[Iran Press TV Latest] The top UN official in Afghanistan has called on the Taliban to participate in the upcoming presidential election across the war-ravaged country. "So, Mahmoud! Who y'gonna vote for for potentate?" "Whoever Blinky sez. Infidel."
Kai Eide, the head of the UN mission in Kabul, said Sunday the insurgents should participate in a campaign that formally starts on Thursday. "Call it reconciliation, or the peace process, whatever you want, but I believe that the opposition should know that those who want to take part in the election and respect the constitution should have an option to do that," Eide said, according to the British weekly the Observer. "And those who want to impose their own system on everybody else will do that."
The developments come after a senior US official said that Washington was prepared to discuss the establishment of a political party for the Taliban insurgents in the war-torn country. They've got one. It's called the Tehrik-e-Taliban. Their platform says "none o' that democracy stuff." Their party chairman is Mullah Omar.
Earlier William Wood, the outgoing US ambassador to Afghanistan, said the approval of such a party was part of a political strategy. "Insurgencies, like all wars ... end when there is an agreement, there is room for discussion on the formation of political parties running ... for elections," Wood said in late March. "I mean, look at Sri Lanka!"
US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has also recently touched on the issue, acknowledging that the US had a share in creating 'terrorist groups' such as al-Qaeda and the Taliban. "Let's remember here ... the people we are fighting today we funded them twenty years ago We funded the Northern Alliance, too. They actually tossed the Sovs out.
... and we did it because we were locked in a struggle with the Soviet Union," she said in a congressional hearing. She says that like it's a bad thing.
However Afghan President Hamid Karzai has condemned US efforts to maintain direct ties with the Taliban without the involvement of the Afghan government. Najibullah was unhappy when the Sovs worked with Hekmatyar, too.
After initial successes, the US and its NATO allies occupying Afghanistan have encountered a resurgent Taliban, bolstered partly by indiscriminate US attacks on the country's civilian population. More bolstered by open sanctuaries in Pakistan and the invovlement of Pak military trainers and logistics.
In 2006, British army chiefs warned the then Prime Minister Tony Blair that they faced 'strategic failure' - army jargon for defeat - at the hands of the Taliban, and in March 2009, Major Sebastian Morley of Britain's elite SAS regiment resigned after returning from his Afghanistan mission. He accused the British Defense Minister of lying about the performance of the British army in Afghanistan and said, "it's just crazy to think we hold that ground or have any influence on what goes on beyond the bases in that country."
In the face of militant threats, and the spread of Taliban military operations to neighboring Pakistan, the US and its allies have pledged to send more troops to Afghanistan, mainly by drawing them out of Iraq, and the new calls to include Taliban in the political process is seen as a response to the worsening situation for the occupation forces who do not want to have an open-ended war in Afghanistan.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/04/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
So the Taliban has a kind of ACORN working on their behalf. Mahmoud votes 30 times for the candidate of someone's choice.
[Maghrebia] French national Eric M'Benga, the alleged mastermind of an international cocaine trafficking network dismantled in Mauritania 18 months ago, was extradited from Dakar to Nouakchott as part of a security co-operation agreement between the two countries, Pana quoted judicial sources as saying on Friday (May 1st).
Posted by: Fred ||
05/04/2009 00:00 ||
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A team of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab-2) yesterday detained three people and recovered several fake national identity (NID) cards, a number of other fake ID cards of various educational institutions, banks and offices from their shops in city's Nilkhet area.
Lt Commander Amirul Islam of Rab-2 told The Daily Star, "We recovered three fake NIDs, a large number of other ID cards and certificates bearing names of different offices, banks, educational institutions, and different kinds of licenses during the drive at three shops at Baku Shah market in Nilkhet."
He said, "The fake document providers only sell them to people they know, or 'reliable' customers brought through their known people."
The three men arrested, Saikat Hossain, 24, Alamgir Hossain, 38, and Shafiq Bachchu, 18, said these it is comparatively easy to prepare fake documents with the help of graphics and computers. They said that almost all shops offering computer-based services are capable of preparing such fake documents.
Maj Zia, second-in-command of Rab-2, said that although illegal, the business is lucrative as fake documents remain in high demand, not only in the capital but also in the rest of the country. These fake ID cards are sold illegally at a cost of around Tk 500 each by shops offering computer compositions, graphic designs or work, digital scans and related computer based services.
These shops are mainly located at city's Nilkhet, Farmegate, Mohammadpur, Mirpur, Mohakhali and Paltan areas.
Criminals make use of fake ID cards, inserting fake information on the cards so that they cannot be traced later. Cheats also use fake documents during fraudulent activities.
A source also pointed out that many ordinary people, not necessarily hard criminals, also make use of fake ID cards to complete mandatory official formalities such as in banks, when they don't have any IDs of their own.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/04/2009 00:00 ||
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(Xinhua) -- The U.S. hostile policy toward the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has not changed at all, the official Korean Central News Agency quoted a spokesman of the DPRK's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea as saying Sunday.
As the commander of the U.S. "imperialist aggressor forces" in South Korea said the United States would remain firmly committed to providing a nuclear umbrella to the South and the U.S.-South Korean mutual defense would maintain the prompt combat readiness, the DPRK would "go straight in the direction of bolstering up its nuclear deterrent for self-defence," the spokesman was quoted as saying in a statement.
The statement said the "bellicose remarks" declared the "full scale military confrontation" with the DPRK and represented "dangerous, reckless moves to spark off a nuclear war after bringing the inter-Korean relations to total collapse."
It clearly proved that the U.S. hostile policy toward the DPRK had not changed at all and the United States had better stop its reckless moves for war at once, the statement said.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/04/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Give us back our journalists an' we might feel a bit more reconciliatory. Or p'raps we mightn't.
#2
WORLD MIL FORUM > IIUC CHINA IS RELUCTANT TO SELL NORTH KOREA ADVANCED J10 COMBAT AIRCRAFT, + RUSSIA IS VERY ANGRY AT CHINA'S COPYING OF ITS AIRCRAFT CARRIER, NAVAL AIRCRAFT { + Pro-Chin, anti-Russ mil assistance to China from Ukraine].
* SAME > IIUC CHINA CAN EASILY/QUICKLY FIELD APPROXIMATELY 10.0MILYUHN COMBAT SOLDIERS OF GOOD FIGHTING QUALITY AND WELL-ARMED IN WAR AGZ THE USA, JAPAN, SOUTH KOREA, AND RUSSIA. NO NATION ON EARTH CAN MATCH CHINA'S ABILITY TO DO THIS.
#3
IIUC CHINA CAN EASILY/QUICKLY FIELD APPROXIMATELY 10.0MILYUHN COMBAT SOLDIERS OF GOOD FIGHTING QUALITY AND WELL-ARMED IN WAR AGZ THE USA, JAPAN, SOUTH KOREA, AND RUSSIA. NO NATION ON EARTH CAN MATCH CHINA'S ABILITY TO DO THIS.
They can also lose 5-6 million "combat soldiers" in a couple of hours against the right forces. China's problem is the same one the Arabs have - poor logistic support and poor maintenance and combat repair. If the US, SKor, Japan, or Taiwan has a tank knocked out, it has a 70% chance of being repaired in 7-10 days. Both China and Russia use excessive numbers to make up for the ability to repair battle damage quickly. That can only work for so long before it starts to hurt.
The DPRK is all bark and no bite - not out of lack of ability but out of fear. They have two fears that keep them in check: the fear the US will retaliate with all its military might, and the fear that China may decide their little pit bull needs to be put down, and removes its support, and its protection. The war of words gives them a small propaganda victory at little cost, while the rest of the world watches as NKor implodes from horrendous mismanagement across the board.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
05/04/2009 14:34 Comments ||
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#4
I worked the Korean warplans in the early 80's and have kept track of their situation over the years. They are a 1-trick pony, and the SKORs and the US have been standing there playing 3 card monty with these clowns for 60 years. For God's sake, stop falling for their bullshit. Don't send then a dime and disconnect them from the world banking system. They will fold like a cheap suit ina month. Do you seriously then the Chinese are going to prop them up? Please...
The US has the apparent attention span of a brain damaged chipmunk here.....
WASHINGTON (AP) - House Democrats are refusing to pay for President Barack Obama's plan to relocate prisoners from the Guantanamo detention facility where enemy combatants are being held.
Obama has signed an executive order to close the facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, by early next year. But the Pentagon has yet to come up with a plan on where to put the 240 or so prisoners. Between 50-100 are likely to be sent to the United States.
No lawmaker wants the accused terrorists in their backyard.
House Democrats unveiled a $94.4 billion war funding bill Monday and it had no money for the relocation plan.
The step is not likely to be the last word, however. If needed, money could be transferred later—without a politically difficult vote.
#1
Ya beat me to it, GB. It does seem that the Democrats know they would be comitting political suicide by bringing these terrorists to the mainland. Either that or they just forgot to put the money in there.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
05/04/2009 17:21 Comments ||
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#2
they just forgot to put the money in there.
Yeah sure.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
05/04/2009 17:40 Comments ||
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#6
I'm sure Canada's PM Harper would be glad to grant
Hershel Island to Governor Sarah Palin...
(It's on the north slope border with Canada North West Territories.)
It'll never happen, of course, because it would be
the only solution that would please everyone,
except the muslim terrorists, naturally.
I spent a summer there...the place would do them a load of good!
Posted by: Ming the Merciless ||
05/04/2009 21:33 Comments ||
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The Taliban Tehreek (Niamatullah group) on Sunday asked tribal elders and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan to include them in talks in the future to ensure peace in Bajaur Agency. Talking to reporters from an undisclosed location, the group's leader Wali Rehman said they should be included in the peace talks between the Salarzai tribe and the Taliban, as the Qaumi Lashkar had demolished houses of the tehreek's leaders. He said they wanted peace in the area, which could only be achieved through dialogue.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/04/2009 00:00 ||
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Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain has demanded the government scrap the Swat peace agreement, a private TV channel reported on Sunday.
According to the channel, the demand was made during a meeting between the MQM chief and President Asif Ali Zardari in London. They discussed Pakistan's political situation particularly the situation prevailing in Karachi. The two leaders also exchanged views on the war on terror and the economic situation of the country and agreed to make joint efforts to deal with the challenges. Zardari also briefed the MQM chief about his recent tour of Libya. President Zardari had arrived in London on Saturday from Libya, APP reported.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/04/2009 00:00 ||
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It is un-Islamic for anyone to be photographed, Tehreek-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Muhammadi (TNSM) chief Sufi Muhammad has said.
Talking to a private TV channel, he said any duplicated image of a person, whether a "still picture or video" was un-Islamic.
So why was he on TV then?
Referring to the various systems of governance, he said democracy, communism, socialism and fascism were all un-Islamic. He also said there was no need for a constitution in the country in the presence of the Quran and Sunnah, adding these were the "biggest laws" available to humanity. Focusing on democracy, he said it was un-Islamic, as infidels invented it. "I would not offer prayer behind anyone who would seek to justify democracy," he said, adding this was why he had refused to offer prayers behind Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Qazi Hussain Ahmad and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Fazlur Rehman. "How can people who believe in democracy be expected to enforce the ideals of sharia," he said. He said the struggle for Kashmir was to obtain land where Muslims could move about freely rather than seeking the implementation of shariat.
Sufi Muhammad said the sharia system of governance not currently in force anywhere in the world, not even Saudi Arabia or Iran. "Only the Taliban had enforced sharia when they were in power in Afghanistan," he added. He said he had gone to Afghanistan to conduct jihad, and not to cater to Mullah Omar or Osama Bin Laden. "Jihad was obligatory at the time because the US wanted to end sharia in Afghanistan," he added. He said Muslims could not wage jihad until the enforcement of sharia, adding jihad becomes obligatory on Muslims only after infidels attempt to eliminate the sharia system of governance. To a question on his organisation's members picking up the sword in the past and killing people, he said he was opposed to such actions. "They took these actions without informing me and after I came to know of them, I prevented them from doing so," he added.
On the status of women in a Taliban-run society, he said women were not allowed to come out of their house for any reason other than to perform Haj. However, he added, a female patient was allowed to visit a male doctor to seek a cure for her ailments.
Separately, Sufi Muhammad told another channel the TNSM wanted the implementation of sharia in Malakand Division. He said the qazis appointed by the NWFP government for the Darul Qaza were judges and their appointments had "not been in accordance with Islam". He said the 1973 Constitution was an Islamic document but had not been implemented properly. He said the rules framed by the government for the Darul Qaza were unacceptable, adding the NWFP government had not consulted him prior to their establishment.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/04/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
I am beginning to wonder if being Muslim is un-islamic.
#6
women were not allowed to come out of their house for any reason
Who's going to do the farm labor then, Sufi? You can't expect Lions of Islam™ to till fields.
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Sunday the Sunni Tehreek had decided to activate itself against Talibanisation in the country.
Addressing the last session of the Hazrat Shah Rukn-e-Alam national conference at the mausoleum of the renowned saint on the last day of the 695th anniversary, the foreign minister said that a national consensus against terrorism was emerging across the country. He said, "We will not surrender to the forces harming the interests of the country and distorting the image of Islam".
He said a national consensus had come about and was now attaining shape as a consequence of the evolutionary process against extremism and terrorism. He said that people and organisations, who earlier differed, are converging now for Pakistan, for the rule of the people and constitution, to protect democratic norms, and to save the federation.
The foreign minister said the Sunni Tehreek had decided to activate itself against Talibanisation in the country.
Clerics' convention: Qureshi said the government would convene a grand consultative meeting of clerics from across the country to seek their guidance. He said the two major political parties of the country were unanimous against fanaticism and terrorism, adding that this would encourage people and enhance their passion to fight the menace.
An overwhelming majority of people in Pakistan have love for their religion but not for the kind of Islam the Taliban are trying to impose in Dir, Buner and other troubled areas of the country, he said. Unlike the way of the sufis and saints who won the hearts and minds of the people, miscreants want to impose their misguided, extremist views by force, he added. He said the sufis and saints had also played crucial a role in raising awareness among the people during the movement for Pakistan.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/04/2009 00:00 ||
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The Tehreek-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Muhammadi (TNSM) is placing hurdles in the path to peace by making spurious demands, NWFP Information Minister Iftikhar Hussain said on Sunday.
He said the government had fulfilled its promise by establishing the Darul Qaza, and it was now the responsibility of the TNSM to keep its commitments, a private TV channel reported. The qazis appointed to the Darul Qaza would be experts of Islamic jurisprudence, as agreed upon in the Swat agreement, he added.
Hussain said that if anyone took up arms and challenged the writ of the state following the establishment of qazi courts, the government would use all its resources to stop them at all costs. According to APP, Hussain said the NWFP government chose speedy establishment of Darul Qaza to ensure a delay in implementation was not blamed for failure of the deal.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/04/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
"...(TNSM) is placing hurdles in the path to peace by making spurious demands."
I would consider the murder and kidnapping, etc. probably also a hurdle to the path to peace but then I don't understand Pakland that well.
Posted by: lord garth ||
05/04/2009 0:18 Comments ||
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KATMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Nepal's prime minister fired the army chief Sunday after a struggle over admitting former Maoist rebel fighters to the military, sparking mass protests and jeopardizing the survival of the country's first elected government.
President Ram Baran Yadav, meanwhile, rejected the ouster of army chief, Rookmangud Katawal, in a letter, calling it unconstitutional. The letter was delivered to Katawal's office late Sunday night and copies were also sent to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal's residence.
Yadav was the first person elected as president in this Himalayan country, where a centuries-old monarchy was abolished last year. The army is officially under the president's command, not the prime minister. However, since the country's constitution is being rewritten, many things are unclear, including who has the power to fire the army chief. The president is a member of the Nepali Congress, the main opposition party, which vowed to fight the decision.
And they're soon going to find out that the Maoists have out-flanked them on this one, and everything else.
The army chief's dismissal prompted a key political party to withdraw from the ruling coalition and frayed already tense relations between the government, dominated by former Maoist rebels, and the military they long fought.
The dispute between the prime minister — a former Maoist rebel leader — and Katawal centered on the difficult question of how to integrate former rebels as required by a U.N.-brokered peace agreement into the ranks of the army they fought for a decade. Since giving up their bloody rebellion in 2006 and joining the political mainstream, the Maoists have confined their fighters to U.N.-monitored camps and locked up their weapons. Dahal wanted them freed and admitted to the national army but Katawal resisted the move and clashed repeatedly with the government over the issue.
The government says Katawal also ignored orders to stop recruiting soldiers, boycotted last month's national games, and allowing eight army generals to continue working past their tenure.
"The army chief was removed because he failed to give a satisfactory explanation on why the government orders were ignored," said Information Minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara.
The Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist Leninist), the second largest party in the coalition government, withdrew from the coalition Sunday "to protest the prime minister's unilateral decision," the party's general secretary, Ishwar Pokhrel, said. Leaders from several smaller parties walked out of the Cabinet meeting after Dahal announced his decision. They were debating Sunday night whether to withdraw their support completely.
Political analysts said the government could be on the brink of collapse. "It has become almost impossible for the Maoists to remain in government in the present situation," said Ameet Dhakal, editor of Republica, a leading newspaper in the capital Katmandu. "It's a big crisis for the country now."
Expect massive street demonstrations, then riots, then the Maoist fighters leaving their UN camps, weapons in hand ...
Thousands of demonstrators filled Katmandu's streets Sunday, some to support the Maoist government and others to protest. Maoist supporters, waving red flags, called the army chief's sacking a "victory for people's rule" while the opposition blocked traffic and burned tires in protest.
Anger is high in Nepal, where much of the public blames the Maoists for the power outages that can last more than 16 hours a day, the fuel shortages that have made for endless lines at gas stations, and the rising price of food and household staples.
That's just a taste of things to come. When the Maoists have full control, you won't be allowed to say anything about fuel shortages, or anything else.
But the Maoists are still revolutionary heroes to many, especially among rural villagers who voted them into power last year in Nepal's first elections. The centuries-old monarchy was abolished soon after.
Krishna Khanal, a political science professor at Tribhuwan University in Katmandu, said the Maoists could still survive the crisis. "If the smaller parties decide to support the Maoists, then they can still run the government," he said. "But there is no immediate solution to the present political crisis."
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/04/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
lets call a sdape a spade, Maoists = Chinese Communists
Posted by: tired of the BS ||
05/04/2009 16:22 Comments ||
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[Associated Press of Pakistan] Secretary Information and Broadcasting Ashfaq Gondal said on Saturday that the incumbent government believes in freedom of expression and was taking all steps to facilitate the media. The present PPP government has abolished draconian laws introduced by the previous dictatorial regime and moved a bill in the Parliament to convert Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) into a facilitator for the media community, he said while talking to APP on the eve of the World Press Freedom Day (May 3).
He said the democratic government adheres to its commitment to freedom of expression but it is the responsibility of the media also to evolve a code of conduct for itself. He said that the media plays the role of a mirror in any society and helps the world formulate an image about a nation and the society.
To a question, he said that Pakistan media was very responsible media which has played a very constructive role at this critical juncture.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
05/04/2009 00:00 ||
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#2
Yes, he is. The countries around Israel believe President Obama's America will not support Israel. Israel also believes President Obama's America will not support Israel. That this belief is widely held will lead to all sorts of interesting outcomes...interesting in the academic sense, at least.
#2
Uh huh - If the Paleos got all they wanted, Iran would decline to produce nuke weapons? A bit of kool-aid, Rahm? The Paleos are tools the Mullahs would vaporize in a nanosecond if given the chance to nuke Israel. Remember "martyrs"? It's so much easier to apply to others
Posted by: Frank G ||
05/04/2009 22:00 Comments ||
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#3
Mr. Emanuel gave up his Israeli citizenship a very long time ago. His natural ability to be an idiot, however, he has embraced very firmly.
[Jerusalem Post Middle East] Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is considering the possibility of asking a former Hamas representative to head a new PA government in the West Bank, a PA official in Ramallah revealed over the weekend.
The official said that Mahmoud Habbash, who broke away from Hamas several years ago and is currently the minister of Social Welfare in the government of Salaam Fayad, was Abbas's favorite candidate for the premiership.
"President Abbas will first ask Fayad to head the new government," the official said. "But if Fayad turns down the offer, the president will ask Habbash to form the government." Unlike Fayad, Habbash is a leading religious figure and a devout Muslim. His appointment would be seen as an attempt on the part of Abbas to win the sympathy of Hamas and Islamic Jihad supporters.
A former resident of the Gaza Strip, Habbash moved to the West Bank more than two years ago after Abbas offered him a job in the Fayad government.
Since then he has become one of the most vocal critics of Hamas. During Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip earlier this year, Habbash held a series of press conferences in Ramallah in which he accused Hamas of killing and torturing Fatah members and stealing humanitarian and medical aid sent to the Gaza Strip by international organizations.
Hamas officials have accused Habbash of financial corruption, saying he had been expelled from the Islamic movement following suspicions that he had been involved in embezzlement.
The London-based pan-Arab Asharq Al-Awsat daily quoted a source close to Abbas as saying that the appointment of Habbash would be aimed at "snatching the motto of Islam from Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Iran."
Hamas has warned Abbas against forming a new government in the West Bank, saying that such a step would deal a fatal blow to efforts to end the power struggle between the two sides and solidify divisions among the Palestinians.
Egyptian-sponsored negotiations between Hamas and Fatah have thus far failed to produce agreement over a Palestinian unity government.
PA officials in Ramallah said over the weekend that it was clear by now that the chances of striking a deal with Hamas are very slim.
The main sticking point remains the political program of the unity government and whether it would recognize Israel's right to exist and previous agreements between the Palestinians and Israelis.
Earlier this year, Fayad submitted his resignation to Abbas, saying he wanted to pave the way for the formation of a Fatah-Hamas government. At the request of Abbas, Fayad has agreed to remain in his post until the end of the talks with Hamas.
Hamas had made it clear that it would not join any government that is headed by Fayad, whom it accuses of collaboration with Israel and the US in launching a massive crackdown on supporters of the Islamic movement in the West Bank.
Hamas sources told The Jerusalem Post on Saturday that the PA security forces in the arrested more than 145 Hamas supporters in the West Bank last month.
Nabil Abu Rudaineh, spokesman for the PA president, said that Abbas was seeking to establish a new government that would include, in addition to Fatah members, representatives of other Palestinian factions.
However, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the two "rejectionist," Syrian-based groups said that they would not join any government that is formed in the West Bank.
"We need a new government, whether the talks with Hamas fail or succeed," Abu Rudaineh said. "We hope from the bottom of our hearts that the talks will succeed and lead to the establishment of a unity government that would rebuild the Gaza Strip. The international community is telling us that we don't have a government in Palestine; the government of Salaam Fayad has resigned and they don't recognize the legitimacy of the Hamas government."
Posted by: Fred ||
05/04/2009 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV Latest] Jordan's King Abdullah and acting Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas call for international support for Palestinian-Israeli peace talks.
King Abdullah said on late Sunday that 'practical and concrete steps' should be taken for negotiations as soon as possible, which should be in line with the adopted terms of reference, especially the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, which offers Israel peace and normal relations with all Arab countries in return for withdrawal from all territory occupied in the 1967 Arab-Israel war.
The two leaders, during their talks in Amman, discussed the results of the Monarch's visit to Washington, DC, last month, where he urged the US to play a leading role in conducting serious negotiations to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on the basis of the two-state solution, a statement issued at the end of the meeting said.
Both stressed the importance of tangible progress towards creating an independent Palestinian state as a key step to bringing about security and stability in the region, it said.
They also underlined that all settlement activities must be frozen in the occupied Palestinian territories, especially in al-Quds (Jerusalem).
The statement further said that King Abdullah rejected any Israeli measures aimed at changing the identity of the holy city by expelling Arab residents and demolishing their homes, as well as actions that violate the sanctity of its sacred places.
Hamas, which is the democratically elected Palestinian government and controls the Gaza Strip, was excluded from these talks.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/04/2009 00:00 ||
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu favours an Israeli withdrawal from a village on the Lebanese border and will discuss the issue with cabinet ministers this week, a government source said on Sunday.
Israel's Haaretz newspaper said the United States was pressing Netanyahu for a pullout from Ghajar, which straddles the border between Lebanon and territory Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war. The United States, the newspaper said, believes Israel's withdrawal from Ghajar would be a goodwill gesture towards Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and could bolster moderates in Lebanon before its June 7 general election.
The government source said Netanyahu, who meets US President Barack Obama in Washington on May 18, would discuss the matter with cabinet ministers later in the week. Netanyahu, the source said, "viewed favourably" a pullout from Ghajar.
Israel annexed Ghajar in 1981 along with the occupied Golan Heights in a move that has not won international recognition. A pullout from Ghajar could also open a broader debate about the nearby Shebaa Farms, a stretch of territory controlled by Israel that Lebanon claims as its own but which the United Nations recognises as belonging to Syria. Mark Regev, a spokesman for Netanyahu, declined to comment on the issue.
Envoy: Meanwhile, Netanyahu has chosen an American professor and historian as the next ambassador to Washington, Israeli media reported on Sunday. The nomination of Michael Oren, a Columbia and Princeton-educated historian who is currently a guest lecturer at Georgetown University, is expected to be announced before Netanyahu leaves for a mid-May meeting with President Barack Obama. In a lecture at Georgetown last month, Oren said Israel must unilaterally withdraw from the occupied West Bank, an idea rejected by Netanyahu, according to a report last week in the Haaretz newspaper.
"The only alternative for Israel to save itself as a Jewish state is by unilaterally withdrawing from the West Bank and evacuating most of the settlements," he was quoted as saying. Oren, 54, hold both American and Israeli passports but will have to renounce his US citizenship to assume the post, it said.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/04/2009 00:00 ||
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Hamas has re-elected Khaled Mashaal as its top political leader for another four-year term, the Palestinian militant group announced Sunday, signalling strong support for the man who has adopted a hard-line policy toward Israel and Hamas' Palestinian rival, the moderate Fatah faction.
The win was the fourth time Mashaal has been elected to the post, which he has held since 1996, and comes as Hamas is locked in reconciliation talks with its rival, Fatah. The Egypt-sponsored talks, which resumed in Cairo last week, touched on elections in Palestinian territories and the formation of a national unity government and its political program. The talks broke down last month mainly over how much Hamas would abide by past Palestinian peace accords with Israel. The international community says it will only deal with a Palestinian government that recognizes Israel, a concession Mashaal has vowed Hamas will never make.
The two Palestinian factions have been at odds since the bloody power struggle in 2007 when Hamas seized the Gaza Strip, splitting Palestinian territories in two and leaving Fatah in control of the West Bank. Egypt is also mediating separate talks between Israel and Hamas over a prisoner swap. Israel wants the return of Sgt Gilad Schalit, captured by Hamas-allied militants in a cross-border raid in 2006. Hamas demands in return that 1,200 Palestinian prisoners be freed from Israeli jails. Those negotiations also broke down in March. Israel's new government, led by hard-line Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is unlikely to make concessions to Hamas.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/04/2009 00:00 ||
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Sri Lanka on Sunday severely criticised Western nations for calling for a ceasefire that would end its military offensive against the Tamil Tiger rebels before a complete victory has been secured.
The rebels asked Britain and France to broker a truce, but the government has vowed to fight on until the guerrillas, who have been campaigning for an independent Tamil homeland for 37 years, have been crushed. International concern has focused on the fate of 50,000 civilians thought to be trapped inside the last patch of territory held by the Tigers, and 100,000 people held in government camps after fleeing the fighting. "Never did history unmask the hypocrisy and the sanctimony of the Western powers than (it has in) their behaviour towards Sri Lanka during recent times," the Defence Ministry said in a statement on its website.
It accused unidentified Western nations of making "ridiculous demands" on the government, including offering an amnesty to the rebels and allowing the Tiger leaders to be rescued -- as well as agreeing to a ceasefire.
Britain's Foreign Minister David Miliband and his French counterpart Bernard Kouchner left Sri Lanka on Thursday after urging Colombo to stop the fighting and allow humanitarian workers access to the conflict zone. The ministry statement contrasted the stance taken by "Western powers" with what it said was "whole-hearted support" given to the Sri Lankan government by a long list of countries such as China, India, Japan and Russia. "But for their understanding on our plight and the trust they placed in us, we would never have been able to come this far in our battle against terrorism," it said.
Truce: The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said in a letter to the British and French ministers that they wanted an immediate ceasefire to end the bloodshed.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/04/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
After all, the West has dealt with terrorism so efficiently.
#2
Tell you what, give us some time to think this truce thing over. In the meantime, feel free to go about your business. We'll get back to you. Eventually.
[Jerusalem Post Middle East] Hizbullah Chief Hassan Nasrallah charged over the weekend that Israel could have assassinated former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, a claim which an Israeli government spokesman dismissed Saturday as "complete rubbish."
Nasrallah made the charge in a televised speech on Friday, just two days after an international tribunal investigating the 2005 assassination released four Lebanese former security chiefs due to insufficient evidence to press charges against them. "Is it possible for Israel to execute such an operation? Of course," Nasrallah said less than five weeks before the Lebanese parliamentary elections.
"Does Israel have an interest in executing this operation? Of course, for Israel wanted a civil war in Lebanon to which the 'resistance' would be a party. Whoever says that Israel does not have an interest in assassinating Hariri is killing the president a second time. I haven't heard any of the leaders of March 14 (the US-backed ruling coalition) say that Israel has an interest in assassinating Hariri," he said, according to excerpts of his speech quoted in the NOW Lebanon news site.
Israel wanted to avenge "its humiliating withdrawal" from Southern Lebanon in 2000, Nasrallah said.
A senior Israeli government official rejected the claim outright on Saturday night.
"Everyone knows that to be total and complete rubbish and that Nasrallah saying it just makes him look like a fool to the people of Lebanon," the official told The Jerusalem Post on the condition of anonymity.
Nasrallah also charged that had intelligence officials worked four years ago as hard as they are working now, "maybe we would have reached something in the case of Prime Minister Hariri." He also suggested that an alleged Israeli spy network discovered in Lebanon reaffirmed the possibility that Israel was behind the assassination, according to NOW Lebanon.
Nasrallah also criticized the UN-backed tribunal investigating Hariri's assassination, saying that the release of the four generals on Wednesday was "evidence that the international investigation was politicized."
Hariri's son, Sa'ad Hariri, who is head of the Future parliamentary bloc, said Wednesday that the tribunal's decision to release the generals, who are considered pro-Syrian, should create additional momentum and "raise the level of its credibility" rather than discredit it, according to a Thursday report in the Lebanese National News Agency.
"What happened today marked the serious launching of the work of the tribunal and revealed it will definitely reach the killers, establish justice and protect Lebanon with God's will," Hariri said.
Hariri's supporters have blamed Syria for the killing, a charge that Damascus denies.
Hizbullah sees the release of the generals "as vindication of their claims that the tribunal had been politicized from the outset," Timur Goksel, a former senior UNIFIL adviser/spokesman, told reporters on Saturday. "It is not a victory for Hizbullah but they will certainly try to capitalize on it for the coming elections."
The elections, however, depend largely on local dynamics and thus are unlikely to be influenced by external affairs. "There is not much of a swing vote in Lebanon, where people vote for names, not for their politics," Goksel said.
Nasrallah also said Friday that his group has no intention of setting up a cell in Egypt to destabilize that predominantly Sunni Muslim country, and claimed that an alleged fierce Egyptian campaign against the group has failed to discredit it in the Arab world.
He made the remarks in the wake of Egypt's announcement last month that it had uncovered a plot by 49 men linked to Hizbullah to destabilize the country by carrying out attacks on Egyptian institutions and Israeli tourists.
Nasrallah at the time rejected the accusations but admitted a Hizbullah member was in Egypt supervising weapons shipments to Hizbullah's ally, Hamas.
Egypt was wasting money and efforts in trying to vilify Hizbullah, Nasrallah said in a televised speech Friday night, again rejecting accusations of Hizbullah plots against Egypt.
"We didn't set up a cell in Egypt and we don't intend to set up a cell in Egypt," he said. "We are not seeking to target Egypt, its security, its regime or its stability." Egypt's "wide-scale political, propaganda and media campaign" has failed to "distort Hizbullah's image," Nasrallah said, but added that Hizbullah would not engage in any sort of counter-campaign against Egypt in order to allow for Arab and Lebanese mediators to work to end the dispute.
Nasrallah said several Arab and Lebanese leaders called for "dealing with this crisis in a calm and rational manner" - a reference to a recent statement by Lebanese President Michel Suleiman that he was using quiet diplomacy to try to resolve the Egypt-Hizbullah dispute.
Nasrallah stressed the Egyptian campaign also would not harm Hizbullah ahead of the June 7 parliament elections.
The United States and its allies among Arab nations such as Egypt are concerned that a Hizbullah electoral win could increase the sway of the group's backers Iran and Syria in the region.
Nasrallah's comments came two days after Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak warned regional adversaries - a reference to Iran and the Hizbullah group it supports - that he would not tolerate what he called tampering with his country's security and stability.
Egypt and other Arab nations have watched with concern as Iran has deepened its regional influence through its support for Hizbullah and its development of nuclear technology.
Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki said he had no comments Saturday on Nasrallah's statements.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/04/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
That's the best you can do - the Jews did it? Oh, Nasrallah! That's not even lame.
#5
If you want to know the truth, just listen to what Nasrallah says, and think the exact opposite. You'll be right far more often than you'll be wrong.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
05/04/2009 15:39 Comments ||
Top||
#6
If you want to know the truth, just listen to what Nasrallah says, and think the exact opposite. You'll be right far more often than you'll be wrong.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
05/04/2009 15:39 Comments ||
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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.
[Maghrebia] French national Eric M'Benga, the alleged mastermind of an international cocaine trafficking network dismantled in Mauritania 18 months ago, was extradited from Dakar to Nouakchott as part of a security co-operation agreement between the two countries, Pana quoted judicial sources as saying on Friday (May 1st). 
A team of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab-2) yesterday detained three people and recovered several fake national identity (NID) cards, a number of other fake ID cards of various educational institutions, banks and offices from their shops in city's Nilkhet area. 
WASHINGTON (AP) - House Democrats are refusing to pay for President Barack Obama's plan to relocate prisoners from the Guantanamo detention facility where enemy combatants are being held. 
It is un-Islamic for anyone to be photographed, Tehreek-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Muhammadi (TNSM) chief Sufi Muhammad has said.
[Jerusalem Post Middle East] Hizbullah Chief Hassan Nasrallah charged over the weekend that Israel could have assassinated former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, a claim which an Israeli government spokesman dismissed Saturday as "complete rubbish." 
