) I'd be touting our confinement of these jokers at Gitmo as evidence of American fair play, good heartedness and compassion. I'd remind our Arab friends what Arab dictators themselves generally do to those who oppose them. Then I'd point out that any time the inmates at Gitmo want Arab rules instead of American rules, that's fine with me.
Crickets would chirp loudly at that point.
Gitmo, properly used, is a tool, not a liability.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/29/2014 10:43 Comments ||
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#3
But Champ is using it as a tool - to beat his opponents with and inspire those who would destroy the US.
In short he's using it as a tool for the other side.
#7
If I recall correctly, because he can't legally place them on US soil. And NYC didn't want them tried there due to risks and security gridlock to the city. Perhaps now that they (NYC) have a communist for a mayor that is no longer a concern.
#9
I think we realise by now that the gitmo detainees are following the Koran in their actions and they are taught this from a young age.
How can we do this without changing muslim govts/religious leaders worldwide.
Posted by: Paul D ||
01/29/2014 14:26 Comments ||
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#10
He is trying to shore up the left flank of the Democratic party. Geneva convention doesn't apply to these folks because their government or lack of never signed and/or doesn't follow the conventions. Geneva conventions were gentlemans agreements not suicide pacts.
#11
'Taint gonna happen despite the PCorrect rhetoric + diplomacy.
GITMO = REMOVING ASSAD = THE MSM + LEFTNET + DEMOLEFTY POLS,ALIGNED JUST LOVE TO TALK ABOUT IT, BUT NO ONE IS GENUINELY OR TRULY SERIOUS ABOUT DOING SO, VEE "THE SOLUTION/ANSWER IS WORSE THAN THE ORIGINAL PROBLEM".
No one wants to see Hard Boyz brought to CONUS under any circumstance or reason, + most of America's overseas Allies - major andor Minor - don't want 'em either.
IMO ITS FUNNY HOW THE GLOBIES + ALIGNED ARE ADHERING TO 1990'S CLINTONISM'S "THE USA-N-ONLY-THE-USA MUST BE RESTRAINED OR CONTROLLED", YET NO US GOP-DEM OR INTERNATIONAL POLITICO IS CALLING FOR AMENDING OR IMPROVING THE TREATY OF SAN FRANCISCO THAT GAVE BIRTH TO THE UNO, INCLUDING TO SERIOUSLY EMPOWER OR IMPROVE THE UNO ICC + INTERPOL, ETC.
IMO "CLOSING GITMO" = US MIGHT AS WELL SURRENDER LIKE FRANCE + LAWFULLY ALLOW PRO-ISLAMIST, PRO-JIHAD, PRO-SHARIA, PRO-INSURGENCY, HARDLINE US-BASED MADRASSAS + MULLAHS TO LEGALLY QUALIFY FOR ANY + ALL KINDS OF FED-STATE-LOCAL GOVT. ASSISTANCE.
The MSM-Net + DemoLeft + ACLU may as well start publicly supporting Sharia courts + related in the US.
Besides also the "Futurama" right of any + all Amerikans to have sex + marry their sexy slinky Robots + .... .... ... + Pet Goldfish.
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] Three years after a popular uprising forced out ex-general 
[Egypt Independent] The Strong Egypt Party has rejected the nomination of Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, defense minister, considering it an infringement against the civil country and that it places military in face of any other candidate.
[MAGHAREBIA] Algeria is calling on imams to become fully engaged in the fight against extremism and obscurantism.
Libyan and Egyptian officials say some of the six Egyptian diplomats and embassy staff members kidnapped in the capital Tripoli have been released and the rest are to follow soon. Both officials offered no details on the late Sunday release. Five Egyptian diplomats and an embassy staff member were kidnapped late Friday and early Saturday. It was not clear who abducted them.
[Yemen Post] On the wake of 
[Yemen Post] As part of its ongoing efforts to financially suffocate al-Qaeda and its affiliates across the region, the United Nation Security Council (UNSC) called on Monday for all countries to refrain from falling into the terror network's emotional blackmail by paying up kidnapping ransoms.
Wazoo
[DAWN] The 
Syed Munawar Hassan
US Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday told Pakistan it had the potential to become a future economic tiger as he backed reforms and inclusion of women and minorities. 
[IranPressTV] Saudi Arabia is supporting the Israeli regime in its plan to replace the holy al-Aqsa Mosque with a temple, an analyst tells Press TV in an interview.
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
[Ynet] Hezbollah's security apparatus has reinforced its forces since Sunday in the organization's stronghold district south of Beirut after receiving intelligence of a planned attack.
