Sheik Ahmed Mohamed Islam (Madobe), one of the Islamist officials of Hizbul Islam organization has Tuesday opposed uniting with Harakat Al-shabab mujahideen, just a day after members of Raskamboni forces said they had formally joined to Al-shabab. The official said that the figures claiming that they were from Raskanbomi were not in the list of that organization earlier adding that whole report of uniting the two sides was propaganda.
Sheik Ahmed Madobe said that Sheik Hassan Turkey was a sick puppy and was not serving any post for Islamist organization of Rakanboni stressing that the group was an independent organization that has no relation to any of the other groups in the country.
Asked about where he was at that time, he replied that he was in parts of Lower Jubba region in southern Somalia pointing out that he was member of attacks against Harakat Al-shabab Mujahideen fighters that happened at Afmadow town near the border between Somalia and Kenya.
The statement of Hizbul Islam's official Sheik Ahmed Mohamed Islam Madobe comes as both Islamist forces of Harakat Al-shabab Mujahideen and Raskamboni said that they had united in Baidoa town in Bay region on Monday
Posted by: ed ||
02/02/2010 8:51 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Smart to stay out of US cross hairs.
Let's hope they are in US crosshairs, with al Shebab allying with al Qaeda and Iran sending them "humanitarian" aid. We want no prisoners with Gitmo closed.
[Al Arabiya Latest] The prosecutor's office at the International Criminal Court (ICC) would ask the court to extend the deadline set for two Darfur rebel leaders to appear voluntarily at The Hague for questioning over their alleged role in a 2007 massacre, well-placed sources told Al Arabiya on Monday.
Secret negotiations between the ICC and the Darfur rebel leaders Abdallah Banda and Saleh Jerbo Jamus again failed to ensure the men's voluntary appearance at the court by a previously agreed Feb. 3, deadline.
Banda and Jamus were expected to go to Kenya and Chad respectively, over the past two days, and from there to The Hague to attend a one day procedural court session.
But the two men have not left Darfur and failed to present themselves voluntarily in The Hague as previously promised and agreed with mediators, well informed sources told Al Arabiya on condition of anonymity.
The two rebel leaders were accused by the ICC General Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo of responsibility for the massacre and displacement of more than 15,000 civilians.
Banda is the field commander for the forces of the United Resistance Front (URF), which is led by Bahr Idriss Abu Gharda. He is in charge of all ground operations against Sudanese Government Forces and the forces of the other rebel movement, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).
Banda has not left for The Hague primarily because of his occupation with military matters. But both Banda and Jamus are also subject to family pressures against their traveling to The Hague, despite guarantees they would be allowed to leave after one questioning session at the Court.
Independent sources denied early reports the United Nations would assist in the transportation of the two men to The Hague.
The ICC asked last year to use a UN helicopter to transfer to The Hague Bahr Idriss Abu Garda, the leader of Darfur's United Resistance Front, but the request was turned down
But ICC judges could decide on Feb. 3 to issue two arrest warrants for both Banda and Jamus for their failure to appear at the court on deadline, contrary to what they did with URF leader Abu Gharda.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/02/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Sudan
[Iran Press TV Latest] Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki says the Islamic Republic is ready to help efforts to establish peace in Somalia.
Mottaki made the remarks in a meeting with Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed on the sidelines of an African Union meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Monday.
The Iranian foreign minister also said Tehran is ready to send humanitarian assistance to the war-torn country.
He advised the Somali leader to enter into talks with opposition groups in order to bring peace to the country.
The opposition fighters have recently stepped up attacks against Somalia's UN-backed transitional government and African Union peacekeepers with the aim of toppling the embattled government.
The main armed opposition group in Somalia, Al-Shabab, is a military off-shoot of the Union of Islamic Courts.
They have been fighting Somali government troops and African Union peacekeepers in and around Mogadishu.
The Union of Islamic Courts came to power in southern Somalia in June 2006 after defeating Somali warlords. However, the UIC was forced out of power in December 2006 through an Ethiopian invasion aided by the United States.
Sheikh Ahmed also thanked Iran for its support of Somalia and said he would like to visit Iran in the near future.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/02/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
[Al Arabiya Latest] An al-Qaeda group in North Africa has offered to give Nigerian Muslims training and weapons to fight Christians in the West African country, where more than 460 people were killed in sectarian clashes last month.
Vice President Goodluck Jonathan sent in the military to halt the violence after four days of clashes between Christian and Muslim mobs armed with guns, knives and machetes in the area round the city of Jos in central Nigeria.
"We are ready to train your people in weapons, and give you whatever support we can in men, arms and munitions to enable you to defend our people in Nigeria," the statement by al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) said.
It was signed in the name of Abu Mus'ab Abdel-Wadoud, who was described as the "emir", or leader, of the group, and appeared on Islamic websites that often carry statements from groups using the al-Qaeda name around the world.
"You are not alone in this test. The hearts of Mujahideen are in pain over your troubles and desire to help you as much as possible, in the Islamic Maghreb, Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, Chechnya," it said.
Nigeria has roughly equal numbers of Christians and Muslims, though traditional animist beliefs underpin many people's faith.
About 1 million people were killed in Nigeria's 1967-70 civil war, and there have been outbreaks of religious unrest since then. But more than 200 ethnic groups generally live peacefully side by side in the West African oil producer.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/02/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in North Africa
[Asharq al-Aswat] General Dahi Khalfan Tamim, the Commander of the Dubai Police force told Asharq Al-Awsat that his country will not accept the participation of any Hamas security delegation in its investigation into the assassination of senior Hamas figure Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, who Hamas claim was assassinated by Israel in Dubai over two weeks ago. Tamim confirmed that the UAE only deals with the Palestinian Authority saying "we do not deal with any other [Palestinian] individuals or groups."
The Hamas movement announced that it will be sending a security delegation to Dubai in order to participate in the investigation into the al-Mabhouh assassination however General Tamim said that this offer will not be accepted by the UAE authorities. The Dubai Police Chief told Asharq Al-Awsat that "if Hamas asked to be involved in the investigation then our response to this would be that the issue is that of the sovereignty of the state, and it is not acceptable for any group to participate with us [in our investigation]...countries have the right of dealing with its internal issues without [external] intervention."
Tamim added that "we have an ambassador who represents the people of Palestine, and we will only deal with him, as was the case in the murder of the Chechen leader [Sulim Yamadeyev]."
The Dubai Police Chief also denied that there was any information on a failed assassination attempt carried out against al-Mabhouh in Dubai a few months prior to his death, as has been claimed by Hamas. He said that if this was the case "why didn't the party which claims this [occurred] reveal such an attempt [at the time]? They did not inform us or anyone of this [assassination attempt]."
The Dubai Police Chief also revealed to Asharq Al-Awsat that "at least seven individuals who are nationals of several European countries" are suspects in the al-Mabhouh assassination. General Tamim refused to reveal what European countries these suspects are nationals of, saying only "we are in contact with these countries to confirm the validity of the passports [used by the suspects]."
He also revealed that al-Mabhouh "was killed by strangulation" inside his hotel room "and it seems that he opened the door [to his attackers]" and that the official medical report indicates that "[his attackers] incapacitated him and then strangled him,"
General Tamim also posed the question "If Hamas knew that al-Mabhouh was such an important leader, why did they leave him unguarded, for Hamas leaders are always surrounded by guards."
The Dubai Police Chief told the Palestinian Consul that the Dubai police "would work night and day to track down the perpetrators no matter how long this takes, and will never relent against the criminals who commit any crime that is punishable by law, whether in the UAE or abroad."
He also revealed that al-Mabhouh arrived in Dubai on a passport that did not include his family name, and that Hamas failed to inform the UAE authorities of his presence.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/02/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[13 views]
Top|| File under: Hamas
#1
"look! We found a Talmud and a Star of David on the room's stationary!"
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/02/2010 20:13 Comments ||
Top||
[Bangla Daily Star] Jamaat-e-Islami has rejected the Election Commission's recent letter asking the party to further amend its charter to conform to the republic's constitution.
At a meeting on Sunday, it also decided to ask the EC to explain how its amended charter is at odds with the national constitution, party insiders said.
The EC on January 24 asked Jamaat to amend its constitution again as it falls short of meeting the registration criteria laid down in the representation of the people order (RPO).
In a letter to its secretary general, the commission pointed out that the party's aims and objectives and some other provisions do not concur with the country's constitution.
According to the RPO, a political party shall not be qualified for registration if its objectives are not in line with the constitution of Bangladesh.
The EC observed that Jamaat's call in its charter for establishing the rule of Islam through organised efforts warrants drastic changes to the basic structure of the country's constitution.
The constitution does not allow any amendments to its basic structure, noted the EC.
Senior Jamaat leaders at Sunday's meeting had a detailed discussion on the commission's letter. They resolved to stick to the stance that the party's aims and objectives do not contradict the constitution, supreme law of the land, meeting sources said.
Muhammad Kamaruzzaman, Jamaat's senior assistant secretary general, yesterday told The Daily Star, "We think the amended charter we have submitted to the Election Commission is alright. Nothing in it is against the national constitution."
AHM Hamidur Rahman Azad, a Jamaat lawmaker, told The Daily Star that they would soon meet the EC and say they have nothing objectionable in their amended constitution.
Kamaruzzaman said that the Communist Party calls for attaining Marxist ideals in the preamble to its constitution.
"If the Election Commission can thank them [Communist Party] in spite of that, then what's wrong with our wanting to bring about an Islamic rule?" he asked.
In its ratified charter submitted to the EC on July 22 last year, Jamaat declines to accept parliament's legislative power sanctioned by the constitution. It says people must not accept anyone except Allah as the maker of laws.
For registration before the ninth parliamentary election, Jamaat had deleted the clause from its provisionally amended charter, said EC officials.
But in its ratified charter it has reinstated the controversial clause, they added.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/02/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under: Jamaat-e-Islami
A judge has thrown out the case against a man accused of preparing terrorist acts after ruling he had no case to answer.
Prosecutors had alleged that Mohammed Usman Saddique (aged 27) of Walthamstow, east London, England, kept jihadist books and CDs at his home and had contact with convicted members of a plot to blow up transatlantic jets. But the trial, which was being heard at Inner London Crown Court, was aborted yesterday after his defence put in a submission to have it dismissed.
The jury had earlier heard that Mr Saddique possessed extremist documents at his home. One CD found at the premises had a folder entitled "Anarchy" which itself contained a subfolder titled "bombs". Files on it carried instructions on how to make explosives, the court heard.
The little sod was organized, at least.
That's little Saud to you ...
In an earlier statement, Mr Saddique confirmed that some of the jihadist material found in his house was his but said they were in his possession "out of curiosity" and were not being kept "with any malicious intent".
It was also alleged during the trial that the accused man knew and associated with convicted conspirators of an attempted terrorist plot. Telephone records linked him to Abdulla Ahmed Ali and Tanvir Hussain, prosecutors said. Both men were convicted, alongside Assad Sarwar, in September last year of conspiracy to murder by the detonation of improvised explosive devices on board transatlantic passenger aircraft.
The cost of that lengthy trial and retrial ran into the tens of millions of pounds, legal sources estimated at the time. It also led to demands for an apology by Muslim convert Donald Stewart-Whyte, who was cleared by the jury of involvement in the plot.
Referring to the collapse of the case against Mr Sadddique, a spokeswoman for the Crown Prosecution Service said: "The judge felt it should go to trial. Having heard the prosecution case and the defence submission of no case to answer, the judge has decided that the case should not continue."
#1
This is from The Sun:
Siddique claimed that when he downloaded the material from the internet he was motivated only by curiosity. But at an appeal hearing last year Donald Findlay QC, defending, admitted Siddique "had an intention, an aspiration to be a suicide bomber".
However, the lawyer argued the material found on his PC was "mere propaganda of no practical purpose whatsoever to any terrorist" and did not mean Siddique was about to commit a terrorist act.
#2
Our idiot President and his amateur attorney general are about to learn that no one knows how a trial will end except a defendant who plans to confess. If KSM walks, it will be very difficult for Barry to carry NY in 12.
The Navy will build six 5,600-ton "mini Aegis" destroyers. Navy headquarters announced the plan in a parliamentary audit at the Gyeryongdae military headquarters on Tuesday, pledging to use the destroyers as part of the main naval combat fleet.
This comes close to doubling the number of major combatants that they have available today.
The KDX-IIIA "mini" destroyers are upgrades from the 4,500 ton-class KDX-II without the Aegis capabilities and smaller than the 7,600 ton-class Aegis KDX-III.
The Navy currently has six KDX-II destroyers, including the Munmu the Great, and one KDX-III -- the King Sejong the Great. It pledged to operate an "efficient mobile naval combat fleet" by building the KDX-IIAs from 2019 until 2026. The project will cost more than W3 trillion (US$1=W1,169).
The KDX-IIA destroyers will be equipped with state-of-the-art weapons such as reconnaissance-level high-performance radar, SM-2 guided missiles and a close-in defense weapons system.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/02/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
I don't think they ordered this build with the Norks in mind.
North Korea on Sunday designated additional navigation bans on both coasts. A military source on Monday said the North banned navigations in four locations in the West Sea and one in the East Sea from 7 a.m. on Sunday to 8 p.m. on Tuesday.
Military authorities are watching out for the North Korean Army firing short-range missiles as part of a winter military exercise, which it has done in the past.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/02/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
And when the Norks are done playing games, I suppose it's only fair that the South Koreans get to unilaterally declare some no-navigation zones of their own wherever their hearts desire.
#2
I think this "no navigation zone" business is phrased the way it is because the translator doesn't know the phrase "Notice To Mariners," which is pretty standard practice for military exercises.
Against advice of his lawyer, Toronto 18 member goes on rant to defend his role in terror scheme
His defence lawyer thought it was a bad idea, and the judge said it was a "very bad idea." But Toronto 18 bomb plotter Shareef Abdelhaleem remained steadfast in his unusual request to take over the closing submissions from his lawyer at an entrapment hearing on Monday.
Abdelhaleem was found guilty of terrorism offences last month, but before a conviction is formally registered, the judge is hearing a defence motion alleging Abdelhaleem was entrapped. To prove this, the defence must show the police created a crime or induced the commission of a crime that otherwise would not have occurred.
Abdelhaleem explained to the Brampton court Monday that he thought it would be best if he pointed out the "nuances of the data" because he knows the case better than his lawyer. He even raised the possibility of firing his defence counsel so that he could address the court himself, saying this is "a critical time in my life and I'd like the opportunity to defend myself."
After a 30-minute break for the judge to reflect on the request, Abdelhaleem was permitted to argue his case and launched into an hour-long ramble. He emphatically maintained that his role in a 2006 explosives plot was that of a "mailman" who passed messages between the plot's mastermind, Zakaria Amara, and friend-turned-police agent Shaher Elsohemy, who was recruited to obtain bomb-making chemicals. The Mississauga man argued Elsohemy lured him into becoming the "middleman," saying, "The agent created that role. It didn't exist before."
Abdelhaleem said he agreed to accompany Elsohemy on meetings with Amara because the agent had pulled at his heart strings, saying he was afraid of being seen alone with Amara and didn't want to risk being arrested since he had a young family. "He came to me and he said, 'Please be there so that I will not be photographed with Amara,'" said Abdelhaleem. "I didn't have the heart to say 'No' ... I was tired, I was embarrassed to say 'No' and it was such a simple little small thing."
At times, Abdelhaleem's arguments were long-winded and incoherent, prompting the judge to ask for clarifications and at one point say: "This is just a jumble of words that to me does not make logical sense."
Prosecutors had argued Abdelhaleem was an active participant in a scheme targeting the Toronto offices of Canada's spy agency, the Toronto Stock Exchange and an Ontario military base. Prosecutor Croft Michaelson pointed out that Abdelhaleem was Amara's trusted confidant, ordered bomb-making chemicals and orchestrated details surrounding its delivery. He also noted that it was Abdelhaleem who reached out to Elsohemy and recruited him into the group, eventually introducing him to Amara.
"(Abdelhaleem) chose to participate in the commission of this crime and nothing that was said or done by the agent induced him or would have induced the average person in the position of Mr. Abdelhaleem to commit the crime," said Michaelson.
WASHINGTON, Feb 1 (Reuters) - A U.S. attempt to shoot down a ballistic missile mimicking an attack from Iran failed after a malfunction in a radar built by Raytheon Co (RTN.N), the Defense Department said. The botched $150 million test over the Pacific Ocean coincided with a Pentagon report that Iran had expanded its ballistic missile capabilities and posed a "significant" threat to U.S. and allied forces in the Middle East region.
In the exercise on Sunday, both the target missile, fired from Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands, and the interceptor, from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, performed normally, the Missile Defense Agency said.
"However, the Sea-Based X-band radar did not perform as expected," the agency said on its website. Officials will investigate the cause of the failure to intercept, it said. The SBX radar is a major component of the ground-based midcourse defense, the sole U.S. bulwark against long-range missiles that could be tipped with chemical, biological or nuclear warheads.
It's not the sole bulwark; we also have the SM-3 on naval ships, and we have THAAD.
It was the first time the United States had tested its long-range defense against a simulated Iranian attack. Previous drills have imitated a flight path from North Korea, another country in a standoff with the international community over its nuclear program.
Raytheon and Boeing Co, which manages the core ground-based midcourse defense, declined to comment on the test failure. Harris Corp, which provides systems engineering for the SBX radar, said its technology was not involved.
David Altwegg, the Missile Defense Agency's executive director, said the layered, multibillion-dollar missile defense continued to be dogged by insufficient attention to detail by the Pentagon's top contractors. But he said it was too early to assess blame for the miss.
"We have problems with all our primes," Altwegg told a Pentagon budget briefing. He said it would probably take months to pin down exactly what went wrong. "Across the enterprise ... quality is a disappointment," he said.
Speaking at the Reuters Aerospace and Defense Summit in Washington in December, Army Lieutenant General Patrick O'Reilly, head of the Missile Defense Agency, had said the flight test was to break new ground. He described it then as "more of a head-on shot like you would use defending against an Iranian shot into the United States." It was the first time such a scenario was being tested, he said.
Experts have compared this to a bullet hitting another bullet in space. O'Reilly said the goal was to destroy the target over the north-central Pacific when the missiles had a combined closing speed of more than 17,000 miles per hour (27,000 kph).
The SBX radar is mounted on a mobile, ocean-going oil-drilling platform designed to provide a powerful sensor that can be positioned to cover any spot on the globe.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/02/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Of course, if the current administration hadn't insisted on undoing the Bush agreements re: missile defense in Europe etc. then we wouldn't NEED to hit the missile head-on in order to protect the US. We would have ample opportunities to hit it from the side, long before it got close.
PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN -- The reported death of the leader of the Pakistani Taliban, a violent Islamist group with close links to al-Qaeda, leaves the predatory and feared militia effectively decapitated, with its fighters on the run from the Pakistani army and public sympathy running low. Although the Pakistani Taliban has shown resilience in the past, Pakistani analysts said it would be difficult for the group to quickly recover from the loss of Hakimullah Mehsud, who has reportedly died in a village in northwest Pakistan of burns and injuries he suffered during a U.S. drone missile attack in mid-January.
The group lost its original leader, Baitullah Mehsud, to a drone strike in August. In recent months, it has been driven out of its major sanctuary and become isolated from elders of the Mehsud tribe, who are negotiating with the government to hand over surviving Taliban commanders.
"If he's gone, it's a fatal blow," said Imtiaz Gul, director of the Center for Research and Security Studies in Islamabad, the Pakistani capital. "At one point, the Taliban had a lot of momentum and a charismatic leader. Now they've been uprooted and lost all credibility."
Some commentators noted that despite recent losses, the Pakistani Taliban is a highly motivated, ruthless militia with a strong religious agenda that has demonstrated a repeated ability to recover from setbacks. In the past several years, the group has evolved from a rudimentary tribal force to a sophisticated insurgency, capable of attacking major targets and collaborating with other militant groups, including al-Qaeda.
Some observers warned Monday that if Mehsud has died, the Taliban forces may attempt to launch retaliatory strikes and step up their campaign of suicide bombings in an effort to prove they have not been weakened.
The Taliban once had significant support among a variety of Pakistanis, including religious groups and residents of the tribal areas who felt alienated from the state. But the group's cruel repression in areas under its control and attacks on civilian as well as military targets have caused it to lose public support, according to opinion polls and analysts.
Pakistani officials have not officially confirmed Mehsud's death, but there were indications Monday that both sides were moving forward under the assumption that the Pakistani Taliban is in search of a new leader. Mehsud, whose group has carried out dozens of suicide bombings, was widely described as Pakistan's top public enemy after he took over the Taliban leadership last year.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/02/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[5 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
The king dirtbag is dead. Long live etc. and soforth....
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
02/02/2010 0:15 Comments ||
Top||
#2
so kill the next layer quickly....
(cut off the neck too.)
#3
I didn't think that Hakimullah Mehsud would be long for this world. He assumed command in a dynastic manner from his brother. I would be much more concerned with who now rises to power.
Hakimullah was not all that well liked and was considered a hothead with a big mouth who is likely to go off half cocked. Whoever replaces him will likely have the respect and admiration of a wider segment of the Taliban rank and file and intermediate commanders.
#4
My analysis is that there will be a few more decapatation strikes needed before the Pakistani Taliban is in serious trouble, guys like Wali-ur-Rahman and Qari Hussein are more than capable of taking over and causing chaos.
#5
There were also unconfirmed reports Monday that Qarimullah Hussain, the Taliban's senior strategist and a likely replacement as its leader, had been wounded and possibly killed in a drone attack in mid-January.
Excellent. Quite a long and distinguished list turning up from the Jan 14 drone zap. Must have been one hell of a party.
Posted by: ed ||
02/02/2010 8:07 Comments ||
Top||
#6
They took it on the road, ed, ending up in hell. A helluva party indeed.
A new Palestinian Authority TV news report revealed by Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) shows a young child vowing to "liberate Palestine" - "with our weapons." Yelling that he would help conquer the land with "weapons and stones," the boy was featured in a January 14 news report on PA television reporting on a Fatah event in Cairo.
[Al Arabiya Latest] Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said at the start of a three-day visit to Israel on Monday that the Jewish state's future belongs in the European Union.
"My greatest desire, as long as I am a protagonist in politics, is to bring Israel into membership of the European Union," the Italian leader said at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office.
Berlusconi also spoke of his "great friendship and love for Israel and its people."
Netanyahu called the visit -- during which eight Italian ministers accompanying Berlusconi will hold a joint cabinet meeting on Tuesday with their Israeli counterparts -- "historic."
"I have the privilege of hosting one of the greatest friends of Israel," he said.
While Israeli relations with some European nations have been frosty over the conflict with the Palestinians, ties with Italy have been much warmer, spurred by the personal friendship between the two leaders.
After he took office early last year, Netanyahu's first European visit was to Italy.
Berlusconi, who will address Israel's parliament, the Knesset, on Wednesday, told a state dinner how a visit to the Auschwitz Nazi death camp in Poland influenced his support for Israel.
"From that moment on I felt I was part of your history and I acted in the manner which I thought was the most appropriate by backing your people and your country," he said.
"It is my duty to act so that leaders of the world do not make the same error," he said, stressing that "indifference" was the root cause of the Holocaust.
Netanyahu responded with comments apparently aimed at Iran, calling Israel's arch-foe "a bloodthirsty dictatorship," although he did not identify the Islamic republic by name.
"Mankind stands before one of its greatest tests since World War II, the attempt by an extremist Islamic regime, a bloodthirsty dictatorship, to acquire nuclear weapons and endanger the whole world," he said.
Before his visit, Berlusconi had expressed some criticism of Israel, telling Haaretz newspaper that the country's "settlement policy could be an obstacle to peace."
"I would like to say to the people and government of Israel, as a friend, with my hand on my heart, that persisting with this policy is a mistake," he said.
However, Berlusconi praised Netanyahu's "courage" for imposing in November a 10-month freeze on new construction in settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/02/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
[Al Arabiya Latest] The Israeli military has disciplined two senior officers for the firing of white phosphorous shells toward a U.N. compound during the Gaza war, Israeli media said on Monday.
In the official response to a damning U.N. report on the 22-day war handed to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Friday, Israel said a brigadier general and a colonel had been disciplined for the actions following an internal army inquiry, several local newspapers said.
The Israeli army confirmed the reports, but declined to provide further comment.
Local media named the two men, the highest-ranking officers that Israel has sanctioned over the war that killed 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis, as Brigadier General Eyal Eisenberg and Brigade Commander Colonel Ilan Malka.
Eisenberg, still heads Israel's Gaza division while Malka now runs military operations in the West Bank under the same rank.
"The special command investigation revealed that, during the course of a military operation in Tel El Hawa, IDF forces fired several artillery shells in violation of the rules of engagement prohibiting use of such artillery near populated areas," the Ynet news website quoted Israel's response as saying.
The two men were found guilty of "exceeding their authority in a manner that jeopardized the lives of others," the Haaretz daily quoted the response.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/02/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under: Hamas
#2
This UN compound? "Israeli said it does not target U.N. buildings or personnel. But the senior military officer said troops opened fire after militants inside the compound shot anti-tank weapons and machine guns. He said the troops used 155 mm artillery shells."
Level it, hang those UN officials who allowed it to be used as a firing platform and pump sewage into the remains.
Posted by: ed ||
02/02/2010 8:34 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Oh, now I get it, thanks Ed:
They were fined for using 155 mm shells. Next time boys, the big ones, the BIG ones!
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/02/2010 15:18 Comments ||
Top||
Ma'an -- The Nativity Church deportees appealed on Monday to President Mahmoud Abbas to intervene in their case and secure their return to Bethlehem, following eight years of forced exile in the Gaza Strip.
The poor, suffering darlings try that appeal to the authorities from time to time, always with the same result.
During a news conference, which proceeded a rally by the deportees' families to the headquarters of the Red Cross in Gaza, they called on international institutes and human rights organizations to assist in their return to Bethlehem.
Moreover, the deportees called for an end to Palestinian political rivalry and for holding general elections across the occupied territories.
Clearly dealing with the situation in a "realistic" fashion.
In 2002, during Operation Defensive Shield, the Israeli army occupied Bethlehem in an attempt to capture Palestinian militants. As a result, many sought refuge in the Church of the Nativity. Following a 39-day siege on the church, the Palestinians who turned themselves in and were exiled to Europe and the Gaza Strip.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/02/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[8 views]
Top|| File under:
#5
I am very proud to say that a remote weapon system the small company I work for made ended this siege.
The IDF placed our unit on top of a crane and operated it from a van at the bottom. An SR-25 was mounted on the unit (called a TRAP T-2). Once it was cleared for use there were several terrorists taking dirt naps. They got one guy with a head shot as he ran between buildings (200m range). Finally they were able to shoot at pain points on anyone stupid enough to show themselves. The terrs couldn't move, they couldn't put their heads up to shoot at it either. Worked like a charm.
[Asharq al-Aswat] Fayek al-Mabhouh, the brother of senior al-Qassam Brigade figure, Mahmoud a-Mabhouh who was assassinated in Dubai more than ten days ago, told Asharq Al-Awsat that Hamas has given the al-Mabhouh family a medical report confirming that his brother was killed by strangulation after being stunned by being tasered to the back of his head.
Senior Hamas figure Mahmoud al-Zahar told a news conference yesterday that Israel wishes to change the rules of the game by opening the international arena to attacks, saying that if this is the case then Tel Aviv is responsible for any retaliation.
According to Fayek al-Mabhouh, investigations, reports and pictures confirm the presence of bruises on his brother's face whose death was first announced last Wednesday as being the result of a long illness. Hamas had previously attributed al-Mabhouh's death to "a medical issue" however Fayek al-Mabhouh confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that this excuse did not fool the family, and Hamas asked them to remain silent until the end of the investigations into Mahmoud al-Mabhouh's death.
Fayek al-Mabhouh added "When his body reached Syria early Friday morning they called us and told us that he was assassinated by Israel."
Fayek al-Mabhouh said that his brother did not suffer from any illnesses and that without a doubt he was in Dubai on a mission, although he told Asharq Al-Awsat that he did not have any information about this, and in fact that he knew little about his brothers work since he left the Gaza Strip in 1989.
Al-Mabhouh told Asharq Al-Awsat that his brother had been subject to a number of assassination attempts in Syria, Beirut, and Dubai, and that "five months ago in Dubai he lost consciousness for 36 hours, they said that this was the result of a stroke, but tests later showed the remnants of poison [in his blood]; and this was an assassination attempt by poison." The al-Mabhouh family is certain that Mahmoud al-Mabhouh was assassinated, and they believe is Israel is responsible for this.
Mahmoud Al-Mabhouh was born in the Gaza Strip but he lived in Syria since 1989 after he fled from the Gaza Strip after Israel discovered that he was responsible for the kidnap and death of two Israeli soldiers. Hamas denied having any knowledge of what al-Mabhouh was doing in Dubai, and senior Hamas official Yahya Moussa told Asharq Al-Awsat that "the martyr [al-Mabhouh] had many obligation...and we do not know exactly what he was doing in Dubai."
Moussa also confirmed that nobody is safe anywhere in the world "because we are confronting a rogue state that does not commit to any political agreements, and does not respect the sovereignty of other countries." He added "This is not the first crime; Israel has committed hundreds of crimes abroad against the PLO leadership."
Moussa told Asharq Al-Awsat that Hamas was examining the changes in the rules of the game, saying "Hamas was careful not to carry out operations abroad in order not to put the security of any country at risk, and it respects the sovereignty of countries, but now institutions of the movement will study the possibility of reversing this decision."
In a press conference held yesterday, Hamas senior figure Mahmoud al-Zahar said "We kept the arena of confrontation between us and the Israeli enemy within the occupied territories, and if Israeli wants -- as it wants now to change the rules of the game --to open the international arena to attacks, then in this case Israel will be responsible for the repercussions of this."
He added "Israel has experienced this, and was burned by this in its conflict with the PLO, and it knows that Hamas is no less able to reach its targets in any place." He also said "we are capable of hurting the Zionist enemy, and this is something that is known by the occupation forces, whether on this arena or elsewhere."
Al-Zahar also praised the role played by Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in the Hamas war effort, confirming that he was one of the founding members of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigade.
In an article published on Friday by the Israeli Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, senior military commentator Ron Ben Yishai claimed that al-Mabhouh was responsible for coordinating relations between Hamas and Iran.
A memorial service was held for Mahmoud al-Mabhouh at the family home in the Gaza Strip for the second time in two weeks, and his brother Fayek al-Mabhouh told Asharq Al-Awsat that "this is the second time that we accept condolences [for his death] following the announcement of his martyrdom."
An Israeli website claimed yesterday that "four members of the hit squad affiliated to Mossad arrived in Dubai equipped with accurate information concerning the whereabouts of the unguarded victim who arrived in Dubai under a false name. They carried out their mission and then disappeared without a trace."
The Hebrew "Central Issues" website also claimed that al-Mabhouh was subject to a cruel and violent interrogation in the hotel room where his body was later found. The website said that this interrogation focused on obtaining information regarding the procurement of arms from Iran, as well as methods on how such arms are smuggled into Gaza and the West Bank. The site claimed that the killers obtained very valuable intelligence information from al-Mabhouh. Israeli has yet to officially comment on accusations that it is responsible for Mahmoud al-Mabhouh's death, but Israeli media outlets have issued reports claiming that al-Mabhouh was responsible for smuggling rockets and other arms from Iran into the Gaza Strip via Sudan.
Hamas vowed to retaliate to the assassination of al-Mabhouh, and the al-Qassam Brigade said that it would respond to this "crime" at the appropriate time and place, and that Israel will not go unpunished. The leader of the Hamas political bureau, Khalid Mishal, also paid his respects to al-Mabhouh during an impassioned speech, and warned Israel "I say to you Zionists, do not rejoice. You killed him but his sons will fight you." He added "You hurt us but we hurt you...this is an open war, we will not stop until you leave our lands, we are confident and firm that we will defeat you, the war is long, but we are confident of its result."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/02/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under: Hamas
A senior manager in charge of procuring the next generation of military fighter jets known as F-35 Joint Strike Fighter has been fired and the Department of Defense has been instructed to withhold money that would pay bonuses to the lead contractor, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced Monday.
In a briefing at the Pentagon on the 2011 defense budget, Gates said inefficiencies and budget overruns within the costly fighter program forced him to take action.
Gates said Lockheed Martin, the defense contractor responsible for producing the F-35, is in agreement with his plan to withhold bonuses, calling it a burden "the taxpayer should not have to bear."
Posted by: war on terror ||
02/02/2010 09:11 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[7 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
..in other words, you're on budgetary life support.
[Iran Press TV Latest] The Filipino government has agreed to offer expanded autonomy to the Muslim minority in the country's south.
Officials hope the move will pave the way for sealing a peace deal aimed at ending the 40-year-long conflict in the region with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
Annabelle Abaya, the presidential adviser on the peace process, was hoping that the offer would convince the MILF to sign a peace accord before a new president is sworn in on June 30. "In enhanced autonomy, the president is offering to share powers," Abaya told reporters on Monday.
The autonomy allows the Muslim minority to control tax collection and natural resources in the south.
The autonomy allows the Muslim minority to control tax collection and natural resources in the south.
The government's overture was made during talks in Malaysia last week, where both the MILF and government representatives sat down for formal peace talks.
The MILF claimed that the government "had nothing new to offer" and as a result found the latest round of negotiations pointless.
However, the MILF confirmed that peace talks were to resume in Kuala Lumpur on February 18.
The conflict in the south intensified in 2008. The fighting displaced over 700,000 people and left nearly 400 others dead.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/02/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[17 views]
Top|| File under: Moro Islamic Liberation Front
#1
"The autonomy allows the Muslim minority to control tax collection and natural resources in the south."
Which means as in Pakistan, South Filipinos will be forced to pay the 2.5% zakat tax plus secular Philippine taxes, that Muslim farmers will pay the discriminatory ushr tax on harvests, that Christians will be subjected to the jizya, and in the Philippines we may even see the restoration of Islam's ancient & hated kharaj tax on land seized from non-Muslims.
Then tax revenues will be skimmed off the top by the tax collectors, who will claim that they're spending it on the poor, but the bulk of it will actually be spent to propagate Islam and to wage jihad.
Posted by: American Delight ||
02/02/2010 5:50 Comments ||
Top||
#2
So they are going to sell the non-muslims of the south into Dhimmitude - just so the president can say she did something before she leaves office?
The article uses "the South" very loosely. Most of even Mindanao is not Muslim.
These guys have political influence in just five mostly-Muslim and poor-as-dirt provinces (out of 80) that live on subsidies from the central government.
Basically, the deal affects Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao on Mindanao island, and the small islands of Jolo, Basilan and Tawi-Tawi.
Most Filipinos are sick of these people and wish they would go away.
Good deal ? Bad deal ? Who knows. The most likely outcome is internecine warfare over the Philippine government subsidies.
[Straits Times] MALAYSIAN Home Ministry secretary-general Mahmood Adam said about 3.4 million foreigners 'disappeared' after entering Malaysia last year.
Citing statistics, he said 28 million foreigners entered the country last year. Of these, 23 million were tourists, and 1.6 million were registered with the Malaysian authorities for various purposes of stay. This left 3.4 million people unaccounted for.
Mr Mahmood disclosed these figures during a visit to the shared border with Thailand over the weekend, Sin Chew Daily reported.
He said Malaysia plans to issue identification cards to refugees who are recognised by the United Nations, allowing them to stay in the country temporarily and avoid arrest as illegal immigrants.
The proposal reflects a softening of Malaysia's position towards refugees, although it continues to refuse them official recognition, Associated Press reported.
Malaysia has declined to join the UN convention on refugees for fear of attracting a flood of immigrants.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/02/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
[Bangla Daily Star] Sri Lanka's president yesterday sacked a dozen senior military officers whom the defence ministry said were a "direct threat to national security" after last week's presidential elections.
President Mahinda Rajapakse had accused the defeated opposition of planning to assassinate him after he beat former army general Sarath Fonseka in the bitterly fought January 26 poll.
Security forces kept Fonseka under siege while election results were announced on Wednesday, and 15 retired officers working at Fonseka's offices were later arrested by police.
A military source who declined to be named told AFP that 12 top officers were sacked to thwart any attempted coup by Fonseka's supporters inside the military.
The defence ministry in a statement said an undisclosed number were "sent on compulsory retirement" because they were considered a "direct threat to national security". The ministry said the officers had breached military discipline by becoming involved in politics.
Rajapakse and Fonseka were close allies in the massive offensive that finally crushed the separatist Tamil Tigers in May, but they fell out after the victory and went head-to-head in the presidential elections.
When he resigned from the military in November and launched his ill-fated bid to unseat the president, Fonseka accused Rajapakse of falsely suspecting him of planning a coup.
Rajapakse also carried out a major shake-up of the army over the weekend, transferring 40 officers and promoting several considered loyal to his administration.
Fonseka told reporters in Colombo on Monday that he "was very surprised to know that I had so many loyal people at the very top and middle level in the army".
He accused Rajapakse of politicising the military and said his party workers and supporters were still being harassed.
"Even retired army officers who helped me have been taken in (to custody), and no one knows where they are being held," he said.
Fonseka said the government had targeted his office to prevent his party from collecting evidence to mount a legal challenge to the election result.
Rajapakse won 58 percent of the vote, trouncing Fonseka, who got 40 percent, after a contest that many had expected to be much closer.
Rajapakse called the vote four years into his six-year term to capitalise on popular support for the defeat of Tamil rebels that ended a decades-long separatist war.
The government insisted the election was free and fair but the United States has pressed for a probe into the charges of vote fraud. The European Commission too issued a statement calling for an investigation.
Before polling day, the country's independent election commissioner had complained about misuse of state resources for the president's re-election campaign and bias in the state media. KD Knight, chairman of the Commonwealth observer mission, said Fonseka would have to find hard evidence of malpractice to launch any legal challenge to the result.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/02/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
[Al Arabiya Latest] Bells chimed across Iran Monday to mark the return from exile in 1979 of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the trigger for a revolution which spawned an Islamic state now engulfed in a deep political crisis.
To mark Khomeini's triumphant return after 15 years in exile, all schools, trains and boats rang their bells at precisely 9:33 am (0603 GMT), the moment his plane touched down at Tehran's Mehrabad airport on Feb. 1, 1979.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and other senior Iranian officials paid homage to the cleric at his mausoleum in southern Tehran.
Monday marked the start of 10 days of celebrations which culminate on Feb. 11, the 31st anniversary of the fall of the U.S.-backed shah who had ruled the country for nearly four decades, but who fled two weeks before Khomeini's return.
"I am sure the Iranian people will do something on Feb. 11, which will disappoint the enemies and the tyrants completely," Ahmadinejad said in a short address at the mausoleum.
"This year will see the definite failure of capitalism, inhuman liberalism and the start of globalization of the Islamic revolution."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/02/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[7 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
The office of the public prosecutor at Tehran's Revolutionary Court on Monday published details about two people who were executed last week on charges of being a mohareb -- an enemy of God.
According to a statement released by the office, Arash Rahmani-Pour was arrested before the June 12 presidential election for being a member of the Kingdom Assembly of Iran, an obscure monarchist group that seeks to re-establish the Pahlavi reign in the country.
Rahmani-Pour, during his preliminary interrogation rounds, admitted to being a member of Tondar, an offshoot of Kingdom Assembly of Iran, as well as having plans to strike the Tehran Bazaar, the statement said.
He also confessed to making explosives to strike his targets but added that he was unable to carry out his plans due to the presence of Basij forces in the areas, it said.
Rahmani-Pour, who was executed on Thursday, told his interrogators that through his connections with the pro-monarchy group, he had been convinced that the Pahlavi regime should be reinstated in Iran. He then said that he had gathered more than 100 kilograms (220 lb) of chemicals to make explosives, the statement added.
In addition to his charges, amongst which he was blamed for the deadly bombing of a religious compound in Shiraz, he was accused of conducting an anti-revolutionary campaign.
According to the statement, the other man executed Thursday was Mohammad-Reza Ali-Zamani, who was also associated with Kingdom Assembly of Iran.
"Ali-Zamani had illegally entered Iraq's Kurdistan, where he applied for asylum. There, he met with Forood Fouladvand [the leader of the Kingdom Assembly of Iran]," read the statement.
It added that Ali-Zamani had received trainings regarding "nuclear terrorism" as well as making dirty bombs.
He had also, the statement added, revealed information about Basij members who live in Islamshahr -- located in southwest of Tehran -- to his contact in the pro-monarchy group.
The court found Rahmani-Pour and Ali-Zamani guilty and sentenced both to death for being a mohareb. The two appealed the ruling but the court of appeals upheld the decision, the statement added.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/02/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[13 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
Iran Press TV} Israeli President Shimon Peres has verbally attacked Iran during his first meeting with the new chief of the UN nuclear watchdog, claiming that it poses a threat to the entire world.
Peres made the remarks on Saturday in a meeting with International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Yukia Amano on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported.
At the start of the meeting, Peres congratulated Amano on his new appointment, urging him to take stronger steps against Iran.
"I hope that under your leadership the agency will work in a serious and steadfast manner against Iran's nuclear armament," he said.
The Israeli leader's remarks run contrary to the IAEA's periodical reports, which have all declared that Tehran's nuclear program has not diverted toward weaponization.
The United States' main intelligence agencies, and more recently, the Pentagon's top intelligence official have also confirmed that Iran is not conducting military nuclear activities.
During the meeting with Peres, Amano said that Iran does not abide by the IAEA resolutions in a satisfactory manner.
However, upon his appointment in late 2009, the new IAEA chief had said that he did not see any hard evidence that Iran was trying to gain the ability to develop nuclear weapons.
"I don't see any evidence in IAEA official documents about this," Yukiya Amano said in his first direct comment on Iran's nuclear program after being elected as the IAEA chief.
Amano is expected to present a report to the IAEA Board of Governors in March.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/02/2010 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[7 views]
Top|| File under:
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.
Sheik Ahmed Mohamed Islam (Madobe), one of the Islamist officials of Hizbul Islam organization has Tuesday opposed uniting with Harakat Al-shabab mujahideen, just a day after members of Raskamboni forces said they had formally joined to Al-shabab. The official said that the figures claiming that they were from Raskanbomi were not in the list of that organization earlier adding that whole report of uniting the two sides was propaganda.
[Al Arabiya Latest] The prosecutor's office at the International Criminal Court (ICC) would ask the court to extend the deadline set for two Darfur rebel leaders to appear voluntarily at The Hague for questioning over their alleged role in a 2007 massacre, well-placed sources told Al Arabiya on Monday.
A judge has thrown out the case against a man accused of preparing terrorist acts after ruling he had no case to answer.
Against advice of his lawyer, Toronto 18 member goes on rant to defend his role in terror scheme
PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN -- The reported death of the leader of the Pakistani Taliban, a violent Islamist group with close links to al-Qaeda, leaves the predatory and feared militia effectively decapitated, with its fighters on the run from the Pakistani army and public sympathy running low. Although the Pakistani Taliban has shown resilience in the past, Pakistani analysts said it would be difficult for the group to quickly recover from the loss of 
A new Palestinian Authority TV news report revealed by Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) shows a young child vowing to "liberate Palestine" - "with our weapons." Yelling that he would help conquer the land with "weapons and stones," the boy was featured in a January 14 news report on PA television reporting on a Fatah event in Cairo.
[Asharq al-Aswat] Fayek al-Mabhouh, the brother of senior al-Qassam Brigade figure, Mahmoud a-Mabhouh who was assassinated in Dubai more than ten days ago, told Asharq Al-Awsat that Hamas has given the al-Mabhouh family a medical report confirming that his brother was killed by strangulation after being stunned by being tasered to the back of his head. 
