U.S. President George W. Bush made a surprise visit to Afghanistan on Monday, holding talks with President Hamid Karzai and warning of a long struggle ahead to quell insurgent violence. Moving from one war zone to another, Bush flew secretly from Baghdad to Kabul, landing under cover of darkness for talks with Karzai and meetings with U.S. troops spearheading the fight against a resurgent Taliban.
The U.S. leader acknowledged the toll on the 70,000 international troops in Afghanistan fighting an insurgency which has grown increasingly violent since the hard-line Taliban regime was ousted in late 2001. "This is going to be a long struggle," Bush told a joint press conference with Karzai at the presidential palace. "Ideological struggles take time."
This year has been the bloodiest yet for foreign forces here since the fall of the Taliban, and General David McKiernan, the top commander, has asked for more than 20,000 extra U.S. soldiers to counter rising violence in the south and east.
Karzai said Afghanistan was grateful for the international help, and that one of the key tasks for the coalition was "enabling Afghanistan to eventually stand on its own feet."
Asked about a possible timetable for a withdrawal of foreign forces, Karzai indicated now was not the time to talk about pulling out. "Afghanistan will not allow the international community leaving before we are fully on our feet, before we are strong enough to defend our country, before we are powerful enough to have a good economy," he said, before ending jokingly, "and before we have taken from President Bush and the next administration billions and billions of more dollars. No way!" he added.
To which Bush replied: "You'd better hurry up in my case."
Bush laughed off an incident in Baghdad when he was nearly hit with an angry Iraqi reporter's pair of shoes. The journalist hurled two shoes at him at a press conference, highlighting lingering hostility toward the man who ordered the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Bush ducked and the first shoe hit the American and Iraqi flags behind him and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The second was off target.
Karzai, in contrast, said Afghanistan was "proud and honored" to have Bush visit.
Bush was due to leave Afghanistan after his visit of several hours, but his next destination was not announced.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/16/2008 00:00 ||
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...before ending jokingly, "and before we have taken from President Bush and the next administration billions and billions of more dollars. No way!"
Somalia's interim Parliament on Monday overwhelming backed the government of Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein, a day after the war-wracked country's president announced his dismissal. Speaker Aden Mohammad Nur said after counting the votes during a special Parliament session in the town of Baidoa that "143 MPs recognized the existence of the government, 20 rejected it and 7 abstained.
"Therefore the government of Nur Adde [Hassan Hussein] is legitimate," he said.
On Sunday, President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmad announced that he was sacking the prime minister and the entire Cabinet because they had failed to bring security to the war-torn nation, but the premier challenged the move as unconstitutional.
According to the transitional federal charter, the president needs Parliament's approval to sack the prime minister.
Speaking to Parliament before the vote, Hussein said: "It was difficult to work with the president, who disapproved of the peace process."
"The president was interfering with the activities of the prime minister and Parliament," he said. "It's up to Parliament to make a decision in order to save the transitional federal institutions and the rule of law."
Yusuf had said Monday he would comply with Parliament's decision and gave no hint he would resign.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/16/2008 00:00 ||
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(AKI) - The United Arab Emirates and the United States have completed negotiations on a draft agreement on nuclear energy. The UAE's state news agency WAM said on Monday that the so-called '123 Agreement' would allow for the transfer of nuclear-related components and materials between both countries.
The '123 Agreement' refers to Section 123 of The United States Atomic Energy Act, entitled 'Cooperation with other nations'.
"We are confident that the agreement highlights the transparency of the civilian nuclear energy programme the UAE is embarking on and should be lauded as the gold standard of nuclear cooperation agreements," said Yousef al-Otaiba, the UAE's Ambassador to the US.
"It is the view of the UAE government that the proposed UAE 123 agreement sets a new standard in ensuring the highest standards of safety, security and non-proliferation within the UAE program."
However, some US lawmakers have voiced their concern about the UAE's alleged inaction in curbing Iran's nuclear plans and US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the agreement still needs Congressional approval.
The UAE and Iran also have strong trade links. Iran has recently become its top trade partner with bilateral trade totalling 14 billion dollars.
The US and other western powers suspect Iran may covertly be building atomic weapons. However, Iran has consistently claimed its uranium enrichment programme is entirely peaceful and aimed solely at civilian nuclear power, in line with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
The UAE already signed a nuclear cooperation deal with France in January and it was later endorsed in March during a visit by French President Nicolas Sarkozy. French companies Total, Suez and Areva have expressed interest in the development of two nuclear reactors in the country.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/16/2008 00:00 ||
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If the UAE gets nuclear energy, Iran will use that as justification for its own "development" activities.
Former FARC hostage Ingrid Betancourt says preventing the rebel group from recruiting young Colombians forms the main core of her new drive. The French-Colombian politician speaking Monday at Italy's Assisi Peace Centre announced that her newly-established human rights foundation is aimed at dissuading young Colombians from joining the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as FARC.
"I want to get my former fellow hostages out of the jungle," said Betancourt, who spent six years in the jungle in FARC's custody. "Strangely I am also thinking about my guards, aged between 13 or 14, who are younger than my children but who are also prisoners of an ideology and terror," said the former Colombian presidential candidate who was awarded by the Italian peace center.
She added that her self-titled foundation would build a centre to prevent FARC recruitment in the jungle village of Calamar in southeastern Colombia. "All my guards during my captivity came from that village. I discovered they have no choice but to join the FARC," she said, adding that they are recruited by the lure of receiving a weapon and the promise of a better life.
Betancourt, 46, was kidnapped in 2002 while campaigning in the Colombian Presidential race. She was rescued in July this year following a military operation by Colombian soldiers.
Earlier this month Betancourt had said that she was 'totally convinced' the remaining hostages in the hands of the Colombian rebels would be freed next year. "I'm convinced that this will be the last Christmas my companions will pass in captivity. I am totally convinced that the following Christmas I will be with them, in liberty," she told a media conference in Sao Paulo.
FARC, the largest insurgency group in Latin America, is holding an estimated 700 hostages, most of them ordinary Colombian citizens abducted for ransom with about 28 being held as high-profile prisoners.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/16/2008 00:00 ||
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Rawalpindi: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman and former cricketer Imran Khan has said that the Indian Air Force planes did not enter our airspace by mistake, and that the government should tell the truth to the nation.
"If India is blaming that Pakistan is behind the Mumbai attacks then it should give some solid evidence, which should be proved through the court," Imran said.
Talking to journalists during the inauguration ceremony of membership scheme of the PTI, he said Pakistan should take up this matter to the United Nations.
The News quoted Imran as saying that that both India and Pakistan were the victims of terrorism. Both countries should share intelligence to fight terrorism, he added. He also said that the UN should be sure before banning the Jamaat-ut-Daawa, as one could not declare any person or organisation a terrorist until a court declared it.
Commenting on the shoe attack by an Iraqi journalist, Imran said: "I wish the shoes of Iraqi journalist had hit US President George W Bush as he deserves this."
Talking about Dr Aafia Siddiqui's issue, he said: "We strongly condemn that our government has handed over a Pakistani citizen to America." He also condemned the UN act of declaring Lt-General (retired) Hameed Gul a terrorist.
Imran said that the country lacked leadership and this was the main reason why the foreign investors were not willing to invest in Pakistan.
Commenting on the judges' issue, he said that all the political parties wanted a free and fair judiciary in the country but when they came into power, they became a hurdle in the way of the free judiciary.
Posted by: john frum ||
12/16/2008 12:37 ||
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#1
When you read sh$$ like this, you know it'll take a thousand years for Pakistan to develope a stable, democratic government. Better that Pakistan cease to exist than be a thorn in everyone's side for generations to come.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/16/2008 17:28 Comments ||
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Sydney (IANS): Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) director-general Javed Miandad's family ties with Karachi-based underworld kingpin Dawood Ibrahim are affecting cricketing relation between India and Pakistan, believes cricketer-turned-columnist Peter Roebuck.
Dawood, whose daughter is married to Miandad's son, is alleged to have played a key role from his base in Karachi in providing support to the perpetrators of last month's terror attacks in Mumbai.
Roebuck wrote in his column in the Sydney Morning Herald that the relation has the potential to drive an even deeper wedge between the cricket communities of Pakistan and India and to add to the sufferings of a game facing the worst crisis in its history.
The Englishman adds that suggesting Miandad's involvement in the attacks would be ridiculous but his link with the don is certain to raise a few eyebrows.
"But in this volatile environment, his links with Dawood and his seniority in Pakistan cricket have caused consternation among eminent Indian cricket officials, some of whom lost friends or family members in the attacks. It does not bode well for relations between these cricketing strongholds," he said.
"Dawood's reputed involvement in the latest evil might seem a solely political matter. Obviously, his alleged activities and continued liberty anger the Indians beyond measure, but that does not reach across the boundary. He has also been linked to the latest match-fixing scandals surfacing in the Twenty20 leagues, which is nothing new," said Roebuck.
Roebuck feels that in this climate of political intrigue and distrust, even a tenuous and innocent connection can be a problem. "Specifically, he (Dawood) has close connections with Javed Miandad, Pakistan's greatest batsman and now among its most senior cricket officers. His connection with Dawood goes back a long way, and was cemented by the marriage between his son and one of the don's daughters," he added.
"Already, India's sports minister has spoken out against sending the national team to Pakistan, and Sunil Gavaskar has backed him up. Barring an unexpected outbreak of enlightenment, the forthcoming tour will not take place, increasing Pakistan's cricketing isolation," he said
Posted by: john frum ||
12/16/2008 11:56 ||
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I don't know if it means anything, but some odd coincidences came to mind reading this article:
Lucknow, March 22: Giving a new turn to Bob Woolmer's death under mysterious circumstances, underworld don Babloo Srivastava has said that D-company head Dawood Ibrahim might have been involved in the suspected murder of Pakistan cricket coach, Sahara Samay sources said.
Talking to Sahara Samay, he said that Dawood is the biggest fixer of international matches. He further said that Dawood might have put on stake huge sum of money ranging between Rs 400 to 500 crore.
The channel's correspondent told from Lucknow that even earlier Babloo had told that all unimportant matches of the world have been fixed.
Babloo also told that this was the biggest reason why Pakistani players played under immense pressure and lost to minnows Ireland.
It is also speculated that Woolmer's book was in the last stage and match-fixers might have got some air that the Pakistani coach may reveal more about the betting blot in the game after Pakistan's shameful defeat at the hands of Ireland.
Posted by John Frum 2007-03-22
2007-04-15
Evil Cleric: My Human Right To Stay In Britain
A JAILED preacher who inspired one of the 7/7 bombers has sparked rage by using human rights laws to try to stay here. Abdullah El-Faisal was jailed for nine years in March 2003 for inciting murder in vile rants but he is due to be released this month. The Home Office plans to deport him to his native Jamaica but the Muslim convert, with links to Al Qaeda, claims he has a right to family life in Britain.
Dawood Ibrahim's hand in Woolmer's suspected murder in Jamaica and al-Faisal deported about a month later to the region, Russian warships in Cuba and Venezuela, and a stolen plane from the Dominican Republic disappeared from radar today means the Caribbean needs to be watched very closely.
#2
sufferings of a game facing the worst crisis in its history
In Pakistan.
In the rest of the cricketing world, the game is enjoying a big increase in popularity, in large part due to the city-based Indian leagues being set up employing international star players.
#3
And, iff my memory correctly serves ala SPORTS TRIVIA/HISTORY, this region most certainly loves and adores it Cricket! IFF ANY SPORT OTHER THAN SOCCER CAN CAUSE DE FACTO WAR TO BREAK OUT AMONGST THESE REGIONAL STATES, ITS CRICKET!
The Indian Home Ministry (IHM) on Monday asked the Maharashtra government to get an in-camera judicial confession of Ajmal Amir Iman aka Kasab, the lone surviving terrorist of the Mumbai attack.
Once his confession is recorded, the government will consider foreign governments' demand to allow their agencies to independently interrogate him, sources said, referring to the demand made by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Sunday to let the Scotland Yard talk to Kasab.The sources said India was open to the questioning of Kasab by foreign agencies like the Scotland Yard and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), but not immediately as that might impinge upon the current investigations by the Mumbai Police.
Access: First his confession will be recorded before a court and then the foreign agencies will be given access to him, the sources said. They said the government had a videotaped confession of Kasab, copies of which have been provided to the US and the UK and also presented before the United Nations Security Council to get its fiat issued to Pakistan. However, the tape has no legal value and hence the need to record the confession before a magistrate, the sources said.
Though the government has not provided this evidence to Pakistan so far, the sources said it must have, however, already reached Islamabad through the international interlocutors and from its representative in the UN. They said the government would provide Pakistan the confession that Kasab would make before the court.
The sources said the External Affairs Ministry would be forwarding a lengthy letter written by Kasab to the Pakistan High Commission and also urge upon it to take the custody of the bodies of the other nine terrorists lying in JJ Hospital's mortuary in Mumbai. They added that the US FBI and other Western investigating agencies have already taken DNA samples of all the nine terrorists killed in the attacks to ascertain if they had any Afghan or other terror links.
The Western investigators have also carried out a detailed examination of the explosive devices used in the attacks and have found similarities with those used by terrorists in Afghanistan, the sources said. The FBI team accompanied by investigators from the UK's Scotland Yard was in Mumbai for a fortnight looking into clues including the Internet telephony signatures intercepted by the Indian intelligence agencies when the terrorists were receiving calls. The sources added that after registering the case the FBI team had been able to break into the code of Internet telephony.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/16/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUM > FANATICAL INDIAN HUNDU WARMONGERS [IN Right-Wing RSS Corps] DEMAND WAR WITH PAKISTAN.
* TOPIX/PDF > INDIAN RIGHT WING GROUP: REGIONAL, GLOBAL NUCLEAR WAR IS INEVITABLE IFF PROXY TERROR AGZ INDIA CANNOT BE DEFEATED; + INDIA'S DEEP STRIKE ABILITIES [agz Pakistan]IS LIMITED.
RSS Leader proclaims DEMON = DARK AASURI POWERS CANNOT BE ALLOWED TO CONTROL OR DOMINATE THE LAND/REGION AND SOCIETY, HENCE ALL-OUT NUCLEAR WAR IS PREFERRED TO RULE BY EVIL???
* WORLD MIL FORUM > IFF INDIA-PAKISTAN SITUATION GETS OUT OF CONTROL, WILL CHINA DARE TO FIGHT!? Chengdou, Lanzhou, + Xinjiang Military Regions - INDIAN MIL OCCUPATION OF SOUTH TIBETAN VALLEY IS UN-ACCEPTABLE, AS SOUTH TIBETAN VALLEY IS PART OF ANCIENT CHINA.
Police suspect militants from Bara and Darra Adamkhel tehsils behind the attacks on NATO container terminals on Peshawar's Ring Road, sources said on Monday.
Police sources told Daily Times investigations into the attacks were underway and the perpetrators would be unearthed soon.
They said the militants from Jamrud would have had to travel a long way to reach Peshawar to attack the terminals. They said the number of persons who launched the assault indicated that the militants came from nearby, as such a large cavalry would have been hard to ignore.
Currently, the militants are concentrated in Khyber Agency's Bara tehsil under the Mangal Bagh-led Lashkar-e-Islam, while the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan is increasing its influence in Jamrud and other tehsils of the agency.
The sources said the army, police and Frontier Constabulary were collectively guarding the container terminals. "Security forces have been deputed at two places in the area, at Pishtakhara and PAF chowks on Ring Road. This is in addition to the police patrols," they said, adding 10 security personnel were deployed for guarding the more vulnerable terminals.
There are at least 12 container terminals in a 12-kilometre area of Ring Road. Six are situated in the limits of Pishtakhara police station in Cantonment, while the others fall in the limits of the city circle.
A senior police official said 30 policemen in six vehicles patrol the area regularly. He said attackers easily slip into the area through fields and villages at the rear of these terminals, adding the terminals lacked proper walls, lightings and security measures.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/16/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
such a large cavalry would have been hard to ignore.
"but we did it, by gum. Missed the whole bunch of them, almost as if we weren't really trying..."
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/16/2008 8:30 Comments ||
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Pakistani newspapers gave prominent coverage on Monday to a British media report that a retired general gunned down in Islamabad last month planned to blow the whistle on fellow generals' dealings with the Taliban.
An Urdu-language newspaper ran the story on its front page headlined: "Gen Alvi was against pacts with Taliban, Musharraf had sacked him".
The reports in Pakistani dailies were based on a story published in Britain's Sunday Times, and written by Carey Schofield.
Major General (r) Amir Faisal Alvi was shot dead along with his driver on the outskirts of the capital on November 19. Suspicion initially fell on militants linked to Al Qaeda and the Taliban, but an investigation by police and intelligence agencies has yet to come up with hard evidence.
"The investigation is going on but so far there has been no progress. We could not identify the murderers or the motive," said Sajid Kiyani, superintendent of police in Islamabad.
Schofield says Alvi, who had commanded the elite Special Services Group, gave her a copy of a letter he had had sent to army chief General Ashfaq Kayani in which he named two generals whose conspiracy resulted in his premature retirement more than two years ago.
Western and Pakistani analysts have long harboured suspicion that Pakistan has played a double game by supporting Taliban factions in the years since 2001, despite the heavy casualties suffered by its security forces fighting Taliban in the Tribal Areas.
It's really not a double game, it's a single-minded game that is played at a number of levels, including a lot of gas and flim-flam for the benefit of the Western rubes. But the game is simple: Pakistani supremacy in southern Afghanistan, Pakistani victory against the evil Hindooz, and control of Pakistan by the elite Sindh and Punjabi families.
Expected to be killed: A copy of the letter, dated July 21, 2008, with the names of the two generals blacked out, was reproduced on the Sunday Times website.
In the letter, Alvi asked Kayani to open an inquiry into the reason for his retirement and disciplinary action against the generals who had plotted against him. He also asked for a military decoration and a post-retirement job that he believed would help restore his honour.
The British journalist said Alvi gave her a copy of the letter four days before he was killed, and had asked her to publish it in the event of his death. She said Alvi expected to be killed, as he had not received any response to his letter.
Alvi believed he had been forced out of the army because he had become openly critical of deals between Pakistani generals and the Taliban.
There is no mention of support for the Taliban in the letter, just a veiled reference that the purpose of the plot against him "by these general officers was to hide their own involvement in a matter they knew I was privy to".
Alvi wrote that he would "furnish all relevant proof/information" to an inquiry.
Reuters made several attempts to reach a Pakistani military spokesman for comment on the Sunday Times reports.
The Sunday Times report said Alvi mentioned a deal between a general and Baitullah Mehsud to stop attacks on the army.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/16/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Suspicion initially fell on militants linked to Al Qaeda and the Taliban, but an investigation by police and intelligence agencies has yet to come up with hard evidence. "The investigation is going on but so far there has been no progress. We could not identify the murderers or the motive," said Sajid Kiyani, superintendent of police in Islamabad.
Damn, I hate when that happens. It's almost like they...don't wanna know.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani met President Asif Ali Zardari on Monday to discuss the latest security situation. Sources said the two leaders also discussed the violation of Pakistani airspace by Indian aircraft. Both leaders agreed that such violations were against the spirit of goodwill shown by Pakistan by offering co-operation in the investigation of the Mumbai terror attacks, and such acts would not be tolerated in future. President Zardari said Pakistan would not let anyone use its territory for terrorism, adding Pakistan was conducting its own investigation into the Mumbai attacks and would act if any Pakistani were involved in it. The prime minister said Pakistan was fighting the war on terror for its own sake and asked the international community to help Pakistan take the fight to its logical conclusion. The sources said both leaders agreed that the government would consult the country's political leadership and would take it on board regarding any decision on the current crises. National Security Adviser Mehmud Ali Durrani was also present.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/16/2008 00:00 ||
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Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani told the National Assembly on Monday that he had turned down a request that Britain be allowed to investigate those detained after the Mumbai attacks. There would be entirely too many distasteful revelations.
The prime minister's comments came in his policy statement before the start of a debate on national security in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks. He said the British request came at a meeting with Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Sunday, but he told his British counterpart that if there was evidence against those arrested after the attacks, they would be prosecuted under Pakistani law.
He made it clear that Jamaatud Dawa's 'welfare activities' would not be blocked, as "thousands of people are benefitting from them". Gilani, however, said the government would now monitor these activities.
Gilani said that Pakistan was committed to peace in the region, but if war is thrust on the country, "we will give [a] befitting response ... the nation, the army and the political leadership is united, and we can defend our national sovereignty". "We condemn terrorism wherever it is ... terrorists have no principles, religion, faith, boundaries or scruples," he said.
Prime Minister Gilani thanked the opposition and treasury for being united on issues related to national security.
Gilani said he had also called several world leaders in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks, and they in turn spoke with Indian leaders to tell the neighbour they "fully support Pakistan".
The opposition criticised India for 'trying to destabilise Pakistan' after the attacks, and said Pakistan's response should be 'stern'. Makhdoom Javed Hashmi of the PML-N assured the government that the nation would support it on issues related to national security.
Makhdoom Faisal Saleh Hayat of the PML-Q said it was because of the government's 'foreign policy failure' that India was threatening Pakistan.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/16/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
There is something very odd about the Mumbai raids that has bothered me deeply.
Why was the assault made from the water? There are plenty of ways to get armed men into Mumbai without having to resort to water borne assault, an assault that all of you Marines out there will verify is a very complicated process involving careful planning and coordination.
Secondly, the little intell that is coming out says there were 30 LeT's in the assault and yet everyone agrees that only ten were involved in the assault on the Taj hotel and the nearby Jewish center.
I certainly hope I am wrong but in my feable little brain, there are only two explanations for this complex raid and the missing 20 LeT's.
One: They came by boat because they were bringing something HEAVY ashore, something that could not be smuggled into India by rail, air or truck transport without detection. The raid at the Taj was a DIVERSION intended to draw law enforcement, army and security forces away from the docks. My black belt in conspiracy theories says they were bringing a nuke ashore. Not to use on India but to get to the port and into a container and on to a ship while the battle raged at the Taj.
Two: The raiders at the Taj had ample opportunities to wreak more havoc and create more casualties than they did. Their use of drugs to stay alert was used to keep the Indian authorities busy as long as possible. Once the TERRORISTS in the Taj passed a certain time they essentially committed suicide by police.
Three: the alternative is that the Mumbai Terrorist raid is a dress rehersal for a larger and more violent terrorist raid against either the US or Great Britain.
I personally believe that the Mumbai raids were intended to get a nuke ashore, on a boat and on its way with the Taj massacre as a diversion.
I certainly hope I am wrong but something with that raid does not smell right and even for the psychotic nature of Islamic Terrorism, to assume that it was an end in itself, is not logical.
Posted by: James Carville ||
12/16/2008 0:43 Comments ||
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#2
Well, JC, I hope you're wrong, but you do pose a reasonably simple, possible, and internally consistent scenario. And I agree with you that the existing public information and explanations violate my first rule: "If it doesn't make sense you don't know the whole story."
#3
If a Nuke goes off in India, Pakistan won't be around long enough to offer a half-hearted apology. A quick question for the math nerds, how many nukes/megatons would it take in order to incinerate every PAkistani city with a population of over 20k + the entire agriculture area of the Tribal area's?
If I were to make a bet on any exchange it would be on India.
Posted by: Charles ||
12/16/2008 5:35 Comments ||
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#4
There may be something more going on, JC, but if their main intent was to get a device on a ship, why go to Mumbai at all? I would think Karachi would be easier.
#9
Because it's on a ship and the ship ain't where it's goin' yet ...
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/16/2008 11:40 Comments ||
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#10
In the back of my mind I haven't forgotten the Iranian ship w/ nuclear materials which was intercepted before it could transit to the Med and be used in an attack on Israel. It won't be the last such effort there or here or elsewhere around civilization.
#11
Spot - I'm missing it, I guess. If they had a nuke on a ship near Mumbai, I'd think it would be used, immediately. Transferring it to land seems to cause potentially more headaches than benefits. Just IMHO.
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/16/2008 16:40 Comments ||
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#12
Another possibility is the Mumbai attack allowing the 20+ to move elsewhere unimpeded within India and establish cells, training camps, etc.
#13
Charles,
As someone who trained to evaluate the blast effects of nuclear weapons and assess the damage, I'll have to say that the equation HAS to begin with the size of the blast. A 30Kt weapon will do so much damage, while a 300Kt weapon would do considerably more than 10 times the damage. Other factors include the altitude of the blast, the landscape where the blast took place, the type of weapon used (PU weapons are more volatile than U238 blasts, etc.), wind direction and velocity, humidity, outside temperature, and about a dozen other things. Rule of thumb: look at the effects of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki blasts. Hiroshima was a flat area, the wind was calm, and the weapon was a uranium weapon delivering a 38Kt blast. The blast created total destruction of 80% of the city, in a radius of about eight miles. MOST OF THAT WAS DONE BY FIRES CAUSED BY THE EXPLOSION, not by the blast itself. At the same time, people less than a half-mile from the blast survived. Most survived because they were walking by a concrete or brick wall, or were inside a concrete or brick building.
Nagasaki was a city built among hills around a port. Most of the port and the city center were destroyed, while small towns four to ten miles away were less affected, or unaffected, especially those behind the ridges that ran down toward the harbor. The Nagasaki weapon was a plutonium weapon of about 35Kt.
Most people have the misguided notion that a nuclear explosion kills everything within x number of miles. There are about 30 different factors that would either mitigate or facilitate injury or destruction - too technical to get into here. To totally destroy a country, you'd have to have overlapping zones of destruction. Most nuclear war would be waged against major control centers, rather than the entire nation. Killing Karachi, Rawalpindi/Islamabad, Quetta, Mussarafibad, Peshawar, Lahore, and two or three other cities in the Punjab or Sindh areas would be sufficient to destroy Pakistan's ability (and probable will) to resist or continue a fight. A dozen 50Kt weapons would probably be sufficient. I doubt Pakistan has many more WORKING weapons than that. I have no idea how many India may have. Our total is somewhere around 10,000, ranging from 5Kt to 1+Mt.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/16/2008 18:02 Comments ||
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#14
As for where such a weapon would be used, I think the Suez would be an excellent choice. It would be near enough to Israel that some of the fallout would reach. Permanently shutting down the Suez Canal would more than double shipping costs from Europe to or from Asia (think petroleum, manufactured goods, and warships), having a tremendous negative impact on the world's economy. Personally, I have no idea why Islamabad would want to piss off India at the moment, other than it would provide an excuse for ending its "attack" against the NWFP and the terrorists lodged there. I do have to agree, the Mumbai attack was either a "practice run" or a distraction. I can see no major gain from it.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/16/2008 18:10 Comments ||
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#15
Terrorists always win points when they achieve terror, regardless of secondary aims.
(AKI) - By Syed Saleem Shahzad - Taliban attacks have completely halted the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's supplies travelling through Pakistan on their way to Afghanistan. In the past two weeks, 400 containers bound for the Afghan capital, Kabul, were destroyed by Taliban militants.
Militants on Saturday destroyed 11 trucks and 13 NATO containers in Peshawar, the capital of the North West Frontier Province, in their fourth attack in a week.
Local security forces have also been unable to provide adequate protection for the 11 container terminals in Peshawar because members are engaged in fighting the Taliban in the tribal regions.
"I can confirm that all the shipments have been stopped as nobody is ready to take casualties or damages," Zia ul-Haq Sarhadi, the Chairman of the standing committee for the dry port of the Sarhad Chamber of Commerce (the chamber for NWFP), told Adnkronos International.
The Taliban carried out isolated attacks on the NATO supply line through Pakistan this year but by mid-year the number of attacks had increased so much that NATO was compelled to sign a deal with Russia in April for the far more expensive option of transporting non-military freight through its territory.
But such a route risked putting the budget of the western forces under serious strain.
The reason is clear. Recently, NATO announced it would move its supplies through Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan into Afghanistan. Because it's a landlocked country, it substantially increases the cost of supply, far more than the present route from the Pakistani port of Karachi to Kabul.
"If we succeed with this supply blockage, NATO will have no alternative but to leave Afghanistan within a year," a senior Pakistani militant told AKI on condition of anonymity.
Currently 80 percent of NATO's supplies are transported through Pakistan. The blocking of NATO's supply routes comes only three months before the Taliban launch their Spring offensive in Afghanistan. Additional US combat troops are due to arrive there in mid-2009.
NATO officials tried to downplay the issue last week by saying that attacks on its supply line would have no impact on NATO's operational ability to fight in Afghanistan.
In August, the British daily The Financial Times said that some military bases in southern Afghanistan were almost running on empty and had stopped all military operations because of fuel shortages.
Last week the highly respected International Council on Security and Development (the former Senlis Council) said that the Taliban now had a permanent presence in 72 percent of Afghanistan, up from 54 percent a year ago.
Taliban forces have also advanced from their southern stronghold, where they are now the "de facto" governing power" to western and north-western provinces, as well as provinces north of Kabul, the think-tank said.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/16/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
THIS is a key reason why we went to war in Iraq - we knew the supply lines to Afghanistan were very vulnerable. At least in Iraq we could provide whatever firepower was needed to protect the convoys coming in from Kuwait, including A-10s & Cobras. We CAN maintain operation capability to fight via airlift, but the humanitarian and nation building efforts will stop, and that is not good if one is trying to fight terrorists with minimal collateral damage.
#4
So they have stopped the supply line.
Obvious question, are we going to let them?
Are we going to pay the ransom in the form of another couple billion in 'aid' to pakistan?
Or do we wash our hands of them and go through russia?
Don't tell me that nobody in the whole damned pentagon considered this possibility?
Bush-the-genius made an alliance with Pakistan after 9-11, notwithstanding the fact that the seeds of 9-11 were sown in that pig-pen.
Bush-logic: the-genius wouldn't put American troops in jeopardy, therefore Taliban couldn't have attacked NATO supplies.
Posted by: Jitch Protector of the Nebraskans3505 ||
12/16/2008 14:48 Comments ||
Top||
#7
Is it just me or does the war in Afghanistan seem to lack any kind of focus or direction? We seem to be floundering around, killing bad guys when we get a good chance to, building some stuff here and there.
Now it looks like the Taliwackers control well over half the country, we have no supply line, and even if we did, it would cost us a fortune worth of filthy bribe money to keep it open.
I hope someone in Washington has a plan, because to the casual observer it looks like a total cluster-f*ck. Nothing seems to work there, not even killing them.
(AKI) - India began preparations to attack Pakistan in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks, Pentagon officials told US media on Monday. Unnamed defence officials cited by CNN said the Indian Air Force was carrying out preliminary preparations for airstrikes, after the deadly bombings in India's commercial capital that killed over 170 people and injured close to 300 in November.
One official said that India's Air Force 'went on alert', while another said that preliminary preparations can put India in a position to launch airstrikes against suspected terror camps in Pakistan.
US officials made their remarks after an Indian aircraft reportedly violated Pakistani airspace twice on Saturday. Tensions between the nuclear neighbours have risen following the Mumbai attacks (Photo).
India says the Pakistan-based group Lashkar-e-Toiba is to blame for the bombings that targeted two luxury hotels and a Jewish centre. However, Pakistan has denied any involvement in the attacks, but has pledged to work with the Indian investigation.
Pakistan has arrested members of the Jamaat-ud-Dawa charity, accused of being a front for Lashkar-e-Toiba militants allegedly linked to the Mumbai attacks.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/16/2008 00:00 ||
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US Senator John Kerry visited India and Pakistan on Monday and put fresh pressure on Islamabad over the Mumbai attacks, saying the powerful Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency must be brought under control. Picked right up on that, didn't he? Not much gets by JFK!
Ahead of talks with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Kerry said Pakistan's ISI must stop operating independently of the government and end its links with militant groups.
"We would like to see an ISI that is reforming and brought completely under civilian control," Kerry told the Indian Express.
Kerry said the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LT) group was set up by the ISI to fight Indian rule in Kashmir. "But they didn't know that the LT would graduate into an enterprise of its own."
Kerry said the ISI was not linked to Mumbai attacks "unless at some lower level".
Legal action: After talks with Indian leaders, Kerry said there was "strong evidence" that the Mumbai gunmen came from Pakistan and urged Islamabad to take legal action against the LT.
"I think it is imperative for the LT to be taken on, the top leaders and anybody who is implicated in this attack needs to be properly prosecuted. It seems to me that is the real measure and the test here," he said.
Zardari: In a meeting later on Monday, President Asif Ali Zardari told Kerry Pakistan had extended complete co-operation to India and assured him Pakistan would not let anyone use its territory to carry out attacks against any country.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/16/2008 00:00 ||
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The Nepali Interior Ministry has denied the claim that the sole surviving gunman of the Mumbai attacks, Ajmal Kasab, was arrested from Nepal, a private TV channel reported on Monday. Earlier, a Pakistani lawyer SM Farooq had claimed that Kasab had been arrested from Nepal and shifted to India, and that an application had also been moved in the Nepali Supreme Court for his release.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/16/2008 00:00 ||
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Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) has asked the government to stop the ongoing military operation in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).
Addressing a gathering of displaced people from Bajaur in Shero Jhangai area of Peshawar on Monday, JI leaders Sahibzada Haroonur Rashid and Zarnoor Afridi said the government should put an end to the 'pro-US policies.'
They said thousands of people would join the JI march on December 18 to pressurise the government to stop NATO supplies via Pakistan. The JI leaders told the gathering that American forces wanted to reach Islamabad after subduing the people of the tribal areas. They said JI workers would never allow the US to do that.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/16/2008 00:00 ||
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The shoes thrown by an Iraqi journalist at United States President George W Bush in Iraq on Sunday has gained 'immortal fame', a private TV channel reported on Monday. According to an Arab TV channel, a Saudi citizen has offered $10 million to buy the shoes thrown at the US president by TV reporter Muntazeral Zaidi who was detained after being accused of a 'barbaric act' by the Iraqi government. Thousands of Iraqi citizens protested for Zaidi's release, calling him a national hero. Earlier, the US president had said, "I don't know what the guy's cause is, I didn't feel the least bit threatened by it."
Posted by: Fred ||
12/16/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
By all means sell it.
That's $10million that will never find its way to Hamas at least.
#2
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#5
Allegedly, the shoe thrower ended up in the room next to the press conference, and before it was over, "was loudly screaming and crying like a baby."
Now, in custody, he is alleged to have several broken ribs and a broken arm, and has been turned over to the Americans who feared that the Iraqis would beat him to death.
No word on his shoes, other than he is probably not wearing any, and won't for quite a while, unless they are US provided Keds (made in China).
#8
Actually I feel bad I wrote what I did above. All Saudi people don't deserve to be tainted by the actions of this man. We have plenty of liberal idiots in this country who probably take glee in this as well.
Besides, I am amused by the fact that they are using this man as their poster-child. He missed. Twice. Can you think of any greater symbol of their impotence him allowing Bush to show off his quick reflexes and then just dismiss this reporter with the wave of his hand as an insignificant fool.
#11
Duh, Bushies seem unaware that Bush-the-genius is only weeks away from positioning himself on Boards of companies that eat Saudi crap. His family has delivered a fiduciary relationship with the Wahabi terrorist entity for 3 decades.
Posted by: Jitch Protector of the Nebraskans3505 ||
12/16/2008 14:59 Comments ||
Top||
#12
Please enlighten us, noble Jitch. Just what companies might you be referring to? Please supply names, and reference to these upcoming board appointments.
Iraqis demonstrated in the streets Monday demanding the release of the journalist who hurled two shoes at President Bush during a press conference on Sunday, as Arabs across the Middle East hailed Bush's assailant as a hero who reflected their anger at American policies. Okay. I'm ready to get the hell out. Maybe Zarqawi will come back and they'll get what they deserve.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/16/2008 00:00 ||
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#2
They don't deserve Zarqawi. I bet you anything this jounalist is probably part of a minor political party. Or even a certain irrelevant Tater-Tot that wants to use the incident to get back into the spotlight. And does anybody remember the thousands who marched in Sadr city during his "protests"? It's not that hard.
In fact, I bet if this guy was a US citizen, he would be registered with Code Pink. Holding up bobble-head effigies during 50pesron protests. Lets face it, this is something about nothing.
Side note, the Journalist has a broken arm and bruised ribs. I would assume from the scuffle with his fellow journalists before the authorities got to him. I'm making that assumption based on a picture of him reaching forward while several arms seem to be trying to drag him down.
Posted by: Charles ||
12/16/2008 5:26 Comments ||
Top||
#3
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#4
Gateway has the scoop on the asshat: Che posters at home, fanboy of Mookie. Loser
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/16/2008 8:42 Comments ||
Top||
#5
Ingrateful Muzzrats. Saddam would have had the bugger run slowly through his tree shredder, feet first within an hour. I'm beginning to wonder if they deserve being free of Saddam.
#7
Allegedly, the shoe thrower ended up in the room next to the press conference, and before it was over, "was loudly screaming and crying like a baby."
Now, in custody, he is alleged to have several broken ribs and a broken arm, and has been turned over to the Americans who feared that the Iraqis would beat him to death.
No word on his shoes, other than he is probably not wearing any, and won't for quite a while, unless they are US provided Keds (made in China).
#8
Just as an observation, while this guy is a complete moron, and I do mean complete, it speaks not just volumes but libraries about the difference between Saddam's Iraq and Maliki's.
This guy has a broken arm and some broken ribs because he threw stuff at an American President. Okay, any U.S. citizen might well have the same things; it's not smart to screw around with the Secret Service and you'll probably get hurt if you do.
That said, his wife and daughters aren't being gang-raped in front of him and none of his family is going to end up in a plastic shredder because of his idiocy. The rape and the shredder would have been all but guaranteed in Saddam's Iraq. Anyone who can't see that incredible difference is a complete fool or a Democrat.
Iraq may go back to the old ways once we leave. If they do, it's their choice. However, no Iraqi can ever again say they didn't have a shot at becoming a decent country. American blood, sweat and gold bought that for them, and I pray to God that they're smart enough to take advantage of the sacrifice we made to buy them that opportunity.
#11
Fred,
The Iraqis demonstrating in faver of the guy were followers of Muqatta al Sadr. There were only a few hundred of them.
A better indicator of Iraqi sentiment were the other Iraqi reporters who wrestled him to the ground. Also President Talibani is said to be furious about this and wants the guy put away for 7-8 years (more than he would get in the US).
In fact this guy is considerably more popular with the US MSM than he is in Iraq.
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
12/16/2008 12:11 Comments ||
Top||
#12
I thought the gentleman in question was a reporter for some outfit based in Cairo, not even remotely Iraqi. While it sounds like the totalitarian governments round about are trumpeting their excitement to the skies in their house organ news outlets, reports of the Iraqi response sound a bit like journalistic propagandizing. I think Frozen Al pegged it.
#15
Stuff that I've read says that the majority of Iraqis are insulted by the thrower's actions since he insulted an invited guest (thus insulting the host). The demonstrations? Come on, they are Sadirists doing what they are told to do. And there weren't that many of them. The "rapporteur" was just projecting his desire in the "article". Utter crap, as usual.
An Iraqi official says a reporter who threw his shoes at President Bush is being held for questioning by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's guards and is being tested for alcohol and drugs.
The official tells The Associated Press that Muntadar al-Zeidi is being interrogated over whether anybody paid him to throw his shoes at Bush during a news conference Sunday.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not supposed to talk to media.
Saddam Hussein's former lawyer said on Monday that he was forming a team to defend the Iraqi journalist who hurled his shoes at US President George W Bush during his farewell visit to Baghdad.
"So far around 200 Iraqi and other lawyers, including Americans, have expressed willingness to defend the journalist for free," the Amman-based Khalil al-Dulaimi told AFP.
"I took the decision on Sunday night to defend the man after the incident. I am currently contacting Arab bar associations to form a defence committee."
An Iraqi television station on Monday demanded the immediate release of one of its journalists who caused a furore when he hurled shoes at visiting Bush.
Zaidi jumped up as Bush was holding a press conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Sunday, shouted "It is the farewell kiss, you dog" and threw two shoes at the US leader.
Bush ducked and the first shoe hit the American and Iraqi flags behind the two leaders, while the second was off target.
Zaidi, a reporter with the Al-Baghdadia channel, which broadcasts from Cairo, was immediately wrestled to the ground by security guards and frogmarched from the room.
"Al-Baghdadia television demands that the Iraqi authorities immediately release their stringer Muntadhar al-Zaidi, in line with the democracy and freedom of expression that the American authorities promised the Iraqi people," it said in a statement.
In Cairo, Muzhir al-Khafaji, programmeming director for the television channel, described Zaidi as a "proud Arab and an open-minded man."
"We fear for his safety," he added.
Meanwhile President Bush wrapped up a whirlwind trip to two war zones yesterday that in many ways was a victory lap without a clear victory.
A signature event occurred when an Iraqi reporter hurled two shoes at Bush, declaring: "This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq."
The president visited the Iraqi capital just 37 days before he hands the war off to his successor, Barack Obama, who has pledged to end it. The president wanted to highlight a drop in violence and to celebrate a recent US-Iraq security agreement, which calls for US troops to withdraw from Iraq by the end of 2011.
"The war is not over," Bush said, but "it is decisively on its way to being won."
Bush then travelled to Afghanistan where he spoke to US soldiers and Marines at a hangar on the tarmac at Bagram Air Base. The rally for over a thousand military personnel took place in the dark, cold pre-dawn hours. Bush was greeted by loud cheers from the troops.
"Afghanistan is a dramatically different country than it was eight years ago," he said. "We are making hopeful gains."
But the president's message on progress in the region was having trouble competing with the videotaped image of the angry Iraqi who hurled his shoes at Bush in a near-miss, shouting in Arabic, "This is your farewell kiss, you dog!"
Posted by: Fred ||
12/16/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
FREE Infinite On-Demand TV Shows, Movies, Music(millions and millions of digital quality tracks), Unlimited Games, Money, and FREE College Educations (Stanford, Oxford, Notre Dame and more) @ InternetSurfShack.com
#2
Saddam Hussein's former lawyer said on Monday that he was forming a team to defend the Iraqi journalist who hurled his shoes at US President George W Bush during his farewell visit to Baghdad.
Iraq faced mounting calls Monday to release the journalist who hurled his shoes at George W. Bush a day earlier, an action branded shameful by Baghdad but hailed in the Arab world as an ideal parting gift to the unpopular US president. Colleagues of Muntazer al-Zaidi, who works for independent Iraqi television station Al-Baghdadia, said he "detested America" and had been plotting such an attack for months against the man who ordered the war on his country.
"Throwing the shoes at Bush was the best goodbye kiss ever ... It expresses how Iraqis and other Arabs hate Bush," wrote Moussa Barhoumeh, editor of Jordan's Al-Ghad newspaper.
Hundreds of Iraqis joined anti-US demonstrations to protest at Bush's farewell visit on Sunday to Iraq, which was plunged into a deadly insurgency and near civil war in the aftermath of the 2003 invasion.
The Iraqi government branded Zaidi's actions "shameful" and demanded an apology from his Cairo-based employer, which in turn called for his immediate release from custody.
Zaidi jumped up as Bush was holding a news conference with Iraqi Premier Nuri al-Maliki Sunday, and shouted: "It is the farewell kiss, you dog," and proceeded to throw two shoes at the US leader. The shoes missed after Bush ducked and Zaidi was wrestled to the ground by security guards. He is currently being held by the Iraqi authorities, a source in Maliki's office said.
Al-Baghdadia issued a statement demanding Zaidi's release "in line with the democracy and freedom of expression that the American authorities promised the Iraqi people."
"Any measures against Muntazer will be considered the acts of a dictatorial regime," it added.
But the government called for the channel to apologize.
Saddam Hussein's former lawyer Khalil al-Dulaimi said he was forming a team to defend Zaidi and that around 200 lawyers, including Americans, had offered their services for free.
"It was the least thing for an Iraqi to do to Bush, the tyrant criminal who has killed 2 million people in Iraq and Afghanistan," said Dulaimi.
"Our defense of Zaidi will be based on the fact that the United States is occupying Iraq, and resistance is legitimate by all means, including shoes."
Posted by: Fred ||
12/16/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Anyone one in Rantburg would want to be the hero of people who consider a guy who crushed the skull of a four year old girl, a hero?
#2
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#6
If I were Zaidi, I would hope that Mr Dulaimi has learned a thing or two about the law in the past couple of years. His last client didn't do too well with his legal expertise.
#7
So. He had been planning this for months. Did he set up a target and practice like those people did to win money, not to strike a blow for their people, but to win money at a halftime show? NO. Caught President Bush completely by surprise and missed twice from 5 yards - Ha Ha Ha! Ha Ha! My daughter throws better than this Childish Representative of Journalistic Suckulance. Bwaa ha ha! Give Bush 2 baseballs from same distance. Snicker snicker snort.
Hundreds joined a protest? What, everyone else at work? Thhhuupppttt.
#8
I think president Bush was gaining his fame at the end of his presidency.
President Bush attacked in Iraq ignoring the permission of United Nations.
Though UN is one of the puppet of US. How could President Bush doing this to
Iraqi people? War is not a game. So he get his
reward. I hope this will remembered by President Bush until his death.
http://www.eonlinetask.com
#12
Mr. Asif Mahmud, you'll notice that Saddam Hussein not only lost his war, but also his life and the lives of his sons. His bloodline has been ended by the Iraqi people he terrorized for two generations.
The fool Zaidi is now locked up with broken bones by the people he claimed to represent by his temper tantrum. While other fools may think him clever and brave, we who conquered Saddam Hussein laugh at a pretend man who acts like a two year old and got spanked for it. Grown men do not need to respond to the outcries of children, nor do conquerors to those who have nothing more to say than, "Look at meeeeeee!"
#14
The guy missed. Twice. Not to imply that one man's specific failure is symbolic of the Arab world's failure in general. Forget I mentioned it. It wasn't my intention to highlight their lack of cultural progress for the last what? - a millenium or so. But the symbolism *is* compelling, eh?
Wilders to consider forming alliance with Vlaams Belang
Islamist groups with suspected terror links "displayed an interest" in an anti-jihad conference held in Jerusalem on Sunday, Dutch legislator Geert Wilders told Haaretz yesterday. In the interview, Wilders also said that he is considering forming an alliance with Belgium's far-right Vlaams Belang party, which he has hitherto shunned. Belgian Jews have also shunned Vlaams Belang.
As well they should, Vlaams Belang being a nasty, nationalist, racialist group that preaches supremacy. Don't become what you say you stand against, Geert ...
The controversial politician said that Dutch security services had learned of the Islamist groups' interest, but said he could not elaborate. However, he added, the news resulted in an increased security detail during his visit to Israel: He was surrounded by eight bodyguards at all times, whereas on previous visits, he was accompanied by only one or two. "This is the first time I do not feel safer in Israel than in Holland," said Wilders, who has received countless death threats from Muslim extremists.
Wilders also revealed that if his Party for Freedom - which occupies nine of the Dutch parliament's 150 seats - runs in European parliamentary elections, he may join Vlaams Belang to form a larger right-wing bloc. Wilders had previously said he would not consider such an alliance.
Belgium's Jewish leadership has boycotted Vlaams Belang, citing its "strong anti-Semitic characteristics," and in an interview with Haaretz last year, Wilders cited this in explaining his decision to distance himself from the party. But now, he said, "there are different sounds coming from Vlaams Belang. Some people say they have changed, even from the Jewish community.
"That they have changed their tune. Others say they haven't. I have to look into it and talk to people and study it more. I'm not saying it is impossible." However, he added, "we will not ally ourselves with parties like that of France's Jean-Marie Le Pen."
As reported by Haaretz last week, sources in Vlaams Belang said that Eldad had invited their party's leader, Filip Dewinter, to visit Jerusalem next year. However, Eldad denied this.
(AKI) - Egyptian security officials are reported to have prevented a top Israeli defence official from meeting the Secretary-General of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, in Cairo. The local daily, al-Misr al-Youm, said that Amos Gilad, advisor to Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, had sought to meet Moussa (photo) while both were passing through the airport.
Security officials were apparently trying to avoid a repeat of the recent controversy when Egyptian cleric Sheikh Mohammad Sayyid Tantawi shook hands with Israeli President Shimon Peres.
Sheikh Mohammad Sayyid Tantawi who is the head of Egypt's al-Azhar University, came under fire from the Muslim Brotherhood after he greeted the Israeli president at a United Nations interfaith conference in New York in November.
Gilad conducted negotiations for Israel's troubled truce with Hamas which took effect from June 19. He returned to Cairo on Sunday for talks with Egyptian mediators but denied he was there to discuss renewing the truce.
"When we accepted a lull six months ago it was clearly understood that there was no end date," Gilad told Israeli public radio on Monday.
"For Israel, the date December 19 has no significance."
The Israeli army had taken advantage of the truce to make preparations for a possible operation into Gaza, said Gilad. But he warned against any attempt by Israel to take back control of the territory.
Hamas political supremo Khaled Meshal said in a television interview from Damascus with Hamas's Al-Quds satellite television on Sunday: "The truce was limited to six months and ends on December 19."
Posted by: Fred ||
12/16/2008 00:00 ||
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Hundreds of people gave a heroes' welcome on Monday to more than 200 Palestinian prisoners freed by Israel in what was billed as a goodwill gesture toward Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The released inmates got off five buses in the center of the Occupied West Bank.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/16/2008 00:00 ||
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Israel and Hamas ratcheted up the rhetoric on Monday ahead of the expiry of a six-month Gaza truce which the Islamist rulers of the Palestinian enclave say they are hesitant to renew due to violations of the deal by the Jewish state. Hamas political supremo Khaled Meshaal made it clear on Sunday the Islamists were unlikely to renew the truce.
"Given that the enemy is not respecting its commitments and the blockade is still in place against our people, for Hamas, and I think for the majority of forces, the truce ends after December 19 and will not be renewed," he said in a television interview with the movement's Al-Quds satellite television.
Israel began its blockade of the impoverished territory, where half of the population depends in international aid, after Hamas beat Fatah in parliamentary elections in 2006. The Jewish state further tightened its hold on the enclave after Hamas took power by force in what many have termed a pre-empting of a US-backed Fatah offensive aimed at ridding Gaza of the Islamists.
Under the conditions of an Egyptian-mediated truce inked in June, Israel was to lift its siege of Gaza if Hamas reigned in rocket attacks. However, while the Islamists managed to virtually halt the attacks, Israel never complied with its commitments.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/16/2008 00:00 ||
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The Israeli High Court rejected government plans on Monday to build a section of its barrier in the occupied West Bank, saying the proposed route encroached too much on Palestinian land.
Palestinians welcomed the ruling, but negotiator Saeb Erekat said far more had to be done.
"It just solves one problem. How many hundreds of other problems do we have in the West Bank?" he said.
The High Court ordered the government to re-route part of the barrier near the West Bank village of Bilin to ensure that it was largely or entirely built on Israeli rather than Palestinian land.
Israeli officials were not immediately available to comment.
Israel says the barrier, made up of wire fence and concrete walls, is meant to keep out suicide bombers.
" The decision was important because it made clear Israel cannot create a so-called "security" buffer zone that juts so deeply into Palestinian territory, "
Attorney Michael Sfard
Palestinians call it collective punishment and a land grab that denies them territory that they want for a future state.
The barrier in Bilin cuts some 3 km (2 miles) into the village, separating some farmers from their fields.
Bilin Mayor Ahmed Yasin had petitioned the court in 2005 to prevent the Israeli government from confiscating land from the village, which has become a flashpoint between anti-barrier protesters and Israeli troops.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/16/2008 00:00 ||
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(AKI) - Sri Lanka's separatist Tamil Tiger militants have increased the forced conscription of soldiers, including children, a human rights watchdog said on Monday. Human Rights Watch said the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam has also tightened restrictions on civilians trying to flee intense fighting in the country's north.
In a report released on Monday, the New York-based group said the Tigers were "brutally abusing the Tamil population in areas under their control".
"The LTTE claims to be fighting for the Tamil people, but it is responsible for much of the suffering of civilians in the Vanni (district)," said Brad Adams, Asia director for Human Rights Watch.
"As the LTTE loses ground to advancing government forces, their treatment of the very people they say they are fighting for is getting worse."
Using a coercive pass system to prevent civilians from leaving areas it controls, the LTTE has now completely prohibited movement out of the northern Vanni region, except for some medical emergencies, Human Rights Watch said.
The group estimated only about a thousand people have managed to flee the conflict zone since March 2008.
"By refusing to allow people their basic rights to freedom of movement, the LTTE has trapped hundreds of thousands of civilians in a dangerous war zone," said Adams.
Human Rights Watch says LTTE cadres have urged teenagers aged from 14 to 18 to join them.
As intense fighting between Tamil rebels and government forces continues in the north, the financial ratings agency Standard & Poor's cut the country's credit rating to five levels below investment grade.
Concerns about security and ballooning debt lowered the long term foreign currency rating to B from B+ - the same level as the African countries of Cameroon and Burkina Faso.
Government forces claimed at the weekend they were poised to overrun the political headquarters of separatist Tamil Tiger militants.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/16/2008 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.
U.S. President George W. Bush made a surprise visit to Afghanistan on Monday, holding talks with President Hamid Karzai and warning of a long struggle ahead to quell insurgent violence. Moving from one war zone to another, Bush flew secretly from Baghdad to Kabul, landing under cover of darkness for talks with Karzai and meetings with U.S. troops spearheading the fight against a resurgent Taliban. 
Somalia's interim Parliament on Monday overwhelming backed the government of Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein, a day after the war-wracked country's president announced his dismissal. Speaker Aden Mohammad Nur said after counting the votes during a special Parliament session in the town of Baidoa that "143 MPs recognized the existence of the government, 20 rejected it and 7 abstained. 
Police suspect militants from Bara and Darra Adamkhel tehsils behind the attacks on NATO container terminals on Peshawar's Ring Road, sources said on Monday.
US Senator John Kerry visited India and Pakistan on Monday and put fresh pressure on Islamabad over the Mumbai attacks, saying the powerful Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency must be brought under control.
An Iraqi official says a reporter who threw his shoes at President Bush is being held for questioning by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's guards and is being tested for alcohol and drugs.
Hundreds of people gave a heroes' welcome on Monday to more than 200 Palestinian prisoners freed by Israel in what was billed as a goodwill gesture toward Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The released inmates got off five buses in the center of the Occupied West Bank.
