I'm sorry that Iran is run by loons, greedy dictators, and pedophile-worshippers (but I repeat myself....).
Will that do, DinnerJacket?
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
02/28/2009 19:03 Comments ||
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#4
In 2007, the war epic '300', a smash hit in the United States for its gory portrayal of the Greco-Persian wars, drew the wrath of Iranians for showing their ancestors as bloodthirsty.
Substituting neo-nazis would have been a bit much.
Similarly 'The Wrestler', was booed in Iran and heavily criticised for the scene of breaking and tearing of the Iranian flag by the picture's star, 2009 Oscar nominee Mickey Rourke.
But state-sanctioned burning the American flag for television cameras is okay, right?
#5
What a bunch of maroons! If they would spend more time looking at the blondes in American movies, and less time murdering their neighbors, the world would be a better place.
AFGHAN President Hamid Karzai has ordered that presidential elections be held by April, months earlier than a date of August 20 set by the voting authority because of security and logistic issues.
In a decree that comes after weeks of consultations about the controversial date, Mr Karzai said today that the Independent Election Commission had to conduct the elections according to provisions of the constitution.
He cited an article of the constitution which says the vote must be held within 30 to 60 days before the end of the presidential term, which is on May 21.
Following the constitution? There's a novel concept.
The decree also said the commission should "provide the necessary conditions based on laws for peoples' participation in a transparent, clear, just, free'' election. Government must do all it "can to solve the problems the commission faces'', the decree said.
The commission last month delayed polling day to August 20, saying security and logistical concerns meant it would not be ready to hold legitimate and credible polls in the timeline provided by the constitution. "The IEC considered logistics, weather, security and funding and all aspects when it chose August 20,'' deputy chief electoral officer Zekria Barakzai said.
The president has said he would stand for a second term, although he recently suggested he might reconsider.
AN Afghan court has sentenced a man to death for giving "wrong information" to US-led troops about insurgents that led to air strikes which killed dozens of civilians. Mohammad Nader was sentenced to death on Saturday in a primary court in the western city of Herat, capital of the province where the August 22 strikes intended for Taliban insurgents destroyed several houses.
Investigations by the Afghan government and United Nations said around 90 civilians were killed, including many children. The US military said 33 civilians and 22 militants had died.
It was one of the heaviest civilian tolls since the international forces invaded Afghanistan in late 2001 to oust the Taliban government, and caused a rift in relations between Kabul and Washington.
"You, Mohammad Nader, are sentenced to capital punishment for spying for foreign forces and giving wrong information that caused the death of civilians,'' judge Qazi Mukaram told the suspect.
Nader, in his late 30s, denied the charges. "My information was accurate and I did it for the well-being and security of my village,'' he said.
10,000 and 15,000 Taliban fighting inside his country, and the insurgent group is operating across about 17 provinces. Mohammad Hanif Atmar offered a rare estimate of the size of his government's most organized and potent opponent during a visit to Washington. A large delegation of senior Afghan officials was in the U.S. capital this week, along with a delegation from Pakistan.
Both groups were weighing in as the new Obama administration forms a new strategy for the war in Afghanistan and a related policy for Pakistan. Afghan officials say they told their hosts that a new strategy must include better cooperation from Pakistan, where Taliban and other militants have command operations.
Afghan and Pakistani officials met separately this week, as well as in three-way sessions with U.S. hosts. President Barack Obama has named a new envoy to manage an overhaul of U.S. policy toward a region Obama calls the real central front against terrorism.
Posted by: ed ||
02/28/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
a region Obama calls the real central front against terrorism.
Well sure, now that former president Bush took care of the Iraqi front. And what about that other central front that is Iran? All those centers can be so confusing!
#2
Barry is in quite a pickle with Iraq. It is a very, very fragile situation which if not handled correctly, as the Generals have advised, could rapidly and revert to chaos. If Barry squanders the "W" Surge dividend he'll be blamed for letting victory slip away, the halo comes off and he's an instant loser. If the situation in Iraq begins to worsen and he has initiate an "O" Surge from CONUS, the halo is off again and he's a loser. His only real course of action is to "train & maintain" in Iraq (see original Petraeus & Bush plan) and keep a force and enough regional power both air and ground close enough to respond if needed. Read that Afghanistan. The strategy in Afghanistan ie, going after the Warzistan and border sancuaries will eventual prevail, but it will be a long and drawn out affair. Like Musharoff, Karzai must go. New, more aggressive leadership is needed. Just my two cents worth.
#5
Besoeker: I'd have to say that Iraq is pretty over, but Afghanistan is the real nightmare. Short of an Iranian invasion, there just isn't any organized opposition in Iraq any more. About the worst that could happen would be a Sunni uprising, but the Sunni know that if they tried that, they would be butchered, then the survivors exiled.
Afghanistan, however, has all the prospects of another Vietnam. If NATO or the US screws up, that 10,000 Taliban could become 100,000, or even 1 million overnight. Afghans become predatory around weakness.
#6
Anonymoose...I unfortunately believe you are correct. And we do not have 500,000 troops to throw at the place (I am not suggesting that, meerly recalling the peak number circa 1970).
The problem of course is logistics. There is no way to get supplies in other than through Pakistan. Our best bet is to ratchet up the ground troop presence to a level that we are able to maintain some semblance of control (as we are doing now), and accelerate our Predator and Reaper programs to maintain a 24 hour overwatch in the lawless areas...and kill anything that moves...literally. Also, we need to shift as much of our SOF to Afghanistan as we dare to work with the UAVs. And finally we need to focus on defoliating the poppies. I don't care how we do it. Drop "defoliant" soaked 20 dollar bills on the poppies. Whatever. But we have to eliminate the jihadi source of income.
No rocket science here: We will never be able to put enough boots on the ground with the appropriate logistical tail in Afghanistan.
Six people were hurt when Afghan police opened fire on demonstrators who claimed U.S. troops had desecrated the Holy Quran during a raid on a mosque, as Amnesty International urged the importance of prosecuting the troops who cause civilian deaths.
The incident took place in Deh Khodaidad village in Ghazni, southwest of the capital, Kabul.
Police said a government team had been sent to investigate claims that foreign troops had raided the mosque, rounded up worshippers and tore apart copies of the Holy Quran on Thursday night.
A spokesman for the U.S. military said he was aware of a "peaceful protest". Afghan police said any injuries had been caused by "saboteurs" in the crowd.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/28/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Another imaginary desecration believed by these tribal fools.
W/B Islamic Rage Boy - long time no see.
And the source? Amnesty International. Yeah, really an unbiased organization there.
#4
g(r)omgoru...I would qualify your statement further by saying, "Nation building in an Islamic country where right is wrong and wrong is right sucks.
#5
Nation-building gets easier when you're not trying to coddle two two-faced, backstabbing, money-grubbing leaders from two different countries, neither of which REALLY wants nation-building to succeed. Crush both national governments, start from the ground up rebuilding, shoot anyone that starts pushing an extremist agenda (islam), and things will work out much better.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
02/28/2009 15:57 Comments ||
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The Somali government has slammed the recent attacks by African Union forces on civilians, urging all foreign troops to leave the country.
Somalia's newly-formed government stated on Friday that it was saddened by the shelling of residential areas by the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) in Mogadishu. "AMISOM actions are unacceptable. They were sent here to protect civilians, not to kill them," Suleiman Olad Rooble, the minister for youth and sports said in a news conference.
He also added that an urgent cabinet meeting will soon discuss the withdrawal of all foreign troops from the Horn of African nation, a Press TV correspondent reported.
The statement follows three days of intense fighting in residential areas between rebels and AMISOM forces in Mogadishu, leading to the deaths of nearly fifty people -- mostly civilians -- and the injury of almost a hundred others.
The presence of the nearly 34,000 peacekeepers from Uganda and Burundi has been a thorny issue for the new Somali government. Influential clerics and local clan elders have demanded the government to call for the withdrawal of the foreign force within 120 days. Somali opposition groups have meanwhile vowed to continue fighting the AMISOM troops until the peacekeepers are completely withdrawn from Somalia.
The new Somali government led by president Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed has repeatedly said that there would be no need for further foreign forces and those currently deployed would leave the country.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/28/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
How does he shoot with that friggin hat?
I suppose it's better to look good then to fight good. He looks like some rapper's bodyguard.
#2
I looks like the cap's holding the sunglasses in place. And keeping his "DO" down.
Remember when all the blacks put softener in their hair, and used shower caps to keep the greasy mess in place, looks like that to me.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
02/28/2009 15:13 Comments ||
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Jim, you're pushing the limit really hard right now on a couple fronts. You and .5MT can trade penis/intelligence insults all you like so long as you maintain decent language while doing it.
There are only a few things that are out of bounds at Rantburg. One of them is calling for the murder of Americans, especially but not limited to officials in public office.
Another is racial crap. Don't go there. The mods will not tolerate it and it's an abuse of Fred's hospitality.
The next comment with snide racial overtones gets you a time out for a while.
Alice Anywar lives in the Pagak resettlement camp in Gulu and at 39 is a multiple victim of the over-20-year-old Lords Resistance Army (LRA) insurgency in Northern Uganda. The rebels first attacked her home in the village of Kilak in 1987, killing both her parents and abducting her 12-year-old brother. In 2002 they murdered her husband.
The rebels have retreated into the jungle in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) but Anywar, like many other residents, fears they could re-enter Uganda.
The elusive peace was dealt a near deathblow, many argue, in 2004 when Yoweri Museveni's government requested the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague to indict and prosecute the rebels. The body has since become a source of further tension between the warring parties. The LRA has accused the ICC of bias for not charging their adversaries in Uganda's army.
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Posted by: Fred ||
02/28/2009 00:00 ||
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As opposed to Traditional Justice in S. Africa: Necklacing (tire, gasoline).
The mutiny in Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) was spearheaded by a group of 20 to 25 non-commissioned soldiers who forced others to take up guns and participate in the savagery that followed, according to information shared by surviving officers and some fleeing mutineers.
They said the small group of leaders, all of whom were based in Pilkhana BDR Headquarters, carried out all the mindless killings, most of which took place between 9:00am and 11:00am on Wednesday.
As soon as the first shot was fired, some of the rebel leaders armed themselves and locked the officers inside Darbar Hall at gunpoint, while some others rushed to the residence of the BDR director general and other officers. Some went to the arms depot and broke open its doors. Then they forced other soldiers present in Pilkhana to take up arms as well, many of whom were there that day from battalions outside Dhaka, on the occasion of the BDR Week.
"If you don't take up arms and join us, you will be shot," a leader of the mutiny was quoted by a soldier, who like many others fled the headquarters on Thursday.
He said the majority of the soldiers were against the killing of so many officers. "There were arguments between the mutiny leaders and other soldiers about the killings. Many tried to convince the leaders that all officers are not bad. But the leaders were furious," he said.
Another soldier said many of the soldiers felt deprived and were angry about the role of some top officers, whom they branded as corrupt. "There was no argument about the fate of the corrupt persons," he said adding some soldiers were also killed as they tried to stop the killings.
The soldiers said most of them broke down in tears seeing so many dead bodies of officers, scattered at different places in the compound. Initially many bodies were dumped in sewers. The wholesale killing prompted them to flee the headquarters, the soldiers added.
They also said there was no specific leader of the mutiny. All soldiers of the small leading group seemed to be the leaders in the brutality.
They said a few officers were able to come out alive from Pilkhana, because many of the soldiers protested when the mutiny leaders wanted to kill them.
While narrating the horrible deeds that went on inside Darbar Hall, Lt Col Syed Kamruzzaman, who survived the killing spree, said he was saved by 'a few good soldiers'.
"They took me to another place and kept me hidden from the others," he said at a media briefing in the army staff college officers' mess in Mirpur Cantonment.
As the mutineers heard a rumour that the army could storm Pilkhana, the small group of leaders ordered the soldiers to bring out four armoured personnel carriers (APC). "They pointed their guns at us and ordered us to operate the APCs," said a soldier, who was present in Pilkhana during the mutinee. The unwilling mutineers also had to take positions at different points to face any retaliation.
Some of the soldiers also said the mutiny bosses forced them to dig a mass grave behind the BDR mortuary Wednesday evening and dumped the bodies of dead officers in it. "I saw three trucks with bodies parked there and some jawans were digging a ditch," said a soldier, who had hidden an officer inside a bathroom to save him. "There were many soldiers who tried to save the officers and their families in many ways," he added.
Major Firoz, who survived the mutiny, told The Daily Star that some soldiers helped his pregnant wife to leave Pilkhana on Thursday morning. "She became ill and they were kind enough to let her go outside."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/28/2009 00:00 ||
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Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said those who committed the killings during the BDR mutiny would not be under the declared general amnesty. "They will be tried according to law and punished," PM's press secretary Abul Kalam Azad quoted the prime minister as saying.
The government also announced a three-day national mourning from yesterday to mourn the deaths of those fallen during the border guards' mutiny. The national flag will be kept at half-mast during the mourning.
Meanwhile, the government formed a six-member committee headed by Home Minister Sahara Khatun to investigate the massacre of army officers and innocent civilians by disgruntled BDR jawans at the BDR headquarters at Pilkhana.
The prime minister alerted all so that none can stage any new incident capitalising on Wednesday's "dastardly" occurrence at the BDR headquarters, reported news agency UNB. "All must remain alert so none can stage any new incident because games of provocateurs are not over," she said while talking to reporters after visiting injured BDR officers at CMH in Dhaka Cantonment.
The prime minister also talked with members of the bereaved families who lost their beloved ones. She said although she had declared general amnesty, every institution has its own rules and inquiry into the incident will be done accordingly.
"It seems that all BDR personnel were not involved in it. It seems a certain group staged the incident," she said. "It must also be inquired if any quarter provoked this incident," she added.
"We must see also whether there was any plan to use this incident for a different purpose," the PM said on a note of skepticism and questioned: "Why this incident was staged, what was the purpose?"
She said about the rebellious BDR men that they might have their grievances and demands, and they could tell the government. But why fire should be opened on their brothers, she wondered.
While extending sympathy to members of the bereaved families, Hasina mentioned the August 15 tragedy and said she does feel the pain of losing father, mother and brothers. "We don't want such bloodshed. Why this cruelty being staged time and again!"
The premier categorically said such "cruelty must end, all must remain peaceful".
Hasina, who tackled the terrible mutiny through hectic negotiations with the rebels, said she kept army on the standby alongside the negotiation to cool down the rebels and disarm them. "Our main concern was to rescue those kept hostage inside the headquarters and we completed the task successfully," she told the journalists.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/28/2009 00:00 ||
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Leader of the opposition in parliament, Khaleda Zia, yesterday demanded tough actions and trial of the killers of army officers and others in BDR Headquarters, through proper investigation of each killing and torture.
She said announcing the general amnesty while army personnel and their family members were confined in Pilkhana was 'a strategic mistake'.
The BNP chairperson also said it is clear that the number of casualties rose due to a delay in giving permission to launch the operation for rescuing the army officers and their family members. "Time was wasted in the name of negotiations and junior level representatives were assigned," she said
She made the observations public through a media briefing last night in her Gulshan office, but she did not take any question from reporters.
Earlier in the day, she visited the Combined Military Hospital in Dhaka to see first hand the casualties of the BDR mutiny, and later met the bereaved families of slain army officers.
She also stood in silence before the coffins of slain army officers.
"It is clear that the incident was instigated by some anti-state forces, I am demanding that the conspiracy is unearthed," Khaleda said, adding that the Pilkhana tragedy has given rise to resentments and mistrust which must be resolved soon.
She said, "The nation wants to know how the killers fled after surrendering arms following the announcement of the general amnesty. The government should disclose specific information on the matters for the sake of national interest."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/28/2009 00:00 ||
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North Korea appears to have begun assembling a rocket that it claims will launch a satellite, a report said Friday, despite US and South Korean warnings to halt what they see as a planned missile test."It appears that [the North] has begun assembling the rocket on the ground."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/28/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
If this doesnt get me banned for wishign ill to enemies of freedom: I hope the launch fails, spectacularly. We've had our fair share as seen below
(Aki) - A new video purportedly from Al-Qaeda criticises the German government for squandering taxpayers' money on troops stationed in Afghanistan. The video, which has been posted to jihadist websites, urges Germany to renounce capitalism and embrace Islam to escape economic recession.
The video shows a still image of a German citizen turned Al-Qaeda and Taliban fighter in Afghanistan, who calls himself Abu Talha. He delivers a 44-minute message in German with Arabic subtitles.
"Where are the German philosophers and economists, now that economic crisis besets us?" Abu Talha asks in the message. "And what has happened to all the taxpayers' money? Much of it has been spent on keeping our soldiers here in Afghanistan," the message continues.
Abu Taba talks at length about Islamic finance and its prohibition of interest ('ribah' in Arabic), a central concept of western capitalism. "After the end of communism, everyone in Germany believed that capitalism was the answer. But what I am saying to you is that Islam is the only way to escape from the economic crisis," he says.
The video bears the logo of Al-Qaeda's Al-Sahab media arm but has yet to be authenticated.
An individual calling himself Abu Taba last month appeared in a previous video with his face concealed and threatened Germany over its 3,460 troops currently deployed in northern Afghanistan.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/28/2009 00:00 ||
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The criminal indictment against the final "enemy combatant" held on American soil marks a stunning departure from the Bush administration's handling of terrorism cases, but it may also help preserve one of the Bush era's most contentious policies.
A federal indictment unsealed Friday in Illinois charges Ali al-Marri with providing material support to al Qaeda. The charges come as the Supreme Court prepares to hear his challenge to Bush administration detention policies; Mr. al-Marri has been held for nearly six years in isolation in a Navy brig in South Carolina.
The Obama administration hopes that the criminal charges will end the Supreme Court case, which would allow Bush administration policies to continue. On Friday afternoon, the Justice Department's solicitor general filed a motion to dismiss Mr. al-Marri's pending litigation before the Supreme Court.
President Obama has ordered that Mr. al-Marri be transferred from the brig to a federal prison. The Justice Department said it will make the transfer after the Supreme Court rules on the Justice's motion to dismiss the al-Marri case as moot.
Mr. al-Marri's Supreme Court case challenges the legal and constitutional authority of the president to designate any person in the U.S. as an "enemy combatant" and order him held without charges by the military in the U.S.
Mr. Obama said in his order that his decision reverses Mr. Bush's designation of Mr. al-Marri as an enemy combatant.
Mr. al-Marri's lawyers say they will fight the Obama administration's motion to dismiss and will demand a hearing on the case's merits before the justices.
"Despite this indictment, the Obama administration has yet to renounce the government's asserted authority to imprison legal residents and U.S. citizens without charge or trial," said Jonathan Hafetz, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union's National Security Project.
"It is important that the court hears Mr. al-Marri's case and rejects, once and for all, the notion that any president has the sweeping authority to deprive individuals living in the United States of their most basic constitutional rights by designating them 'enemy combatants,' " he said in a statement.
The court, which had been scheduled to hear arguments in the case April 27, told Mr. al-Marri's lawyers to file legal responses by Tuesday.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/28/2009 11:02 ||
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An Army officer who shot and killed an Iraqi detainee during an interrogation was convicted of murder Friday night by a military jury.
First Lt. Michael Behenna of Edmond, Okla., avoided conviction on the more serious charge of premeditated murder in the death of the detainee he took aside for questioning last May. A military panel of seven officers at Fort Campbell also found him guilty of assault but acquitted him of making a false statement after three hours of deliberation.
A sentencing hearing was scheduled for Saturday, and Behenna faces up to life in prison on the murder conviction. The more serious premeditated offense would have resulted in an automatic life without parole sentence.
Behenna has testified that he was trying to defend himself when he shot Ali Mansour Mohammed and that the detainee reached for his gun in a secluded railroad culvert near Beiji, Iraq. Behenna said he hadn't intended to kill him.
But Capt. Jason Elbert, a military prosecutor, said the detainee was defenseless against Behenna and that the officer's threats and other actions showed he had planned to kill the man. "He controlled the whole situation as an officer of the U.S. Army, armed and protected and under no threat," Elbert said during closing arguments Friday.
Defense attorney Jack Zimmerman countered that Behenna was trying to interrogate the detainee, which is why he brought along an Iraqi translator. Behenna has also testified that he threatened Mohammed and pointed his gun at him to scare out information about a roadside bombing that killed two members of his platoon. "You just don't take a translator to an execution," Zimmerman said.
Neither Behenna's defense attorney nor prosecutors would comment after the hearing.
Zimmerman argued that at the time of the shooting, Behenna was suffering from an acute stress disorder as a result of the bombing. Behenna said Thursday he believed Mohammed was involved in the bombing and could provide names of the insurgents responsible.
After the detainee was shot twice, once in the head and once in the chest, another Fort Campbell soldier testified that he tossed an incendiary grenade on the body.
Staff Sgt. Hal Warner, pleaded guilty this month to charges of assault, maltreatment of a subordinate and making a false statement. Warner, from Braggs, Okla., was sentenced to 17 months in prison and testified against Behenna.
Posted by: ed ||
02/28/2009 00:53 ||
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#1
"After the detainee was shot twice, once in the head and once in the chest, another Fort Campbell soldier testified that he tossed an incendiary grenade on the body."
This is about good order and discipline. I've sat on Courts Martial and the interest of the panel is to get to the truth. It's not easy and shouldn't be. Better to clean your own house than allow outsiders, without any understanding of the military or tactical situations, meddle in operations and standards which will certainly happen [and has in fact been attempted recently]. Its one of the things that separate us from 'them'. 'They' rationalize their unconstrained behaviors.
#4
Ditto Procopius. Nobody on a Courts Martial board wants a soldier or officer to go down. If he was convicted, he's a murderer. Mitigating circumstances, combat fatique, rage and anger, state of mind, etc, all come into play at sentencing. Summary execution of prisoners is not an option.
#5
I agree that Courts Martial really cuts through the legal b.s. that lawyers use in civilian courts. They are not bashful at all in pointing out when things don't add up, and heaven help a witness or lawyer who tries to pull a fast one.
#6
yes, the officer should get a completely fair sentence. i have seen (while enlisted) three of my peers get radically different punishments for what would seem to a civilian to be the same crime under UCMJ due to the details that were given merit in each individual case. The court will definitely take all details into consideration and the sentence will be appropriate.
you can't summarily execute them. i checked with a JAG.
You have to try them, find them guilty of fighting out of uniform, then hold them for six months, and then you can kill 'em.
which means all those US GI's who summarily executed the members of certain German units or summarily executed german soldiers who wore american uniforms are or were war criminals under Geneva. discuss.
Follow the procedure. After the initial attempt at interrogation, turn the Illegal over to the Intel guys, who will extract info that an amateur will not.
Summary killing like that is not only against the ruels and laws of combat, its counterproductive in that you lose a potential source that can unravel an entire cell of operatives.
I do believe that is a mistake is not trying and hanging illegal combatants in accordance with the Geneva Convention.
The little-known group 'Indian Mujahideen' has claimed responsibility for terror attacks in Mumbai, New Delhi and Ahmadabad, according to reports in Indian media. A private news channel, quoting an Indian TV channel, reported that detained chief of Indian MujahideenSadiq Shaikh had admitted that his group carried out the blasts in Mumbai on July 11, 2006. He said a group of five people planted bombs in different trains. Maharashtar anti-terror squad had arrested Shaikh on March 21, last year on charges of car theft and bomb blasts.
This article starring:
SADIQ SHEIKH
Indian Mujahideen
Posted by: Fred ||
02/28/2009 00:00 ||
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(PTI) Pakistan was back in denial mode today with Navy Chief Admiral Noman Bashir claiming there was no proof that Ajmal Kasab and other terrorists took the sea route from this country to carry out the Mumbai attacks, a view rubbished by India. "We have seen no evidence that confirms he (Kasab) went from Pakistan to Mumbai," Bashir told reporters here. The Navy Chief's contention contradicts Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik's admission two weeks back that the Mumbai attacks were "partly" plotted on Pakistan soil and launched from its shores for which it has arrested six persons.
"The evidence that I have doesn't show" that the terrorists went from this country. "This is India's claim from day one. Even before the Mumbai incidents had ended, India was saying that the terrorists have used sea route," Bashir said.
Asked about Bashir's contention, Home Minister P Chidambaram said in New Delhi this was part of "prevarications" by Pakistan.
"I am sure somebody will deny it tomorrow. This is part of prevarications," Chidambaram said.
Chidambaram said after prevaricating for several weeks, Pakistan was "forced to admit that its territory was used to plot and carry out the terrorist attacks".
He said a reply to Pakistan's queries is being prepared by the Home Ministry and it will be handed over to External Affairs Ministry for further action.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/28/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Sounds like a certain Admiral needs to be given a leaky rowboat and dropped into the sea 500NM due south of Diego Garcia. If he asks very nicely, we'll even give him a paddle.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
02/28/2009 16:10 Comments ||
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A report by the CID Special Branch has revealed that Taliban are present in the city.
According to details, the special branch additional IG has sent a written report to the DIG and Sindh Government about the secret hideouts of Taliban in the city. Sources in the report have revealed that Taliban, belonging to tribal areas, were residing in Sohrab Goth and Quaidabad in the small motels in the areas. Apart from that, the Taliban were also hiding in the hills of Manghopir and Orangi town as well as in other low-income areas and slums. The report said that the Taliban has huge caches of weapons and ammunition with them and they could take the city hostage at any point. Sources have also said that the Naib Ameer of the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban, Hasan Mahmood, was also hiding in Karachi.
After the report, police and security personnel are said to be terrified, as already the MQM has said many times that the Taliban were in the city. Some time ago, on a tip off, Anti-Violent Crime Cell's head SSP Farooq Awan, along with a police party, had raided a guesthouse in Sohrab Goth but the Taliban apprehended them instead. The Taliban were trying to execute the policemen when another police party intervened. Though the policemen managed to get away, two policemen died while Awan and 11 other policemen were seriously injured. After this operation, CID SSP Fayyaz Khan and Aslam Khan raided the location and arrested eight men who were said to be pro Taliban militants and were involved in the attack on Awan.
Meanwhile, on the directives of the Sindh government, a survey has been undertaken on the rest houses all over Karachi while police high-ups have asked for surveillance of these facilities.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/28/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
and of course, the actual Pak army can do nothing about any of this...
Posted by: abu do you love ||
02/28/2009 0:29 Comments ||
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Ameer Jamat-e-Islami (JI) Qazi Hussain Ahmed said Friday Nawaz Sharif had to pay the price to follow principled politics. He was speaking at the gathering of Friday prayer here. He termed Supreme Court ruling as the desire of President Zardari and added this crisis might lead Zardari to destruction. Desire to keep all powers under one's hand, by politicians in past, has always proved fruitless for them and President Zardari is making same mistake. Media will surely be in firing line after Sharif brothers' issue is resolved, Qazi predicted.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/28/2009 00:00 ||
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Head of Jamiat Ulma-e-Islam (F) Maulana Fazl ur Rehman said on Friday Supreme Court verdict to disqualify Sharif brothers from contesting polls will strengthen hands of anti-democratic forces in Pakistan and hinted it will destabilize democracy. Inconceivable!
He told a press conference here and added the aftermath of SC ruling will increase tension in Punjab. He revealed his contacts with Awami National Party (ANP)'s head Asfandyar Wali and Sharif brothers would be fruitful in finding a peaceful solution of the prevailing political turmoil. Defending President Zardari's version over SC judgment, he said President Zardari termed SC verdict as court's ruling instead of his conspiracy while due to constitutional requirement, President was forced to impose Governor-rule in Punjab. Inconceivable!
Fazl called for establishing independent judiciary and urged to dismiss those judges who took oath under Provisional Constitutional Ordinance (PCO). He accused US of netting conspiracies against Pakistan.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/28/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Jamaat-e-Ulema Islami
Aswat al-Iraq: Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki told U.S. President Barack Obama in a telephone call that Iraqi forces are ready to receive security responsibilities in the country, according to Maliki's media advisor on Friday. "Oabam phoned Maliki a couple of hours ago to renew his country's commitment to the framework agreement signed between Iraq and the United States and the items of the status of forces agreement (SOFA) on U.S. forces' pullout from Iraq," Yassin Majeed told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. "Obama reiterated to Maliki that all combat operations in Iraq would end by late August 2010 and that the last U.S. soldier will leave Iraq on December 31, 2011," Majeed said.
Obama had earlier announced on Friday his plan to end combat operations and start withdrawing U.S. forces from Iraq on August 31, 2010. Obama made the announcement in a speech to military troops and officers at Camp LeJeune (leh-JUHN) N.C. He said his administration will "proceed cautiously" on the withdrawal and that U.S. commanders will bring it about in close consultation with the Iraqi government.
During his campaign for the presidency, Obama had advocated pulling troops out within 16 months of taking office. The timeline he announced Friday, involving roughly 100,000 troops, was two months longer. It still hastens the U.S. exit, nevertheless. Obama also said that between 35,000 and 50,000 troops will initially remain there to help train Iraqi forces and undertake counter-terrorism missions.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/28/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Iraqi Insurgency
Spain's Judge Fernando Andreu is set to go ahead with an investigation into crimes against humanity by top Israeli military officials.
The decision came after Andreu studied translated documents he received from the Israeli embassy, revealing Tel Aviv has not launched any legal procedure concerning a 2002 bombing of Gaza.
Andreu agreed last month to pursue a complaint of crimes against humanity against seven senior Israeli military figures over the bombing. The prospect of the investigation, which is in line with Spain's assumption of the principle of universal jurisdiction in alleged cases of crimes against humanity, genocide, and terrorism, has enraged the Tel Aviv government.
Has the Spanish government ever investigated crimes against humanity committed by the Franco government, the socialist government before that, the Crown, Cortez and the Princes of ancient Upper Spain?
The probe by the Spanish judge could be suspended only if the alleged crimes are subject to a legal procedure in the country involved.
Andreu now plans to officially notify former Israeli defense minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer and six senior military officials of the inquiry, and also seek witness testimony from Palestinians, AFP quoted sources as saying.
The investigation will look into a complaint by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights concerning the Israeli assassination top Hamas leader Salah Shehadeh in an air strike on July 22, 2002 on Gaza City. At least 14 civilians - mainly infants and children - fell victim to the attack which also left 150 Palestinians wounded.
Maybe Salah shouldn't have been hiding amongst the women and kiddies ...
In January, Andreu said the attack in a densely-populated area "showed signs of constituting a crime against humanity."
Israel's current Defense Minister Ehud Barak has rejected the complaint as "delirious" and vowed to do "everything possible to get the investigation dismissed."
In a bid to alleviate Tel Aviv's rage, Spanish Foreign minister Miguel Moratinos immediately informed his Israeli counterpart, Tzipi Livni, on Jan. 30 of plans to limit the country's powers.
Which apparently doesn't include gagging the judge ...
Spanish judges can independently launch war crimes investigations against foreign officials. In 1998 a Spanish judge practiced his power, issuing an arrest warrant for former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet who was accordingly detained in Britain.
This article starring:
Salah Shehadeh
Posted by: Fred ||
02/28/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
We should appoint Lieberman a Minister for Europe, and give him a few good terminator teams.
(AKI) - The European Union is ready to resume its monitoring mission at the Rafah border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, foreign policy chief Javier Solana said on Friday. According to the Palestinian news agency, Maan, Solana said the EU would participate in the operation of the crossing when it had received approval from all the relevant parties.
Solana spoke to the media during a visit to the Erez border crossing in the north of the coastal strip, Solana also expressed the European Union's support for the Palestinian reconciliation talks taking place in Egypt.
"We came to Gaza to express our solidarity with Gazans and to see what the recent Israeli war has caused in the Gaza Strip," he said.
Solidarity with the Gazooks. Figures ...
Under a 2005 agreement with Egypt, Israel, and the Palestinian Authority, the EU sent observers to monitor the operation of the Rafah crossing under Egyptian and Palestinian control. The Border Assistance Mission was suspended when Egypt and Israel decided to close the crossing in June 2007.
Solana's visit to the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip was his first since Hamas took full control of the territory in 2007. He was not scheduled to meet any representatives of the Hamas-run de facto government.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/28/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Hamas
#1
Sort of an above-gounr smuggling tunnel. With the added bonus of dhimmi human shields...
Representatives of rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas met in Cairo this week for talks aimed at national reconciliation and the formation of a unity government.
"Egypt hopes this meeting is the real start of a new period ending the state of division which has gone on too long," Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, Egypt's point-man on Palestinian affairs, was quoted as saying.
On Wednesday, delegations from both Fatah and Hamas held preliminary meetings in Cairo aimed at removing obstacles to rapprochement. Delegation members later described the meetings as "positive." According to the state press, the two groups agreed to release each other's detained members, currently being held in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip and the Fatah-controlled West Bank respectively. As a gesture of goodwill, Fatah reportedly released 42 Hamas members from West Bank prisons, with promises of additional releases soon.
The issue of detainees has tripped up reconciliation talks in the past. Last November Hamas and other resistance factions pulled out of a scheduled reconciliation summit in Cairo at the last minute, citing the ongoing mass arrest of their members in the West Bank.
Ever since Hamas swept Palestinian legislative elections in early 2006, the two factions have pursued bitter rivalry featuring intermittent fighting and arrest campaigns. Mutual hostility reached boiling point in the summer of 2007, when Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip from the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority (PA) in a pre-emptive coup.
Further complicating the situation, Israel and Egypt - with the PA's blessings - have both sealed their borders with the strip, hermetically sealing the enclave off from the outside world. On Thursday, talks in Cairo were broadened to include ten more Palestinian factions in addition to Fatah and Hamas. Along with the formation of a national unity government, discussions touched on upcoming presidential and legislative elections, the restructuring of Palestinian security apparatuses and the role of Hamas in the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). Details of Thursday's closed-door meeting remain vague, but Suleiman reportedly stressed the importance of reaching a mutually acceptable agreement.
"Do not prolong the disagreement and deepen the division," he was quoted as saying in advance of the gathering.
"Unite ranks to fulfill the hopes for an independent Palestinian state." According to Essam al-Arian, prominent member of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood opposition movement, Hamas' steadfastness during Israel's recent three-week-long assault on the Gaza Strip served to bolster the group's negotiating position.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/28/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Is there anyone who would benefit from a Fatah and Hamas "reconcilation"? Whatever that is. I don't see either party to benefit, nor any of the friends of either party or any of their enemies benefitting. Seems like a loss all the way around.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
02/28/2009 10:35 Comments ||
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#2
"Unite ranks to fulfill the hopes for an independent Palestinian state."
Lets see here boys stead of goin round shootin' each other in the feet hows bout we focus on the things we do agree on. Numero Uno now we all agree that everybody here hates the Juice. Right? [harummphh] See right there were makin progress. Now everybody that thinks extortion and kidnapping is legitimate negotiation raise yer mits. [Yeeiieeghhh] Next...
The Israeli air industries first unveiled its new Harop "loiter drone" for taking out ground-to-air missiles at the annual Aero-India 2009 air show which closed recently at Bangalore. The Harop is an upgraded version of the Harpy with more advanced features for taking out radar installations and anti-air missile installations. It can travel 1,000 km to patrol an assigned area and loiter there until a hostile target is exposed. Its 23-kilo warhead then strikes the target before it is activated in attack mode.
The Russian S-300 missile purchased by Tehran is one such target. It is classified in the West as a "game-changer" designed to rule out air attacks on its nuclear sites. This missile system is capable of engaging up to 100 targets at once, tracking targets with a mobile radar station which is immune to jamming.
The Harop is an expendable unmanned aerial vehicle which can sustain a mission of several hours over an assigned area. Operated by electro-optical sensors, Harop can detect weapons systems in inert mode, weapons on the move and radar installations switched off to avoid detection.
Our military experts maintain that once it penetrates Iranian airspace, this drone can silence surface-to-air batteries and open the skies to aerial and missile attack.
Mossad was rumoured to be behind the death of Ardeshire Hassanpour, a top nuclear scientist at Iran's Isfahan uranium plant, who died in mysterious circumstances from reported "gas poisoning" in 2007. Other recent deaths of important figures in the procurement and enrichment process in Iran and Europe have been the result of Israeli "hits", intended to deprive Tehran of key technical skills at the head of the programme, according to Western intelligence analysts.
Mossad's covert operations cover a range of activities. The former CIA operative revealed how Israeli and US intelligence co-operated with European companies working in Iran to obtain photographs and other confidential material about Iranian nuclear and missile sites. "It was a real company that operated from time to time in Iran and in the nature of their legitimate business came across information on various suspect Iranian facilities," he said.
Israel has also used front companies to infiltrate the Iranian purchasing network that the clerical regime uses to circumvent United Nations sanctions and obtain so-called "dual use" items metals, valves, electronics, machinery for its nuclear programme. The businesses initially supply Iran with legitimate material, winning Tehran's trust, and then start to deliver faulty or defective items that "poison" the country's atomic activities.
Mossad and Western intelligence operations have also infiltrated the Iranian nuclear programme and "bought" information from prominent atomic scientists. Israel has later selectively leaked some details to its allies, the media and United Nations atomic agency inspectors. On one occasion, Iran itself is understood to have destroyed a nuclear facility near Tehran, bulldozing over the remains and replacing it with a football pitch, after its existence was revealed to UN inspectors. The regime feared that the discovery by inspectors of an undeclared nuclear facility would result in overwhelming pressure at the UN for tougher action against Iran.
#4
The regime feared that the discovery by inspectors of an undeclared nuclear facility would result in overwhelming pressure at the UN for tougher action against Iran
Ha ha ha ha ha - you kidders!
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/28/2009 17:29 Comments ||
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#5
Iran, fear the strongly worded UN memo! /sarcasm
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
02/28/2009 18:24 Comments ||
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TEHRAN/BUSHEHR -- Expediency Council Chairman Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani declared on Friday that Iran is technologically capable of starting up and operating the Bushehr nuclear power plant, even without the help of the Russians. Russia and other countries should be aware that even if they do not come, we ourselves can complete the Bushehr nuclear plant, he said.
And in fact you'd like if only to grab the spent fuel and reprocess it yourselves ...
In the test run of the Bushehr nuclear power plant, which began on Wednesday, non-nuclear fuel was used instead of enriched uranium. Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Director Gholamreza Aqazadeh and Sergei Kiriyenko, the chief executive officer of Rosatom Corp, visited the plant to observe the beginning of the test run.
Aqazadeh said the plant will start producing electricity in four to seven months. Rafsanjani said the Bushehr nuclear power plant project experienced various hurdles and delays over the years and it will still be a few months until the plant becomes operational. Rafsanjani stated that serious efforts must be made to bring the plant on stream as soon as possible.
In the first stage of its operation, the plant will provide Irans southern provinces with 500 megawatts of electricity, Aqazadeh explained. We hope that in a few months it will supply electricity to this region, the AEOI director said.
Were celebrating Bushehrs pre-commissioning, which means we are getting closer to the launch of the plant, Aqazadeh told reporters in Bushehr. This virtual fuel testing was successful.
Kiriyenko also praised the successful test of the reactor, Reuters reported. In recent months, there have been significant improvements. Im very satisfied with what I saw, Kiriyenko told reporters.
Kiriyenko also said he and Aqazadeh held talks on signing a deal according to which Russia would deliver nuclear fuel to the Bushehr nuclear reactor for ten years. In negotiations with Mr. Aqazadeh today (Wednesday), we also held talks about signing a deal for delivering nuclear fuel to Iran for ten years, he explained.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/28/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under:
#1
Given the Inshallah approach to tech in that part of the world, I'd advise staying upwind.
Potassium Iodide supplements would be a good addition to the diet too.
Posted by: N guard ||
02/28/2009 0:31 Comments ||
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#2
Have the Iranians trained their cadre of suicide fuel rod swappers already?
Posted by: ed ||
02/28/2009 0:46 Comments ||
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#3
Cause the 13th Imam will warn them if something goes wrong?
Bahrain and Iran foreign ministers said on Friday they will maintain "good" bilateral ties, following a crisis over official Iranian remarks that questioned the national sovereignty of the Arab Gulf state.
Bahrain's Foreign Minister Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmad al-Khalifa, during a visit to Tehran, said after a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki that the kingdom will continue "good neighborly" relations with Iran.
In a televised statement, the two men indicated that the diplomatic row was over.
Earlier this month, Ali Akbar Nateq-Nouri, an adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said that Iran had sovereignty over the kingdom, according to media reports.
Gulf Arab states called on Iran last week to condemn the remarks, which Bahrain's interior minister earlier rejected as irresponsible.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/28/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
(AKI) - The international tribunal established to try those responsible for political killings in Lebanon will begin its inquiries next week, the United Nations said.
"All the necessary measures have been taken for the special tribunal for Lebanon to commence functioning this Sunday," UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon said in a report to the Security Council.
The tribunal is designed to try those accused of recent political murders in Lebanon, particularly the February 2005 assassination of Rafiq Hariri, (photo), who was killed in a massive car bombing in downtown Beirut with 22 others.
The probe into the killings is being carried out by the International Independent Investigation Commission, headed by Daniel Bellemare, a Canadian prosecutor.
According to the report, Bellemare will assume office as prosecutor of the special tribunal on 1 March and continue his investigations from The Hague in the Netherlands, where the court is based.
The judges of the trial and appeals chambers will assume their responsibilities on a date to be fixed and court hearings are expected to begin in early 2010.
UN legal counsel Patricia O'Brien will attend a ceremony in the Netherlands on Sunday to mark the start of the Tribunal.
Ban has pledged to ensure that the court is able to achieve its mandate in the most effective manner.
Hariri, a successful business entrepreneur, was prime minister of Lebanon from 1992 to 1998 and again from 2000 until his resignation in October 2004.
Widely credited with reconstructing the capital, Beirut, after the country's civil war, Hariri was assassinated on 14 February 2005 when explosives equal to 1000 kg of TNT were detonated as his motorcade drove past a hotel in the centre of the city.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/28/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
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.
Six people were hurt when Afghan police opened fire on demonstrators who claimed U.S. troops had desecrated the Holy Quran during a raid on a mosque, as Amnesty International urged the importance of prosecuting the troops who cause civilian deaths.
The Somali government has slammed the recent attacks by African Union forces on civilians, urging all foreign troops to leave the country. 
Leader of the opposition in parliament, Khaleda Zia, yesterday demanded tough actions and trial of the killers of army officers and others in BDR Headquarters, through proper investigation of each killing and torture.
(Aki) - A new video purportedly from Al-Qaeda criticises the German government for squandering taxpayers' money on troops stationed in Afghanistan. The video, which has been posted to jihadist websites, urges Germany to renounce capitalism and embrace Islam to escape economic recession. 
(PTI) Pakistan was back in denial mode today with Navy Chief Admiral Noman Bashir claiming there was no proof that Ajmal Kasab and other terrorists took the sea route from this country to carry out the Mumbai attacks, a view rubbished by India. "We have seen no evidence that confirms he (Kasab) went from Pakistan to Mumbai," Bashir told reporters here. The Navy Chief's contention contradicts Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik's admission two weeks back that the Mumbai attacks were "partly" plotted on Pakistan soil and launched from its shores for which it has arrested six persons.
A report by the CID Special Branch has revealed that Taliban are present in the city.
Ameer Jamat-e-Islami (JI) Qazi Hussain Ahmed said Friday Nawaz Sharif had to pay the price to follow principled politics. He was speaking at the gathering of Friday prayer here. He termed Supreme Court ruling as the desire of President Zardari and added this crisis might lead Zardari to destruction. Desire to keep all powers under one's hand, by politicians in past, has always proved fruitless for them and President Zardari is making same mistake. Media will surely be in firing line after Sharif brothers' issue is resolved, Qazi predicted.
Head of Jamiat Ulma-e-Islam (F) Maulana Fazl ur Rehman said on Friday Supreme Court verdict to disqualify Sharif brothers from contesting polls will strengthen hands of anti-democratic forces in Pakistan and hinted it will destabilize democracy. 
Representatives of rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas met in Cairo this week for talks aimed at national reconciliation and the formation of a unity government.
(AKI) - The international tribunal established to try those responsible for political killings in Lebanon will begin its inquiries next week, the United Nations said.
