[ToloNoews] A commander of public uprising forces and a close aide to Abdul Rashid Dostum ...ethnic Uzbek warlord who distinguished himself fighting the Soviets and the Taliban. The story that he had a bad guy run over with a tank is an exaggeration. It was an armored personnel carrier... , the First Vice President, on Friday warned Faryab local officials over the fate of his fighters who are under siege by holy warriors in the province.
He made the remarks at a joint meeting with MPs, members of provincial council, political parties and civil society from Faryab.
The commander, Nizamuddin Qaisari, warned that if his forces are not rescued, he will "kill" local officials, police and army commanders stationed in Faryab.
Public uprising forces under Qaisari’s command and dozens of other soldiers are under siege by the Taliban ...Arabic for students... in Shirin Tagab and Khawja Sabz Posh districts for past few days, an MP said.
"If one of them is killed, I will kill you all by my own hands.. If Shirin Tagab falls tonight (Friday), I will arrest you all. The president should hear it. The interior minister and other officials should hear what I say," Qaisari said.
"When you cannot rescue your forces, you must admit to the people that government has made a deal (with holy warriors)," Bashir, a resident of Faryab, said.
Some MPs at the event said festivities have reached close to Maimana City, the center of Faryab, adding that the situation requires a serious attention by government.
"Insecurity threatens Shirin Tagab, Dawlat Abad and Khawja Sabz Posh districts. The threats are visible also in the center of Belchiragh and Garzivan districts. Unfortunately, the wave of threats has reached to Qaramqol and Andkhoy districts," said Bashir Ahmad Tahyanj, an MP from Faryab.
Gen. Momin Andar, Commander the First Regiment of 209 Shahin Military Corps, meanwhile said security threats in Faryab are worrying.
"The situation of Shirin Tagab and Khawja Sabz Posh districts is worse. We have asked commandos to be deployed there," said Andar.
The Defense Ministry however said reinforcements have been sent and have supported well government forces in the province.
"Reinforcements have been sent there (to Faryab) and have supported government forces in the province. Even Shirin Tagab and Khawja Sabz Posh districts have been defended very well," Defense Ministry front man Mohammad Radmanish said.
[ToloNews] The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) in a report released on Thursday says the US government’s 17-year effort to stabilize parts of war-torn Afghanistan has mostly failed.
The report finds that much of the $4.7 billion USD spent on programs to stabilize areas cleared of gunnies has been largely wasted - some of it siphoned off by corrupt officials, some of it paying for projects that did more harm than good.
According to the report, the US government has appropriated about $126 billion to rebuild the country, most of it to train and equip security forces.
"The large sums of stabilization dollars the United States devoted to Afghanistan in search of quick gains often exacerbated conflicts, enabled corruption, and bolstered support for bully boys," the report says.
The report follows another issued this week by the Pentagon’s inspector general that found little progress in providing security for the Afghan people.
The report finds that bad strategy and policies in Afghanistan have led to billions wasted, more than 2,200 US troops killed and a dysfunctional country left behind.
"These two decisions - to prioritize the most dangerous parts of the country and to draw down forces on timelines unrelated to conditions on the ground - had a profound and harmful impact on countless downstream decisions regarding stabilization planning, staffing, and programming," the report says.
The huge flows of money into the impoverished country had the opposite effect of what was intended, the report says.
"By fueling corruption and the population's disillusionment with its government, the coalition undermined the very government it sought to legitimize and drove support for the insurgency," the report says.
Of the $4.7 billion spent, $2.4 billion went to programs administered by USAID and $2.3 billion was spent on the Pentagon's Commander's Emergency Response Program, the report says.
"Our analysis of the implementation of CERP suggests senior policymakers devoted money to a program with no overarching strategy, and without effective systems for collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data," the report says. "The result was a program that spent $2.3 billion in a profoundly underdeveloped economy with unknown effects."
There are at least 15,000 US troops in the country.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
05/26/2018 10:10 Comments ||
Top||
#4
...Get out as quickly as we can and with as little warning as possible, but leave a note:
"If it happens again, we will erase your godforsaken little patch of filth, and everyone who enabled you. There will be no aid, there will be no 'rebuilding'. We will act with all the brutality and cruelty that the world has attributed to us for the last seventy-three years.
It would be wise to listen."
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
05/26/2018 11:05 Comments ||
Top||
#5
Gee... its almost as if that was the plan or something.
#6
A playbill, a fable, a cable:
"Afghanistan soon will be stable!
Don't mind feeble whiners,"
Cried capable diners
Whose bellies pushed forward their table.
[Khaama Press] The Pak Ambassador to Afghanistan Zahid Nasrullah Khan has confirmed that the Taliban ...the Pashtun equivalent of men... group has good contacts with the regional countries as he admits that Pakistain has limited influence over the group.
...for a given value of limited that means sometimes the Taliban do exactly as they are told, while other times they are obedient to general ISI principles.
Khaaaan! made the remarks during an interview with The Diplomat and in response to a question regarding President Ghani’s offer to Taliban for peace and the influence of Pakistain to encourage the group for participation in peace talks.
"We have communicated this to the international community, including the U.S., that one thing needs to be understood: the Afghan character is very independent. Even when the Soviets withdrew in 1989, and we had a lot of influence with the mujahideen because we stood with them in that proxy war, they never listened to us and they were never able to reach any agreement. Then, the second instance was when Mullah Mohammad Blinky Omar ... a minor Pashtun commander in the war against the Soviets who made good as leader of the Taliban. As ruler of Afghanistan, he took the title Leader of the Faithful. The imposition of Pashtunkhwa on the nation institutionalized ignorance and brutality in a country already notable for its own fair share of ignorance and brutality. Died of an unspecified ailment in a Pak hospital... was in power and 9/11 happened. Pakistain was the [only] country that was recognizing that government, even the UAE and 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... had stepped back, but he never listened to us," the Pak Ambassador said.
"So yes, we have influence, but limited influence. You cannot expect Pakistain to guarantee that they will listen to us ‐ they may not listen to us. And also within the regional environment there are now also other countries with which Taliban have good contacts, their leadership especially," he added.
This comes as the Afghan and US officials have long been insisting that the Taliban receives support from Russia and Iran apart from Pakistain.
Oh? Do tell.
Following a coordinated Taliban attack on Farah city, the Afghan defense minister said on Saturday that the recent violence in Farah province has links with the management of the water resources, apparently pointing towards Iran’s concerns regarding the management of water resources flowing from Afghanistan.
The US Department of Defense or Pentagon officials had earlier said that they are not ruling out the involvement of Iran in a major offensive carried out by the Talibs in western Farah city of Afghanistan.
An interesting comment, which no doubt will result in the Mad Mullahs’ lives becoming a bit more interesting in future.
"I don’t think you can ever rule out how much Iran interferes throughout this region. Iran remains the most destabilizing factor in the Middle East. So no, I don’t think you can ever rule out their mischief," a spokesperson for Pentagon Dana White said.
Imagine how annoyed Pakistan is by this development, dear Reader.
[Khaama Press] The Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin ...President-for-Life of Russia. He gets along well with other presidents for life. He is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substance. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to him. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substances... have reportedly reached to an agreement regarding the launch of the first joint project in Afghanistan.
Sources privy of the development in the Indian government have said that the leaders of the two countries agreed regarding the implementation of the project during a meeting in Sochi.
Sources told The Indian Express that Modi proposed the idea for the joint project in Afghanistan, which Putin readily accepted. "Unlike in Wuhan, where Xi had proposed the Afghanistan project, here Modi took the initiative with Russia," a source said.
No further details have been given regarding the project and the estimated date for the launch of the project in Afghanistan.
India has played a major role in the reconstruction of Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban ...Arabic for students... regime and has invested over $2 billion in various reconstruction and infrastructure projects.
The construction of the major Salma Dam, the new Afghan parliament building, Zaranj-Delaram highway, and some other projects are among the key investments India has done so far in the country.
The government of India pledged a fresh aid package of $1 billion to support the reconstruction projects in Afghanistan during a visit by President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani ...former chancellor of Kabul University, now president of Afghanistan. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002 he was a scholar of political science and anthropology. He worked at the World Bank working on international development assistance. As Finance Minister of Afghanistan between July 2002 and December 2004, he led Afghanistan's attempted economic recovery until the Karzais stole all the money. .. in late 2016.
[AnNahar] Algeria blasted rights groups on Thursday for leading a "malicious campaign" against it, after NGOs accused the North African country of arresting sub-Saharan migrants colonists en masse and forcefully deporting them.
Algerian rights groups, activists and civil society members launched an advocacy push in mid-May entitled "We are all migrants colonists!"
Campaigners accused the state of being behind a "campaign of arbitrary arrests, followed by mass and collective expulsions" without due process.
Algeria's foreign ministry lashed out at the push, calling it "a malicious campaign... that wrongly accuses (the government) of failing to meet its international obligations" regarding migrants colonists.
"Algeria strongly rejects these serious accusations that aim... to undermine its image and its relations with its neighbors in the south," the ministry said.
It added authorities deport "illegal migrants colonists" with "full respect for human dignity and rights" and in close consultation with their home countries.
For several months, rights groups have denounced the mass arrests of sub-Saharan migrants colonists in Algeria, who are later "abandoned" in desert areas along the border with Niger or Mali, according to an October report by Amnesia Amnesty International.
On Tuesday, the U.N.'s human rights One man's rights are another man's existential threat. arm called on Algeria "to cease collective expulsions of migrants colonists particularly from sub-Saharan Africa."
The mass expulsion of thousands of migrants colonists, "without individual review (of their case) or due process, is deeply alarming and not in line with Algeria's obligations under international human rights law," it said.
Rights groups estimate nearly 100,000 sub-Saharan migrants colonists have entered Algeria in recent years.
[IsraelTimes] Strategic Affairs Ministry lists more than a dozen NGOs it says violate EU's policy of opposing boycotts, provide support to terror groups
Israel called on the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... on Friday to halt funding to more than a dozen European and Paleostinian non-governmental organizations that it says promote boycotts against Israel, saying the financial support violates the EU’s stated policy that it opposes boycotts against the Jewish state.
Continued on Page 49
[ALMASDARNEWS] Ottoman Turkish Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hami Aksoy has warned that Ankara "will have to respond" to Washington’s possible suspension of delivery of the F-35 strike fighters to The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...just another cheapjack Moslem dictatorship, brought to you by the Moslem Brüderbund.... , according to the Hurriyet Daily News newspaper.
Aksoy slammed a recent US bill endorsed by "some US Senators" which specifically stipulates steps to keep Ankara from buying the F-35 warplanes, something that Aksoy said is "against the spirit of our alliance with the US."
"In this bill, the F-35’s shipment is attributed to giving up the S-400 purchase. These are different issues. And one should not put apples and pears in the same basket. This is not a program managed solely by the US. It is a multinational program and we expect everybody to fulfill their obligations," he said, stressing Ankara’s adherence to the program.
He recalled that Turkey’s position on the S-400 is clear and that "work is already underway to provide ourselves with a missile defense system."
Aksoy pointed out that it’s only natural that Ankara had decided to purchase the S-400 system given that Turkey "could not get similar systems Europe ...also known as Moslem Lebensraum... and the US."
His remarks come after the US House of Representatives called for an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) in order to require the Pentagon to report on the status of Ankara-Washington ties within 60 days. The new bill stipulates halting foreign arms sales to Ankara over its intention to buy Russia’s S-400 systems.
In late April, the Assistant Secretary of State, Wess Mitchell, told the House Foreign Affairs Committee that Turkey could face US sanctions if it goes ahead with plans to purchase S-400 missile defense systems from Russia and that it could also affect Ankara’s participation in the F-35 program.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/26/2018 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11126 views]
Top|| File under: Sublime Porte
#1
Well, how else are they gonna build S400 RCS detection signatures for the F35?
#2
...Coulda sworn Turkey had Patriot, but apparently not - they're still running HAWK and Nike-Hercules(!). Apparently the Spanish have a battery of Patriots there from when NATO sent some to defend against potential Syrian SSM strikes. Trying to find out though why they never bought Patriot in the first place.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
05/26/2018 10:22 Comments ||
Top||
#3
The Turks originally chose a Chinese S-300 clone over Patriot to upgrade their ADS. The deal fell through.
[Al Jazeera] Diplomats from the United States are being "treated badly" in Pakistain, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has told a US congressional hearing, adding that the South Asian country would continue to receive diminishing US aid.
The remarks from Pompeo, who was testifying before the US house foreign affairs committee on Thursday, come as relations between the two erstwhile allies have continued to deteriorate.
"My officers, our state department officers, are being treated badly as well, folks working in the embassies and councils [and] in other places are not being treated well by the Pak government either," Pompeo said, during a debate on the US State Department's budget for the 2019 fiscal year.
Earlier this month, the United States issued new restrictions for Pak diplomats posted in the country, requiring them to remain within a 25-mile (40.2km) radius of the city to which they are posted.
The State Department said it was taking the measures on a reciprocal basis, as US diplomats posted in Pakistain face severe restrictions on their ability to travel within the country.
Pakistain says the restrictions are due to security concerns.
In a statement to Al Jazeera, a spokesperson for the US embassy in Pakistain, alleged that "the harassment faced by American and local US Embassy and Consulate personnel in Pakistain restricts their ability to carry out their mission.
"We have also documented numerous cases in which ordinary Pak citizens participating in our educational, cultural, and development programs have faced harassment by Pak government officials."
Pakistain, however, said it has not received specific complaints from the US.
"Diplomats hailing from all countries enjoy diplomatic privileges alike and are provided every possible support as per international laws and norms as well as reciprocity," said Muhammad Faisal, a front man for the Pak foreign ministry.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/26/2018 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11127 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#1
There's always the threat of cutting of the money. That might get their attention.
[Ynet] Iraq's prime minister has ordered the creation of a high-powered commission to look into alleged irregularities in the parliamentary elections held May 12, the first sign that authorities are taking seriously complaints about the vote.
An official statement said an emergency Cabinet meeting held late on Thursday and chaired by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi named the country's anti-graft chief as the commission's leader. Assisting him will be the heads of five, top level security and oversight agencies.
There have been complaints of irregularities in the balloting earlier this month in which an electronic voting system was used for the first time.
A manual recount of votes in some areas has been called for, a request that has been rejected by the election commission as illegal.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
05/26/2018 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11126 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iraq
#1
When they finish that....
Posted by: Richard Aubrey ||
05/26/2018 6:09 Comments ||
Top||
[Ynet] European powers have until May 31 to present Iran with a plan to offset the US pullout from its nuclear deal and Washington's renewed sanctions, a senior Iranian official said, with Tehran "weeks" away from deciding whether to quit the pact.
The 2015 agreement between Iran and world powers lifted international sanctions on Tehran. In return, Iran agreed to restrictions on its nuclear activities, increasing the time it would need to produce an atom bomb if it chose to do so.
Since President Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... withdrew the United States this month, calling the agreement deeply flawed, European states have been scrambling to ensure Iran gets enough economic benefits to persuade it to stay in the deal.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
05/26/2018 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11130 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
So the EU does enough business with Iran to justify losing most of it’s trade with the USA?
[IsraelTimes] UN envoy Danny Danon says Tehran secretively launched a Shahab-3 and Scud in January tests, with both missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads
Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations ...an idea whose time has gone... , Danny Danon, on Thursday accused Iran of violating a Security Council resolution by conducting in January two previously unreported tests on ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife ||
05/26/2018 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11127 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#2
Easy enough to mistakenly use det cord instead of electrical wire for lighting the tunnels. Get everybody out, turn on the lights and BOOM, an accident.
#3
I guess the next Godzilla movie he'll win as the apparatchiks demand filings and process under the endangered species act before doing anything to harm it.
#4
Color me incredulous. The drug-smugglers dug the tunnels without checking U.S. governmental laws/regulation and now they can't be restored to the original state by filling them in. Do we have crazys running the Deep-State asylum?
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.
...ethnic Uzbek warlord who distinguished himself fighting the Soviets and the Taliban. The story that he had a bad guy run over with a tank is an exaggeration. It was an armored personnel carrier...
[ToloNews] The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) in a report released on Thursday says the US government’s 17-year effort to stabilize parts of war-torn Afghanistan has mostly failed.
... a minor Pashtun commander in the war against the Soviets who made good as leader of the Taliban. As ruler of Afghanistan, he took the title 
...President-for-Life of Russia. He gets along well with other presidents for life. He is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substance. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to him. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substances...
...former chancellor of Kabul University, now president of Afghanistan. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002 he was a scholar of political science and anthropology. He worked at the World Bank working on international development assistance. As Finance Minister of Afghanistan between July 2002 and December 2004, he led Afghanistan's attempted economic recovery until the Karzais stole all the money. ..
...also known as Moslem Lebensraum...
[Ynet] European powers have until May 31 to present Iran with a plan to offset the US pullout from its nuclear deal and Washington's renewed sanctions, a senior Iranian official said, with Tehran "weeks" away from deciding whether to quit the pact.
