Students at a brand new high school on the outskirts of this nerve-racked city are back at their lessons after suspected Taliban insurgents accosted the night watchman and set the building on fire. Gasoline-fuelled flames destroyed books and desks and blackened the walls of the Mia Abdul Hakim high school in the city's west end, which opened its doors only three weeks ago.
The vandals, however, failed to destroy the spirits of the school's students, many of whom were back in class the very next day. "When I heard my school was burned by (the) Taliban, I was shocked and my parents told me, 'Do not go to school,' said Fatima, a 12-year-old Grade 4 student who, like many Afghans, goes by only one name. "I came because I am missing my lessons and classmates. I love school and my teachers. I will keep coming to my school."
Abdul Hakim, the school's principal, said a group of five or six armed men confronted the janitor early Friday, bound his hands and threatened him with death while they set about burning down the facility. "I experienced a slap on my face along with bad words," janitor Muhammad Hussain said as he described opening the door to a group of men at about 2 a.m. Friday morning. "They (tied) my hands and ordered (me) not to move, if try would be killed . . . . The flame burst out from the windows, (and) thick black smoke erupted which clouded the skies as if a big tornado hit the area."
Two warehouses used to store supplies and equipment were destroyed, as was the school's main office, Hakim said. Several classrooms were badly damaged, the floors littered with the scorched remnants of books and furniture. "Every individual has the due right to get education, but the enemy of education, the enemies of the country, (are) always trying to put us in dark," Hakim said. "Our people believe (and) are strong, and they won't step backwards. (They) will actually step forward to defeat the enemy's bad intentions."
Building schools and educating young Afghans, most notably girls - their attendance at class was strictly forbidden under Taliban rule, and women in Afghanistan have a literacy rate of just 16 per cent - is a major component of coalition rebuilding efforts.
The school currently has about 1,370 students - 1,200 boys and 170 girls, said Muhammad Anwar, Kandahar province's director of education. "Burning schools means burning the salvation, burning schools means burning the humanity," Anwar said. "The enemies aim to put Afghans in dark lives, make them ignorant."
There are some 360 schools in Kandahar province, which is where most of the Canadian contingent of NATO's International Security Assistance Force is based. Of those, 224 are open and functioning, while the rest are currently closed due to the ever-present perils that are a daily reality in southern Afghanistan, Anwar said.
"If my home was burned it would not have hurt my feeling as (much)as being hurt by school burning," said Shakira, an 11-year-old Grade 4 student. "This is the work of the enemy of our nation, the enemy of education and the enemy of our people, against knowledge."
"I was very happy that the building of the school (was) completed because before we didn't have a classroom like this," said Hikmatullah, a 19-year-old Grade 7 student. "When I learned that the school was burned by armed men, it was the saddest moment for me - you see the books, chairs, table, tents, biscuits and cooking oils all are burned to ashes. Who are they? Why they are burning our books and classrooms? We are learning here, we are not dancing or doing bad things. This is not the work of Muslims."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/17/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
We are learning here, we are not dancing or doing bad things. This is not the work of Muslims."
Well, they're starting to get the idea, but they're not there yet.
A rebel leader in Sudan's region of Darfur has called for peace talks with the Khartoum government with Kofi Annan's mediation. We are calling for one single boss. We are calling for institutional reform for the mediation and we are suggesting that Mr Kofi Annan is suitable for heading this negotiation, to lead both the AU and UN," Khalil Ibrahim, leader of the rebel Justice and Equality Movement said on Sunday.
Ibrahim said his movement was calling for "corrections inside the AU-UN mediation" that has so far failed to make headway in bringing peace.
The group has refused to take part in African Union- and UN-sponsored peace talks aimed at ending five years of violence in Darfur where international groups say 200,000 people have died and 2.2 million been displaced.
Ibrahim's call came one day before the top AU and UN envoys to Darfur, Salim Ahmed Salim and Jan Eliasson, open talks in Geneva between regional and international players that neither Sudan nor any rebel group will attend.
In Libya, another rebel leader, Abdallah Yahia, said on Sunday that his faction was ready to take part in Sirte negotiations. "The leadership of the movement underlines its desire to reach a just peace in Sudan and announces its participation in the next round of negotiations in Sirte," said the head of the Sudan Liberation Movement-Unity.
The rebel leader said the negotiations would however have to be restricted to the "military movements on the ground" and no other parties.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/17/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Meanwhile, she will go on campaigning for a new type of politics where the public are told the truth.
I have no objection to her defending terrorists in court. If society does not have the bottle to dispense with them out of hand then the courts it is and at that point they deserve a fair trial. This includes a competent defense.
I do object to the apparent overlap between her consistent choice of defendants and her anti-democratic political views. This leads me to believe the justice she thinks she is defending is not the justice she is sworn to defend.
I hope the security services are keeping a close eye on her and, if she is stepping over the line, she receives a competent defense at her trial for treason.
TACOMA, Wash. - About 150 people -- those opposed to the Iraq War and those supporting it -- gathered noisily outside a Tacoma Mall office building on Saturday. A group of traitors known as World Can't Wait had organized an anti-war protest to mark the coming fifth anniversary of the Iraq War. But long before their protest was scheduled to begin, counter-protesters arrived.
The counter-protesters surrounded an office building that houses military recruiting offices, which anti-war protesters had said they planned to "shut down." They shouted "God bless our troops" and waved American flags.
As the two groups faced off, dozens of police officers, including some in full SWAT gear, served as a buffer zone. They formed a human line to divide the groups. But there were no arrests or injuries.
The demonstrators shouted insults at each other and each side attempted to out-yell the other side. "They dont appreciate our soldiers and what they do for our freedom," said Cheryl Ames.
"I am on this side because I do not agree with the way the war started," said Tommie CeBrun.
Protesters held up photos of Iraq detainees tortured at Abu Ghraib prison in Baghad. They also laid out 281 pairs of shoes on the sidewalk in front of the building, including 81 pairs of combat boots that carried tags bearing the name of a U.S. military member killed in Iraq who listed Washington as his or her home state.
Not having permission to use their names, of course ...
The protesters said the 200 pairs of shoes represented the 200-to-1 ratio of the Iraqi-to-American death rate. But the act was met with a volley of insults.
Warnings for military families to avoid the mall had been circulating for days, since some recent protests, including one at the Port of Olympia, have seen increased violence. Meghan Tellez and her children planned to avoid the mall. Her husband is in the Navy Reserve. "I love that mall, but I dont want my children around that," she said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/17/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
I recommend all future protests of this nature be conducted 150 meters North of the former St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church on Liberty Street in Lower Manhattan.
Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, lands in Iraq on Sunday, set to meet with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Gen. David Petraeus and, of course, U.S. troops as part of a fact-finding trip by the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Meanwhile, Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are still battling for the Democratic nomination for president, questioning each other's experience, judgment and ability to lead the nation in increasingly heated tones. As the Democratic primary season drags on, McCain is seeking to position himself as a world leader, allowing him to show off his knowledge of foreign and military affairs.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/17/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
It's nice he is going, but he is only going for the press clips. He needs to show his troop support by going to the other AOR's not just the ones that draw headlines.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
03/17/2008 11:35 Comments ||
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#2
I saw a clip of Senator McCain on my local news tonight. By doing this, he is keeping the War on Terror front of the mind for the voters, and sharpening the distinction between himself and the two Democratic candidates. He can bring attention to the other battlegrounds once he's in the White House -- for many voters Iraq is the War on Terror, and we're winning there.
LAHORE, Pakistan - Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has rejected the plea for mercy of an Indian convicted of spying and the man will be hanged on April 1, a senior prison officer in Lahore said on Sunday. Sarabjit Singh was sentenced to death in 1991 for spying and carrying out four bomb blasts that killed 14 people.
Musharraf turned down Singhs petition for clemency on March 4, according to Javed Latif, the superintendent of Lahores Kot Lakhpat prison. We have his death warrant and the execution will take place on April 1, he told Reuters.
Singhs family has said he crossed the border into Pakistan accidentally in 1990 while he was drunk.
Pakistani officials say he was arrested while trying to slip back into India after the bomb blasts.
On March 4, Musharraf accepted an appeal for mercy from and ordered the release of another Indian, Kashmir Singh, a convicted spy who had spent 35 years on death row in Pakistan. Pakistan said he was released on humanitarian grounds.
A week after Kashmir Singhs release, Indian authorities handed over the body of a Pakistani, Khalid Mehmood, who went to India to watch a cricket match in 2005 but was later arrested and died in prison. The Pakistani government and Mehmoods family said he was innocent and had been tortured, but the Indian government said he had been found with sensitive documents and died of a stomach ailment.
Gut-shot?
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/17/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Headline is wrong, He's being hanged for mass murder, not spying.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
03/17/2008 17:10 Comments ||
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The lawyer for a suspect arrested in connection with a deadly attack on a rally for Benazir Bhutto on Oct 18, 2007, said on Sunday that he would try to halt sales of her memoir, because he believed it wrongly implicated his client in a plot to kill her.
Attorney Hashmat Habib also said that he would seek $200 million in damages from Benazirs publisher, printer, and estate, because his client, Qari Saifullah Akhtar, was arrested after the February release of her book. Sales of the book should be stopped, and the assertion made against my client should be deleted, Habib told reporters in the capital, Islamabad. Because of this assertion, my client has been deprived of his liberty.
Habib said he would file preliminary paperwork in the coming days for lawsuits against Benazirs widower Asif Ali Zardari, as well against her publisher, printer, and bookseller. Calls to Zardaris spokesman about the issue were not returned.
This article starring:
QARI SAIFULLAH AKHTAR
al-Qaeda
Posted by: Fred ||
03/17/2008 00:00 ||
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[9 views]
Top|| File under: al-Qaeda
The jihadis of the country are increasingly turning to khanqahs (Sufi monasteries) for sanctuary, shunning the madrassas that are regularly raided by security forces in connection with the war on terror.
A close ally of Taliban supreme leader Mullah Omar and head of Harkatul Jihad Al Islami Pakistan, Qari Saifullah Akhtar, was arrested on February 26 and revealed during interrogation that he had been staying at a khanqah during the time he was hiding from law-enforcement agencies. Saifullah was arrested in connection with the October 18, 2007, blasts in Karachi, as he had been posthumously accused in Benazir Bhuttos book of plotting to kill her.
Saifullah had initially been arrested in Dubai in August 2004, after which he was repatriated to Pakistan. He was released after his family submitted an appeal before then chief justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry in connection with the missing persons case. He disappeared in Bahawalpur after his release.
During interrogation, Saifullah said that he had been living in Khanqah Syed Ahmad Shaheed near Sagian Bridge for the past few months. He said that Syed Nafeesul Husseni had declared him Khalifa before his death on February 5, 2008, and he (Saifullah) was building a new khanqah in Ferozewala when he was arrested.
Raids: Saifullah told the interrogators that madrassas were regularly being raided in connection with the war on terror. He said this had forced jihadis to prefer khanqahs as resting stops. He said the deputation of permanent surveillance at every madrassa further facilitated this move. Investigation sources told Daily Times that Qari Saifullah had been shifted to Karachi for further investigation, adding that investigators were hopeful that he would provide more information about the actions of the jihadis.
Qari Saifullah tried to kill President Pervez Musharraf on behalf of Al Qaeda. He was also an adviser to Mullah Omar in the Taliban government of Afghanistan. His fighters were called the Punjabi Taliban and were offered employment - something other outfits could not get out of Mullah Omar.
This article starring:
Harkatul Jihad Al Islami Pakistan
Punjabi Taliban
Qari Saifullah Akhtar
Harkatul Jihad Al Islami Pakistan
Syed Nafeesul Husseni
Harkatul Jihad Al Islami Pakistan
Posted by: Fred ||
03/17/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Good. The enemy is finding it difficult to operate out of familiar and formerly safe territory, and communication/control are disrupted. Keep up the good work.
#2
So start raiding the monasteries, if that's where they're hiding. One must feel the slightest pity for them, though -- I suspect there are no small boys at the monasteries.
A Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan spokesman admitted on Sunday that there were contacts between the Taliban and the Awami National Party (ANP), saying his leadership had responded positively to the peace overtures of the nationalist party.
The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan is a newly-formed body of the Taliban. Its spokesman, Maulvi Umar, told reporters on the telephone from an undisclosed location that Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud had shown his willingness to talk to the incoming government. The Taliban are ready to [engage in] dialogue to improve the law and order situation in the country, They are the unpaid soldiers of Pakistan, Umar said.
The ANP, the winner party of the February 18 polls in the NWFP, has nominated Amir Haider Hoti as its candidate for the office of chief minister in the incoming government. Umar welcomed Hotis announcement on talks with the Taliban. Hotis offer of talks with us is a sensible move. The move will help improve the law and order situation in the NWFP and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), he added.
He suggested the next government do away with the pro-US policies of President Pervez Musharraf. However, he said that the Taliban would not give up weapons as long as the Americans and their allies are in Afghanistan.
Achakzai: Umar criticised nationalist leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai for dubbing the Taliban as outsiders. He said the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan was entirely a body of Pakistanis and there were no foreigners attached to it. He said the Taliban would stick to the ceasefire deal with the government.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/17/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Trash collection is so sporadic that residents tie up their garbage in plastic bags and fling them onto a reeking pile at the end of the street. Electricity is mainly from a private generator, and water shortages have forced Abdel Hussein to shower at a public bathhouse in another neighborhood.
Then they need to start a compost heap! Perhaps we should do a special printing of the new earth catalog for them so they can learn basic back to the earth principles.
#2
Improved services might have come more promptly if your friends and neighbors hadn't been blowing up infrastructure and workers for 4-1/2 years.
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/17/2008 6:43 Comments ||
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#3
I fail to see how the implied criticism of the US is legitimate. If they would quit murdering each other and fix the damned pipes they'd have water.
#4
Water shortages are because of Saddam's complete lack of maintenance of his crumbling water supply, added to a civil war fomented by AQ, added to corruption and killings. We are only just now getting into these areas to fix it.
Plus, the garbage situation is the same as in any third world nation that you visit. There is a reason disease and parasites are plentiful in those countries, and it ain't from some zionist, halburtonbushhitler plot.
Maybe if this guy went over there to actually help fix the problem, rather than fling his hate-poo like a retarded monkey some shit would actually get done faster.
#5
Trash piling up because no one collects it? Sounds like NYC during a strike!
Posted by: Rob Crawford ||
03/17/2008 8:00 Comments ||
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#6
Considering the deferred maintenance on most of the US infrastructure, we shouldn't be so judgmental. Even cities like San Diego have crumbling 100 year old sewer systems that occasionally result in floods of raw sewage dumping into the bay. Bridges all over the country date to the WPA of the 30's and older. Electric infrastructure is teetering on a knife edge as witness the rolling blackouts in California a few years back. We haven't built a refinery in 30+ years. And the sad thing is that our governments, state, local, and federal, refuse to even contemplate what will be required to fix the problems and in many cases exacerbate them through stupid, albeit nice sounding politically, actions.
#7
What did we find during March-April 2003? No electricity (except Baghdad), no potable water, mountains of garbage.
The truth is that muslims will never be thankful to infidels and will blame all their problems on us. It's a grave mistake to lift a finger to help them in any way. It's either isolate them and let them rot or war, with the second option being the only safe course.
Posted by: ed ||
03/17/2008 8:46 Comments ||
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#8
#6 Considering the cancelled deferred maintenance on most of the US infrastructure........
We must think globally, global infrastructure investment, er, huh, etc.
#9
Chart of Iraq electricity production by year:
http://www.indexmundi.com/g/g.aspx?c=iz&v=79
This is not an American problem by cause or responsibility. Iraq needs more power plants, but it will not get them until the violence declines and the government gets its act together. Same with trash collection, etc. Muslims need to stop fighting Muslims. Don't hold your breath.
#10
I tried posting a article yesterday comparing conditions in Iraq to conditions today.
Simple facts:
The number of Iraqis with potable water and access to a sewage system has nearly doubled since March 2003.
The number of telephones has increased more than 10 fold.
The availability of electricity in the countryside has more than doubled.
The GDP per capita has nearly doubled.
What these reporters like to forget is that Iraq was a horribly poor place under Saddam (the real GDP per capita fell 75% during his rule). Only a minority of people had access to clean drinking water and sewage treatment.
The real story of Iraq is that its economic growth rate has approached mainland China, and this is despite the security situation. This growth has been accomplished largely be getting out of the way of the individual Iraqis and letting them use their intelligence and energy to better themselves.
As the security situation improves you're going to see the economy explode.
Al
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
03/17/2008 11:00 Comments ||
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#11
Iraq currently has more power production than they have ever had. The difference is that more of it is being distributed to the countryside that rarely had any electric power when Saddam was in charge, most was diverted to Baghdad ... or else.
There's more water treatment in more places than there was before, too.
As for trash pickup, from what I understand most of the trash trucks were blown up from being used as bombs.
#12
Something interesting in the electrical production stats. These are all national figures. What they omit is all the local production. Individual generators and neighborhood co-ops are quite common.
Given all the problems with national production and the national grid (at one point the international spot price for copper was dropping due to the amount of looted Iraqi transmission cables on the market) local production is a good solution for many Iraqis. A good example of the market solving problems that government cannot.
Local production also means that the typical Iraqi has far greater access to electrical power than the national stats would suggest.
#13
how about doing olike a lot f ppl in NEW Orleans shoud do( not all some) fix some of the shit yourse;lf and quit sitting at the cafes all damn day. they sounds fucking lazy too me
GENEVA - Five years after the United States led an invasion of Iraq, millions of people there are still deprived of clean water and medical care, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Monday. In a sober report marking the anniversary of the 2003 start of the war, which ousted dictator Saddam Hussein and unleashed deep sectarian tensions, the humanitarian body said Iraqi hospitals lack beds, drugs, and medical staff.
Some areas of the country of 27 million people have no functioning water and sanitation facilities, and the poor public water supply has forced some families to use at least a third of their average $150 monthly income buying clean drinking water.
Five years after the outbreak of the war in Iraq, the humanitarian situation in most of the country remains among the most critical in the world, the ICRC said, describing Iraqs health care system as now in worse shape than ever.
As is documented on the Burg today, the real issue is how Iraq is doing today compared to the Saddam era. More people have access to potable water today than five years ago. Wonder if the ICRC will acknowledge that?
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/17/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
According to the State Department's latest weekly report - For March 5-11, daily electricity demand was 10% above the same period last year. Daily supply from the grid was 21% above the year-earlier period and met 59% of demand, compared with 54% for the year-earlier period.
Which is not to say millions don't get all the electricity they want.
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/17/2008 6:51 Comments ||
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#2
"their average $150 monthly income"
My electric bill hasn't been under $150 a month for years, and I have oil heat and rarely use air conditioning. If they're only getting two hours of electricity a day now, can they even afford a hypothetical 24-hour-a-day supply? No, I think not.
WASHINGTON - Vice President Dick Cheney left on Sunday for the Middle East to raise concerns about high oil prices, push Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, and seek support for Iraq, where war began five years ago this week. Cheney, who has strong ties with leaders in the Middle East, will visit Oman, Saudi Arabia, Jerusalem, the Palestinian territories, and Turkey during a nine-day trip to the region.
Clearly, our ongoing efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan will be discussed, John Hannah, national security adviser to Cheney, told reporters. Middle East peace, Iran, the situation in Syria, Lebanon, the violence in Gaza, energy -- its a very long list and rich agenda.
Cheney will reinforce the message from visits by President George W. Bush in January and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice earlier this month, in a stepped-up diplomatic push for Israelis and Palestinians to move forward on peace efforts dealt a blow by violence in Gaza and Israel.
The mood has deteriorated incredibly in the last six weeks since the president was there, Jon Alterman, director of the Middle East program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said. From the outside its very hard to see that Secretary Rice was able to even arrest the slide let alone get things moving forward. My guess is the vice president will be able to arrest the slide if not necessarily put things on track.
In Saudi Arabia, Cheney will discuss energy with King Abdullah as record-high oil prices strain the US economy, but he was not expected to repeat the call by Bush for OPEC to increase production. Im not sure hell seek anything more than a good and thorough discussion about the current situation in the global energy markets, a senior administration official said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/17/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Good luck with that, no one is going to do anything for us. We are on our own and always have been.
#2
"The mood has deteriorated incredibly since the last time the President was here" > As already reported, many "moderate" or pro-US/Western Muslim + Arab Govts do NOT WANT IRAN TO HAVE NUKE WEAPONS. 2008 US POTUS ELEX POSTURING = CAMPAIGN WAFFLISM > Amer's Aram-Muslim ME Allies are interpreting as "NO REGIME CHANGE IN RADICAL IRAN" + that the US will likely downsize iff not completely pullout from IRAQ-ME iff a Dem wins 2008. ALSO READ AS > POST-DUBYA/JAN 2009 THE NEW ADMIN = USA WILL LEAVE A WEAK IRAQI DEMOCRATIC GOVT IN PLACE, MIL UNSUPPOR OR IN ALTERN ONLY PARTIALLY SUPPOR BY A MUCH REDUCED US MILFOR PRESENCE, EITHER OF WHICH IS LIKELY TO BE ADVANTAGEOUS TO NUCLEARIZING IRAN + RADICAL INSURGENTS.
FOX this Guam AM > showed film montage of HILLARY being in favor of sending small special units agz insurgents, plus proclaiming that she will "STICK" wid her WAR-ENDING PLAN WHICH CALLS FOR REDUCING THE US MILFOR PRESENCE IN IRAQ-ME BY 10,000 sldiers PER MONTH, AND WID THE US PRESENCE [Advisors?]ELIMINATED COMPLETELY IN ROUGHLY ONE YEAR??? Unfortunately for HILLARY = HILLARY's WITHDRAWAL PLAN, Clinton advisor WESLEY CLARK believes the situation in Iraq + Afghani belies a realistic US need for maintaining a large = "sufficient" US combat presence, + ORALLY PROCLAIMED TO BE NOT IN FAVOR OF A TOTAL + UNILATER COMPLETE US WITHDRAWAL IFF HILLARY OR A DEM WINS IN 2008.
Also from FOX > Analyst DAN SENOR > despite their rhetoric for withdrawal, argued that ALL THE POTUS CANDIDATES, INCLUDING HILLARY + OBAMA, HAVE INDIC A WILLINGNESS TO CHANGE THEIR OPTIONS ACCORDING TO SITUATIONAL REQUIREMENTS IN IRAQ-ME, + THAT IN REALITY AMER SHOULD NOT BE SURPRISED TO SEE A CONTINUED US MIL PRESENCE = US TROOPS IN THE ME FOR ANOTHER DECADE/TEN YEARS [2018]NO MATTER WHOM GOP-DEM WINS THE WH IN 2008.
2008-2018 [beyond?] > iff there is a HIDDEN IMAM/MAHDI as per OSAMA + MOUD, etc, the same in belief should be able to de facto defeat or destroy the anti-Islamist/Radicalist US-Allied presence in Iraq-ME regardless of enemy troop levels, MORESO IFF US MILFOR LEVELS DE FACTO REDUXES TO UNDER 100,000 bwteen FEB 2009 - DEC 2010 [Median 40,000-70,000].
REGARDLESS OF US-PER SE TROOP LEVELS, IMO RADICAL ISLAM CAN'T WAIT UNTIL 2018 - already stretching to last thru 2012. IMO THIS IS A SUBTLE OR COVERT MEANING TO A RUSS ANALYST'S PREMISE THAT THE USA CAN ATTACK RUSSIA 2011-2015. Russ knows it may soon no longer be able to use Radical Islam as a timely or time-intensive hedge agz the USA-NATO, nor even to justify local anti-Islamist mil ventures in Russ former SSR's in Central Asia, Chechnya, etc.
2008-2010 > WILL RADICAL ISLAM INITIATE "AMER HIROSHIMA" OPTIONS TO ESCALATE-INDUCE GREAT POWERS CONFRONTATIONISM IN ORDER TO PRECLUDE REGIONAL-GLOBAL ISLAMIST MILITARY DEFEAT???
Again, 'twas what IMAMS-MAHDIS, MESSIAHS AND SAVIORS ETC., ARE FOR, CORRECT!?
Hamas leaders claimed over the weekend that they were very close to reaching a deal with Egypt over the reopening of the Rafah border crossing. They said the apparent breakthrough was achieved after Hamas changed its position about the presence of security forces loyal to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas at Rafah.
Ayman Taha, a spokesman for Hamas, said his movement would agree to the deployment of Abbas's men condition that their names were handed over to Hamas in advance. "We want to make sure that the bad guys don't return to the Rafah border crossing," he said. "That's why we want to check the names before they arrive."
Taha also said that Hamas was no longer opposed to the presence of international monitors at the terminal. However, he noted, Hamas would insist that the monitors reside in Egypt and not in Israel, as was the case before the closure of the crossing.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/17/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Also, any observers who have eyesight that can be corrected to better than 20/2000, or who can hear anything quieter than a jet engine at 10 paces, will be rejected.
Posted by: Rambler in California ||
03/17/2008 19:01 Comments ||
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Spurred by a surge in Palestinian rocket salvoes and charges of arms industry protectionism, Israel is rethinking its rejection of deployable foreign defense technologies so a local system can be produced. Defense Minister Ehud Barak has staked his reputation on Iron Dome, a device in the works at Israeli state weapons firm Rafael that would use missiles to shoot down the short-range rockets favored by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip.
But Iron Dome will not be operational before 2010, a lag many Israelis consider insupportable given spiraling violence on the border with Gaza, the territory which Israel withdrew from three years ago and which Islamist Hamas seized last year.
There are also ramifications for Israel's peace talks with Hamas's rival, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Barak would likely insist that any deal ceding the West Bank to Abbas be conditioned on deployment of a working anti-rocket apparatus.
Under pressure to find stop-gap solutions, Barak is reviewing two potential substitutes for Iron Dome whose import was previously ruled out by Israel, defense officials said.
One is Nautilus, a joint Israeli-American invention that uses lasers to blow up rockets and mortar bombs mid-flight. The other is Phalanx, an automated machinegun produced by U.S. firm Raytheon whose heavy bullets shred incoming shells.
Senior Barak aide Pinchas Buchris flew to the U.S. state of New Mexico on Sunday to watch Nautilus -- now being upgraded under a new name, Skyguard -- in action. The mission is significant as Israeli experts long wrote off Nautilus's performance as inadequate. "Even if Nautilus is capable of only a 50 percent shoot-down rate, but can be here within eight months and at a reasonable cost of $20 million or $30 million, we'll take it," the Yedioth Ahronot newspaper quoted Buchris as saying.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/17/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
I'd just buy the Phalanx. Those things seem to rock, and they're available now. What's the drawback?
#2
The one drawback of the Phalanx is that some politico might have to admit there is an existing system available at reasonable cost and that they might be responsible for the dead & injured due to their neglect.
#4
A feature indeed, phil_b. Although how the damage from incoming bullets could be differentiated from the damage of up-going gun sex bullets is beyond me.
#5
Depeleted uranium, TW. All the Paleos would sprout additional rocket-launching and seething appendeges from the 'radiation'.
In quotes, because it is, after all, depleted.
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/17/2008 8:11 Comments ||
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#6
The anti-rocket 20mm shells are on a timed fused. They explode into pieces too small to cause damage on the ground. I would prefer white phosphorous with contact detonation fuses.
Posted by: ed ||
03/17/2008 8:33 Comments ||
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#7
Heh, we have TW talking about gun-sex ;-)
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/17/2008 11:09 Comments ||
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#9
Phalanx is idiotic. That thing has a range of 1-2km for incoming missiles. Which means the chance to hit a rocket .5-1km offset are low. For guns there are much better systems.
#10
Eohippus: The Qassam1 had a range of 3km, the current Qassam3 has a range of up to 10km -- from what I've read that's the ideal range for a Phalanx.
#11
The basic problem with any CIWS is that it may not work perfectly. At some point, Hamas is going to get "lucky" and hit a bunch of people - like say a school in session. At that point, I think, Israeli rage will overcome any squeamishness the current government has. Hamas's celebration will be short lived. As will be many Palestinians.
Posted by: Rambler in California ||
03/17/2008 17:16 Comments ||
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Interesting piece from the Guardian. Iran's revolution may be percolating in private spaces away from our notice.
A headscarf pushed back to show off a new haircut, a tight jacket worn over traditional dress, expensive make-up ... the challenge to the hardline clerics is taking place in bars and cafes, not in the polling booth, as the youth of Tehran push the boundaries of self-expression.
On the wall of the Nadiri coffee house in Jumhoori Avenue, Tehran, a place where the young congregate, a sign reads: 'Our respected customers are kindly requested to take care of their hijab.'
Shareh Beik, 27, a travel agent, sitting with her boyfriend, Mehdi Sayed, is struggling with hers. The pretty Venetian wool wrap that she wears as her headscarf - bought by Mehdi as a Valentine's Day present - is slipping off her short, fashionable feather cut and on to her shoulders. She tugs it back but it slips down again and then again. The problem is that she likes to wear her headscarf far back on her head to show as much of her hair as possible.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/17/2008 00:00 ||
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By Sunday evening, conservatives had won four times as many seats as the reformists, retaining control of the Iranian parliament. No doubt they will take it as an endorsement of their uncompromising view of Iran's Islamic system, of the nuclear programme, and of Iran's assertive foreign policy. No doubt they will conveniently forget that a large proportion of the reformist candidates were disqualified. And the cards were stacked against reformists in other ways. They were often not allowed to hold public rallies. Their newspapers were regularly closed down.
Nevertheless, even in Tehran, where voters did have a range - sometimes a bewildering range - of reformists and conservatives to choose from, supporters of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad topped the poll.
It all looks like good news for the president, bad news for Western governments hoping for the moderates to temper those aggressive policies. But as he prepares for the Iranian new year holiday, Mr Ahmadinejad may not quite be uncorking the non-alcoholic Champagne. Because this parliament could give him a rougher ride than his predecessor. It is not just the small increase in the number of reformists. They are set to increase their number of seats from around 30 to perhaps 50 in the 290 seat Majlis once run-off elections are completed next month.
The election has also set up a new power struggle within the conservative camp. The former nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani, who fell out with Mr Ahmadinejad last autumn, secured an impressive victory in the holy city of Qom. He will head a powerful bloc of more pragmatic conservatives inside the Majlis. He may be offered the job of speaker of parliament. And that would be an important power base from which to launch a challenge against Mr Ahmadinejad in the presidential election next year.
Another of these more pragmatic conservatives - they confusingly call themselves reformist conservatives - is the mayor of Tehran, Mohamed Qalibaf. His presidential ambitions are also no secret. Who more suitable to challenge another former mayor of Tehran, Mr Ahmadinejad?
But the big winner is the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He has managed to help orchestrate a parliament even more loyal to him than its predecessor. And the internal battle within the conservatives may rather suit him. He has always been a leader attached to the principle of "divide and rule."
As for Western governments, they would surely be more comfortable doing business with Mr Larijani, though for them to say as much would doom any presidential hopes he might have before his campaign even starts.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/17/2008 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, lands in Iraq on Sunday, set to meet with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Gen. David Petraeus and, of course, U.S. troops as part of a fact-finding trip by the Senate Armed Services Committee.
LAHORE, Pakistan - Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has rejected the plea for mercy of an Indian convicted of spying and the man will be hanged on April 1, a senior prison officer in Lahore said on Sunday. Sarabjit Singh was sentenced to death in 1991 for spying and carrying out four bomb blasts that killed 14 people.
The lawyer for a suspect arrested in connection with a deadly attack on a rally for Benazir Bhutto on Oct 18, 2007, said on Sunday that he would try to halt sales of her memoir, because he believed it wrongly implicated his client in a plot to kill her.
A Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan spokesman admitted on Sunday that there were contacts between the Taliban and the Awami National Party (ANP), saying his leadership had responded positively to the peace overtures of the nationalist party.
GENEVA - Five years after the United States led an invasion of Iraq, millions of people there are still deprived of clean water and medical care, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Monday. In a sober report marking the anniversary of the 2003 start of the war, which ousted dictator Saddam Hussein and unleashed deep sectarian tensions, the humanitarian body said Iraqi hospitals lack beds, drugs, and medical staff.
WASHINGTON - Vice President Dick Cheney left on Sunday for the Middle East to raise concerns about high oil prices, push Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, and seek support for Iraq, where war began five years ago this week. Cheney, who has strong ties with leaders in the Middle East, will visit Oman, Saudi Arabia, Jerusalem, the Palestinian territories, and Turkey during a nine-day trip to the region.
