Posted by: Steve White ||
10/19/2009 12:55 Comments ||
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#2
I'd like McChrystal to walk in and tell Karzai the US is withdrawing ALL its troops over the next 90 days, since we cannot support a fraud elected on a sham ballot. I'm sure Karzai will have some "interesting" facial expressions.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
10/19/2009 13:42 Comments ||
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#3
More to the point: Bambi has been in charge for nine months.
This election was scheduled and we all knew the date. We also pretty well knew that there was going to be a lot of voter fraud and that the outcome was pre-ordained.
After all, name the last election in the Middle East outside of Israel that wasn't preordained.
So Bambi knew this. And he's just now trying to figure out what to do?
Criminy, O, you're from Chicago. Either you acquiesce in the fraud and double-down on the result, which should be easy given your own experience, or you get out in front and try to ensure that the election is only semi-smelly. You had time to think this through. At least your aides did. Rahm sure did.
So why is Bambi so unprepared for this?
One would wonder if this is the point: let Karzai hang. Let the election be seen as fraudulent. Then justify withdrawal of American forces (or at least not following McChrystal's plan) on the basis of, "they can't run a proper election in Afghanistan."
But that would be devious.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/19/2009 13:44 Comments ||
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#4
So why is Bambi so unprepared for this?
A more interesting question is whether he is prepared for anything. Except trashing the enemy d'jour. He's looking more like a deer in the headlights every day.
#2
The average Mohammed is going to back the side he thinks will win. When our words and actions project a lack of will or confidence, he is going to believe our enemy will win, so he will support our enemy. It's a vicious cycle - and a self-fulfilling prophecy.
"Obama admin to GIs, Afghans: Just hang in a little longer, die more, while we figure out whether its worth it or not. Its Kerrythink in action, as Obama, in extended dither, tries to engineer a mistake some poor bastard can be the last man to die for."
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/19/2009 12:54 Comments ||
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#8
hey! Give the guy a break! It takes time to gather Focus Groups and Opinion Polls and lets not forget the Ouija board consultations.
#11
Bertie, the mission changed during the Bush administration and was a huge mistake on our part. There is no way we are going to build a nation in this crap-hole.
Posted by: Herman Wholutle3846 ||
10/19/2009 18:39 Comments ||
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#12
Which direction is the White House windsock blowing today?
Down a rutted street in a quiet suburb of south Kabul lives a man the CIA once locked in a cage for months as an enemy combatant.
Seven years later, Mullah Wakil Ahmed Mutawakkil, 38, who served as foreign minister when the Taliban ran Afghanistan, may prove to be President Barack Obama's best chance of ending the gruelling war in Afghanistan - by enabling negotiations with America's enemies.
Such a prospect would have seemed far-fetched only a year ago; but now, as Mr Obama grapples with difficult Afghanistan decisions, faced with a faltering Kabul government and a spreading insurgency, all options are on the table.
Some of them may seem distinctly unsavoury for a president elected as a liberal idealist - in particular the notion of doing deals with Taliban commanders, and empowering former warlords and tribal leaders who have blood on their hands and in many cases hatred in their hearts.
But America's desperation to regain the initiative in an increasingly unpopular war has already produced some remarkable changes, and uncomfortable moral compromises are now on the agenda.
Among them, the Obama administration has indicated that it intends to make a fresh attempt to engage more moderate Taliban groups in talks with the Afghan government - in a determined effort to woo at least some of them away from the fighting that is claiming increasing numbers of American and other Nato forces' lives.
Mullah Mutawakkil, once a confidant of the one-eyed Taliban leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar, was held at a US base in Kandahar in 2002 after he gave himself up to American troops.
Now he is being politely wooed by a stream of senior US officials who make discreet visits to his villa, which is guarded by armed police, to hear his thoughts on what the Taliban mood is like and whether any of its leaders are ready for talks.
A soft-spoken and intelligent man who was one of the Taliban regime's youngest ministers, Mullah Mutawakkil is cautious about what can be achieved, but even so his thinking is music to tired Western ears.
He believes that the Taliban would split from what he called their al-Qaeda "war allies" if a deal was within reach. Speaking to The Sunday Telegraph in the guest room of his Kabul home, he insisted that a settlement to end the war was possible -- and that it would be the West's best chance of stopping terrorists from turning Afghanistan back into their base again.
"If the Taliban fight on and finally became Afghanistan's government with the help of al-Qaeda, it would then be very difficult to separate them," he warned.
But there is, he says, another option. Taliban leaders are looking for guarantees of their personal safety from the US, and a removal of the "bounties" placed on the head of their top commanders. They also want a programme for the release of prisoners held at the notorious Bagram US air base in Afghanistan, and at Guantanamo Bay.
In return, he says, the Taliban would promise not to allow Afghanistan to be used to plan attacks on America -- the original reason for American invervention, and the overriding aim of US policy in the region.
"The United States has a right to be confident that every government, whether Taliban or any other kind of government, would guarantee not to threaten America," he said.
The former foreign minister believes the Taliban understands that Afghanistan has changed since they were driven from power. They want a nation governed by strict Islamic laws but realise they cannot turn the clock back, he said.
He cautioned that negotiations would not be easy. "I am not an optimist. But talking would be better than war," he said.
Give us the jizya and we'll talk, little kaffir.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
See also COUNTERTERRORISM BLOG > LASHKAR-E-TAIBA: PAKISTAN"S HEZBOLLAH; + WHY THE SOUTH WAZIRISTAN OFFENSIVE WON'T HELP THE US IN AFGHANISTAN [OOOOOOOPPPPPPPSIES > Major Militant Groups fighting the US-ALlies-AFPAK Govts aren't from South Wazir region]???
#2
So the net consequences of 9/11 for the Taliban are that they get to rule an Afghanistan with an improved infrastructure and that they will receive direct subsidies courtesy of western taxpayers?
How does that not amount to surrender + danegeld?
How does that not fatally undermine a policy of containment and deterrence vs a nuclear armed Iran?
Indeed, is western deterrence any more credible than Comical Ali's?
"These demands are not open to negotiation or discussion. The Taliban must act, and act immediately. They will hand over the terrorists, or they will share in their fate., but if the don't we will negotiate with the Taliban and support and subsidize the Taliban regime."
George W. Bush, Statement To Joint Session Of Congress September 20th 2001
#5
The Warmonger has my vote. If (s)he also vows to clean up the political scene in Washington, I'll hero worship him. If the next president also downsizes the government and stimilates business, then I'll experience rapture. If we get another McCain, I'll merely shoot off a gun or two in a paltry demonstration of my support.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
10/19/2009 13:01 Comments ||
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#8
So the net consequences of 9/11 for the Taliban are that they get to rule an Afghanistan with an improved infrastructure and that they will receive direct subsidies courtesy of western taxpayers?
As I understand it, many concervatives just coudn't bring themselves to vote for McCain.
[Quqnoos] The French Foreign Minister in a surprise visit to Kabul said he wonders why it is impossible to reach a post-election consensus in Afghanistan
Bernard Kouchner's two day visit to Kabul parallels an increase in disputes over the 20 August Afghan election that provoked concerns in and outside Afghanistan. After landing in Kabul International Airport on Saturday, Minister Kouchner met his Afghan counterpart, Rangin Dadfar Spanta, in the Foreign Ministry, discussing several issues, including counter-terrorism.
Mr Kouchner's trip is "in the context of tension provoked by the expectation of the proclamation of the electoral results that have been delayed for a long time", the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
"I have been involved in all your crises," Kouchner told Afghan journalists in Kabul, "As it is a particular crisis now, we want to understand why it not possible to get to electoral consensus after the election."
Mr Kouchner's comment of "working together" parallels rumours that the international community is trying to form a coalition government between President Hamid Karzai and his main challenger, Abdullah Abdullah.
Afghanistan's 20 August election was marred by allegations of widespread fraud and intimidation.
"It is a common responsibility not to allow Afghanistan get unstable," Minister Spanta said as the election outcome provoked serious rows in the country. "The Independent Election Commission and Electoral Complaints Commission should be allowed to finish their work," he added.
According to the preliminary results, incumbent Karzai has won 55 per cent of the tallied votes and his main rival Abdullah received 28 per cent.
Not that the constant remarks about fraud and corruption are making the citizenry question their government and the voting process or anything.
Which country had the last honest election in that region?
Don't let's even think about Chicago, 'k?
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Well Obama's dithering on Afghanistan will result in one thing at least: sheer panic in the capitals of Europe. Looks good on them.
If the US is going to walk away from the "necessary war" over some political corruption in the allies, then he leaves all of Europe completely exposed to the same pressures only faced by Poland and the Czechs. He is giving in to the Taliban, and by proxy AlQaida; He will never stand up to Russia and by proxy, Iran.
[Quqnoos] At least 13 prisoners fled from a prison in the northern Afghan province of Balkh on Saturday, officials said The detainees escaped overnight in a prison-break in the remote district of Nahr-e Shahi, the head of Balkh prison, Ghulam Usman Tarin, told reporters. "The prisoners -- all of them criminals -- holed a wall of the district prison and ran-away," Mr Tarin added.
None of the fugitives were linked to any insurgent groups, but they were charged for murder, robbery and other crimes. Security forces have arrested five guards from the prison following the outbreak to investigate whether they facilitated their attempt, Tarin further said. He explained that the likely reason behind this escape was "the old walls of the prison that damped due to rain and snow that caused it to be destroyed easily."
Nearly 150 prisoners were recently transferred to the Nahr-e Shahi district prison due to a lack of places in the main detention facility in the provincial capital, Balkh.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
So the other 130 or so inmates decided that it was safer on the inside than out?
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
10/19/2009 12:36 Comments ||
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France's defence minister on Sunday pledged his country's support to the development of the Seychelles' judiciary, ill-adapted to dealing with suspected Somali pirates captured in its waters.
Clearly it wasn't France that set up the justice system in the Seychelles originally, then. Because that would have been embarrassing.
Tut tut, it seems no one really has a justice system set up to deal with piracy these days ...
"I underlined how important it is to France for pirates to be punished and for the Seychelles to set up an adequate legal system," Herve Morin told the media in Victoria, the capital of the Indian Ocean archipelago.
On the last day of a tour of the Indian Ocean, Morin held talks with Joel Morgan, the Seychelles' minister for environment, natural resources and transport. He vowed to boost the Seychelles courts' capacity a few days after the French navy said it was obliged to release 11 suspected pirates for lack of evidence following a failed attack on two French tuna-fishing vessels.
Morin also said that the EU was planning to spend $1.18m on developing the small archipelago's judiciary.
Morgan welcomed the minister's support, pointing out that "between February and June, maritime traffic dropped by 30% in the region, affecting mainly the tuna-fishing fleet."
France, together with Spain, has several large tuna-fishing vessels stationed in the Seychelles, a key source of revenue for island state.
The deployment last year of dozens of foreign warships to counter rampant piracy in the Gulf of Aden has led Somali pirate groups to redeploy in the Indian Ocean.
Since the monsoon winds dropped a week ago, piracy incidents have been on the rise after a relative lull and most of the incidents took place either inside or just outside the Seychelles exclusive economic zone.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Every denizen of Rantburg understands how to crush this epidemic of piracy, but no government is willing to just do it. When pirates are caught in the act, hang 'em. When they are encountered in the act, sink their boats and leave them for the sharks. When they are tracked back to their shore bases, apply the Hama rules. And offer an 'ear bounty' to private contractors who wish to support us in the battle.
#3
I keep repeating that one ARCLIGHT strike down through Eyl or one of the other pirate "home ports" would put a stop to the piracy. We may have to actually do it twice, but it WILL work. It might be hard on the crews of the captured vessels, but they would be the last ones.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
10/19/2009 17:01 Comments ||
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(Bloomberg) -- Two suspected al-Qaeda militants killed in a gunfight in Saudi Arabia this week were planning to stage a terrorist attack, the Interior Ministry said.
The militants, who were wearing vests packed with explosives, entered Saudi Arabia from neighboring Yemen to carry out "an imminent criminal act," the ministry said in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency. It gave no details of the possible target.
A third militant was arrested, while a police official was killed during the firefight that took place Oct. 13 in Jizan province near the country's southern border with Yemen, the ministry said. Two of the suspects were wearing women's clothes. They and their accomplice were traveling in a vehicle with grenades, automatic weapons and bomb-making materials.
Al-Qaeda in August launched an assassination attempt on the country's top internal security official from its base in Yemen, which is the poorest Arab nation and has weak central government control.
Saudi authorities detained six Yemenis in the aftermath of the incident, the Interior Ministry said.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
did they kill these guys for being terrorists or because they were cross dressing?
Boy howdy, if I were an ME country,I'd outlaw the Burkha just to stop this masquerading as women to smuggle guns and explosives across the borders.
Posted by: James Carville ||
10/19/2009 17:26 Comments ||
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South Korea will consider resuming humanitarian aid to impoverished North Korea but it has ruled out assistance on the large scale of previous, more liberal administrations, a senior official said Sunday.
The small scale aid is just enough to feed the elite party cadres and the military down to about the rank of major ...
Any such assistance would be the first from the conservative administration of President Lee Myung-bak, who has linked aid to the North's progress in getting rid of its nuclear programs.
For a decade, South Korea was one of the biggest donors to the North, shipping hundreds of thousands of tons of food across the militarized border every year. But aid stopped after Lee took office last year with a pledge to get tough on the North. That prompted a dip in relations, and tensions deepened over the regime's nuclear and missile tests earlier this year. Ties have since improved.
North Korea asked for humanitarian assistance at talks with the South on Friday - its first such request during Lee's government.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2009 00:00 ||
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The hedge-fund billionaire charged as part of a vast insider-trading case surfaced in an earlier, separate probe into U.S. fundraising by a Sri Lankan terrorist group, people familiar with the probe said.
As part of that investigation, federal agents said they uncovered documents showing that Raj Rajaratnam, founder of the Galleon Group, was among several wealthy Sri Lankans in the U.S. whose donations to a Maryland-based charity made their way to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, according to people familiar with the probe.
The LTTE, commonly known as the Tamil Tigers, fought a brutal separatist war carrying out suicide bombings and political assassinations against the government of Sri Lanka from 1976 until it was defeated in May.
Mr. Rajaratnam, 52 years old, was among six people arrested Friday in what the Federal Bureau of Investigation said is the largest-ever hedge-fund insider-trading case. Federal prosecutors charged Mr. Rajaratnam with securities fraud and conspiracy to commit securities fraud.
Citing telephone wiretaps, a federal criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court for New York's Southern District describes a period from 2006 and 2008 when Mr. Rajaratnam and his group allegedly swapped inside information. Prosecutors allege Mr. Rajaratnam and his ring of alleged co-conspirators earned $20 million in improper gains. Mr. Rajaratnam's New York-based Galleon fund firm manages $3.7 billion.
There doesn't appear to be a connection between the two investigations.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2009 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] Indian authorities on Sunday forced a US plane carrying Marines to land in Mumbai after a confusion about its call sign, but later allowed it to resume its journey, a US Embassy official said.
The Bangkok-bound plane was diverted while in Indian airspace, said the official, who didn't want to be named because he wasn't authorized to speak with reporters.
Pilots use a call sign to identify themselves and confirm that they are authorized to enter a country's airspace.
The embassy official did not give details on the confusion. The Press Trust of India news agency reported the plane had civilian, but not military, clearance from Indian authorities.
'We are pleased that we were able to resolve this procedural matter in an expeditious fashion, and appreciate the assistance and cooperation of Indian authorities,' the official said.
PTI said the plane came from the Middle East carrying 205 Marine commandos. The Marines stayed on the aircraft at the Mumbai airport while they waited for clearance from Indian authorities, the report said.
After an investigation, the Indian air force gave the plane clearance to leave, PTI quoted air force spokesman T.K. Singha as saying.
The plane is expected to leave for Bangkok on Monday, the embassy official said.
In September, India detained a United Arab Emirates air force plane for two days because the crew failed to declare it was carrying arms and ammunition to China. The plane had stopped in the eastern city of Calcutta for refueling.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
They got faster service than Dieter Langer flying a Maule around the world. It took him two days of dealing with endless bureaucracy and red tape before he could fill his tanks with avgas.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
10/19/2009 0:40 Comments ||
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#2
A bit of a delay, but certainly better than landing at Hartsfield in Atlanta and listening to some surly ghetto queen, TSA employee play drill instructor.
#3
ION WMF > INDIAN MEDIAS CLAIM CONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE THAT CHINA HAS BEGUN CONSTRUCTION OF BRAHMAPUTRA DAMS [covert catalyst for "WATER IMPERIALISM/WAR"? by CHIN agz INDIA]???
[Geo News] A New York Times reporter kidnapped by the Taliban in 2008 and held for seven months in Pakistan said late Saturday he had underestimated Taliban's extremism and the strength of its supporters in Pakistan.
Read the reporter's story at the New York Times in five parts. The details are actually quite interesting, and useful should you ever be kidnapped by the Taliban.
"Over those months, I came to a simple realization," the reporter, David Rohde, wrote about his ordeal. "After seven years of reporting in the region, I did not fully understand how extreme many of the Taliban had become."
Kinda missed that over the seven years, did you ...
He said that before the kidnapping, he viewed the organization as a form of "Al-Qaeda lite," a religiously motivated movement primarily focused on controlling Afghanistan.
But after spending time in captivity, he said he had realized that the goal of the hard-line Taliban was far more ambitious. "They wanted to create a fundamentalist Islamic emirate with Al-Qaeda that spanned the Muslim world," the writer noted.
Which is what they wanted back before 9/11, as I recall. Perhaps you should have known that since you're an ace reporter.
They tried to create the emirate in Afghanistan, but lost it. Then they tried to create it in Iraq, but lost it. Now they're trying in Pakistan, but have been on the back foot since Swat. I'm not sanguine about the eventual outcome being what they want.
"But I was astonished by what I encountered firsthand: a Taliban mini-state that flourished openly and with impunity," Rohde pointed out.
He said all along the main roads in North and South Waziristan, Pakistani government outposts had been abandoned and replaced by Taliban checkpoints where young militants detained anyone lacking a Kalashnikov rifle and the right Taliban password.
"We heard explosions echo across North Waziristan as my guards and other Taliban fighters learned how to make roadside bombs that killed American and NATO troops," the reporter wrote.
"And I found the tribal areas -- widely perceived as impoverished and isolated -- to have superior roads, electricity and infrastructure compared with what exists in much of Afghanistan."
Possibly because masses of Taliban aren't wandering through, destroying the infrastructure like the Taliban do when they go to Afghanistan to play.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Perhaps we should send more NYT reporters over there to live with the Taliban to attain 'enlightenment'.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
10/19/2009 12:34 Comments ||
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#2
Does this mean he has had an epiphany on the Taliban and will speak more openly and honestly about them?
Did I see the word "fanatical" in there somewhere?
Does this wake up call mean he can no longer work for the NYT? After all his honesty has violated editorial policy of the NYT.
Posted by: James Carville ||
10/19/2009 17:23 Comments ||
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#3
"And I found the tribal areas -- widely perceived as impoverished and isolated -- to have superior roads, electricity and infrastructure compared with what exists in much of Afghanistan."
#4
"They wanted to create a fundamentalist Islamic emirate with Al-Qaeda that spanned the Muslim world," the writer noted.
Talk about a Super Duh. I guess that is what it takes to work for the NYT. Agree that he will need to start towing the line or will have to find employment elsewhere.
[Geo News] Minister for Interior Rehman Malik said on Sunday that no action is being taken against any religious madrasa in the federal capital. In a statement issued here, the minister said, action is being taken only against those prayer leaders (Imam Masjid), who do not have Pakistani nationality. He said that no person would be allowed to become a prayer leader in any mosque in the country, if he is not a Pakistani national.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2009 00:00 ||
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[Geo News] US Senator John Kerry has arrived in Islamabad, Geo News reported Sunday.
According to sources, he is scheduled to meet President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani and other high Pakistani leadership to discuss Kerry-Lugar Bill.
The sources said a team of US high-ups is also accompanying the Senator; the team will take stock of the proposed projects in Pakistan in connection with US aid to be funneled to Pakistan.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
There goes the neighborhood.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
10/19/2009 6:44 Comments ||
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#2
Hopefully he'll stay there, so he can later claim that he went to Afghanistan over Christmas and fired a gun, so he should get the Medal of Honor.
The Foreign Office has denied that Islamabad has information on the presence of the Jundallah chief in Pakistan. Talking to a private TV channel, Abdul Basit rejected the Iranian ambassador's claim that the Jundullah chief is hiding in Balochistan. The spokesman said such a statement could harm relations between the two countries. Pakistan and Iran were cooperating in the war on terror, and both countries enjoyed "friendly relations". Basit said that the war on terror in South Waziristan reflected Pakistan's commitment not to allow its territory to be used for activities against any other country. "Pakistan is not involved in terrorist activities ... we are striving hard to eradicate the menace," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2009 00:00 ||
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India will forward statements of key witnesses in the Mumbai terrorist attacks case to Pakistan to be used as evidence in the trial there, the Hindustan Times quoted special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam as saying on Sunday.
According to the paper, Nikam said the court has allowed the prosecution's plea for certified copies of the statements and they will be forwarded to Pakistan through diplomatic channels within a day or two.
Meanwhile, Pakistan's Foreign Office said India had not provided any such documents to Pakistan so far, APP reported.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
BHARAT RAKSHAK > INDIA TO DEMAND PAKISTAN HANDOVER TERROR LEADER.
* PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUM > THE [Indian-SOuth Asian]SUBCONTINENT MUSLIM IS MORE INFLUENCED BY HINDUISM THAN ISLAM; + NAXALITES [Maoists] ARE UNITING WID INDIAN SEPARATIST MOVEMENTS TO FIGHT AGZ INDIA.
* BHARAT RAKSHAK > TRIBALS HAVE TRADITIONAL JURISDICTION [ generations] OVER LAND, ARUNCHAL CM TELLS PM; + NEPAL ASKS CHINA TO EXTEND [strategic] RAILWAY TO KATHMANDU [Katmandu].
[Al Arabiya Latest] Hamas has delayed sending a delegation to Cairo to give its response to an Egyptian-proposed Palestinian reconciliation deal, a senior official in the Islamist group told AFP on Sunday.
The Hamas delegation was to travel to Cairo on Sunday, but Ayman Taha said the trip has been delayed indefinitely.
"Hamas has postponed sending its delegation to Egypt because General Omar Suleiman is not in Cairo," he said, referring to the Egyptian intelligence chief who has been brokering efforts to reconcile Hamas with its secular Fatah rivals.
"Communication between Egypt and Hamas continues," Taha said, without specifying when the delegation would travel to Cairo.
Hamas has not said what its response will be to the Egyptian unity proposal, which Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah has already signed.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2009 00:00 ||
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Ma'an -- Sixty-four percent of Israelis support the creation of a Palestinian state, a new poll carried out by researchers at Tel Aviv university shows.
The poll, which was reported on the Hebrew website of the newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, shows that 33% of Israelis oppose the "two-state solution."
The survey also showed that 60% of the Israelis believe that continued settlement expansion reducing the chances of a two-state solution or would lead to a bi-national state while 33% have the opposite view.
However, the survey also showed that 79% of Israelis rejected the main conclusion of the UN-backed Goldstone report, that Israel committed war crimes during its war on Gaza last winter. Fully 93.5% share their government's view that the report was biased against Israel.
The newspaper said that the survey was based on a sample of 514 Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Many support three: current Israel, Judea, and Samaria = one future state of Greater Israel.
Ma'an -- Former Palestinian Ambassador to Egypt Nabil Amr said this weekend that the Palestinian Authority (PA) is punishing him for voicing criticism of President Mahmoud Abbas for delaying action on a UN report on war crimes in Gaza.
"Currently, my relationship with President Abbas is very bad," Amr told Ma'an in an interview. Last week he claimed that the PA cancelled his security detail after he slammed Abbas over his initial decision to drop his endorsement of justice Richard Goldstone's report on the recent Israeli war on Gaza.
"I don't accept that any Palestinian should be punished for his political views, and I also refuse over-exaggerated strictness in political views. I also refuse incitement, defamation, and accusation of treason. I rather prefer objective treatment of any case on condition that it is tackled with enough freedom," the former ambassador added.
Amr said he doubted that Fatah would win a potential election. "If the status quo continues, and all controversial issues within Fatah and in the Palestinian arena are not addressed, our ability to win elections will be doubtful," he said.
"Hamas is thriving on Fatah's mistakes, and that is why they won last elections," Amr added.
Amr failed to win a seat on Fatah main governing body, the Central Committee during elections at the party's convention in Bethlehem in August. He told Ma'an this weekend that he was considering the establishment of a new political party. However, he said, this could only be announced after upcoming elections "in order to avoid any accusations that I might be disrupting Fatah during elections."
He added that in his view that Palestinians' most important achievement was the creation of the Palestinian Authority. Therefore, he argued, the PA should be preserved. The majority of Palestinians should be made to feel that the PA is necessary for their security and the furtherance of their political goals.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2009 00:00 ||
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Ma'an -- The de facto government's interior minister Fathi Hammad on Saturday inaugurated a new police academy affiliated to the ministry that will train Gaza security services officers.
The academy will start with 188 students, the minister announced.
"This academy has become an urgent need in light of the refusal of Arab countries to train Gazan students in their private academies," he said in opening remarks. "All Arab countries accept students from the West Bank in their academies, and refuse students from the Gaza Strip."
"We decided we would not remain hand-folded, but we would rather start from scratch as we did with jihad, the Legislative Council, in government, and by facing the siege," Hammad explained.
That's right -- pull yourselves up by your bootstraps to make of yourselves a functioning society. Well done!
...
...
...
Oh dear. I think I should lie down for a bit. Clearly I'm not thinking clearly.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2009 00:00 ||
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[Al Arabiya Latest] A large Israeli cafe chain has decided to stop selling Turkish coffee and plans are afoot to boycott Turkish resorts in the wake of increased tensions between the two nations, officials said Sunday.
"We have decided for the time being to stop selling 'Istanbul coffee' -- our Turkish coffee blend, and we shall keep doing it until matters improve," Michael Steg, director of marketing for the Ilan coffee shop chain, told the Ynet news website.
"We believe anyone can be active in his own way and this is our small and symbolic way of doing that," he said.
Meanwhile, Yossi Levy, a senior official with Israel's national carrier ElAl, told Army Radio his employee association and those of several other major Israeli businesses plan to stop subsidizing vacations for their workers to Turkey during the Passover holiday next April, the next major holiday season in the Jewish state during which up to 80,000 Israelis are expected to visit Turkish resorts.
The boycott moves come as a response to a Turkish state television series that began airing last week that depicts Israeli soldiers deliberately killing Palestinian children, the latest incident to sour relations between Israel and Ankara.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
See also PAYVAND > TURKEY-ISRAEL ROW MAY INDICATE A GEOPOLITICAL CHANGE IN THE REGION. End of traditional alliance = close rapport bwtn Turkic-Israeli militaries [redux of Turkic mil influence in TURK Govt-National Afairs] + new diplomatic rapprochement bwtn TURK + historically ANTI-ISRAELI, NOW "MODERATE"? MUSLIM GOVTS.
After Jundallah terrorist ring carried out a bloody attack in southeastern Iran, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev expressed readiness to help Iran fight "terrorism".
"The fight against the threat of terrorism and the extremism wherever it comes from requires all countries to join their forces," Medvedev said in a letter of condolence to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday.
"We are ready to cooperate with the Islamic Republic of Iran to counter these threats," he added.
Medvedev said the attack quivered him with "indignation" and condemned "this new evildoing by extremists".
His remarks came after at least 42 people, including senior commanders of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) were killed by an explosion in the borderline city of Pishin in Sistan-Baluchistan on Sunday.
The Pakistan-based terrorist group Jundallah, a closely affiliated with the notorious al-Qaeda organization, accepted responsibility for the deadly attack which occurred during a unity conference between Sunni and Shia tribal leaders.
The ring, led by Abdolmalik Rigi, has staged a torrent of bombings and terrorist attacks in Iran.
The Asia Times reported in May that al-Qaeda militants sought to establish an alliance with the exiled Jundallah to fulfill longstanding plans of creating a strategic corridor in the region and lay the foundation for joint regional operations in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran.
Another report posted by the US-based ABC News also revealed that the US officials had advised Jundallah to 'stage deadly guerrilla raids inside the Islamic Republic, kidnap Iranian officials and execute them on camera', all as part of a systematic objective to overthrow the Iranian government'.
In a recent interview with Press TV, Rigi's brother, Abdulhamid, confirmed that the Jundallah leader had established links with the US agents.
His brother said that in just one of his meetings with the US operatives, Rigi had received $100,000 to fuel sectarianism in Iran.
Posted by: EX PARA ||
10/19/2009 20:15 Comments ||
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#2
ION KIEVAN RUS = MUSCOVY REDDIT > RUSSIAN ECONOMY WEAKER THAN ADVERTISED.
Also, BHARAT RAKSHAK > WORRIED CHINA SAYS AGNI-V [INDIA's new 5000-KM range BMissle thingy] CAN REACH RUSSIAN BORDER, + can reach every Continent except NORTH-SOUTH AMERICAS???
D *** NG IT, IS THIS ANY WAY TO MAKE CURRY-FOR-PEACE!?
#4
From IranPressTV. Likely the entire article was woven from the joint imaginations of the reporter and the editor. I mean honestly, "Medvedev said the attack quivered him with 'indignation'"? When was the last time a high ranking Russian politician quivered with anything?
VIENNA -- Iran signaled ahead of international talks Monday that it will not meet Western demands for a deal that would move most of its enriched uranium out of the country and delay its gaining the ability to make a nuclear bomb.
#1
Time to dust off that big old propane bomb thingee we used in Nam on tunnel complexes.
I am getting senile so I forget what we called that big old gizmo, it was the biggest bomb ever used and we used a few of them over there. It would be nice to see one of them deployed "near" one of those underground complexes in Iran.
Posted by: James Carville ||
10/19/2009 17:15 Comments ||
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THE head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards has vowed to "retaliate" against the United States and Britain after accusing them of backing the perpetrators of a suicide bombing that killed six Guards commanders. You won't have to retaliate: Bambi has already "condemned" the attack, and Brown soon will fall into line ...
Iranian media say the Sunni Muslim insurgent group Jundollah (God's soldiers) has claimed responsibility for Sunday's bombing in Sistan-Baluchestan province, which killed 42 people in all.
The incident threatened to overshadow talks between Iran and global powers in Vienna on Monday intended to tackle a standoff about Iran's nuclear ambitions. Overshadow? Heck, the Iranians will use it to blame the Great Satan and thus dig in their heels even further.
Guards commander-in-chief Mohammad Ali Jafari said Iranian security officials had presented documents indicating "direct ties" from Jundollah to US, British and, "unfortunately," Pakistani intelligence organizations, the ISNA news agency said.
"Behind this scene are the American and British intelligence apparatus, and there will have to be retaliatory measures to punish them," Jafari said.
Jundollah, which has been blamed for many attacks since 2005 in the desert province bordering Pakistan, says it is fighting to end discrimination against Sunni Muslims by Iran's dominant Shi'ites. Its leader is Abdolmalek Rigi.
"This person himself and his plans are undoubtedly under the umbrella and the protection of these (U.S., British and Pakistani) organizations," Jafari said.
#1
This was a big blow to the Iranian regime, especially internally as shows how effective opposition can be.
Assasination has always been a more effective terrorism tactic against authoritarian regimes. Because senior people are much less replaceable than in a democracy.
#5
OOOOPSIES, forgot PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUM > VIDEO > INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST WAYNE MADSEN: US SENT TALIBAN INTO IRAQ [paid 'em to attack the IGA, etc. targets].
IDF sources responded to Hizbullah reports that it had uncovered three Israeli "spying devices", saying that the incident was staged by the Lebanese terror group in an attempt to divert attention from the explosion of a weapons cache in Tayr last week, Channel 10 reported on Sunday evening.
Hizbullah's Al-Manar TV station had said a blast that rocked the Wadi Houla area in southern Lebanon on Saturday was apparently caused by the detonation of three "spying devices" that Israel had planted in the area.
Al-Manar claimed that after the devices were discovered, at least one was remotely destroyed by the IDF.
Lebanese army and UNIFIL troops arrived at the scene amid public panic and began working to destroy one of the devices, the TV station reported.
The Voice of Lebanon radio station reported that the explosion following a breach in Hizbullah's secure telecommunications network, which reportedly led to the discovery of two 50-meter cables near an Israeli outpost across the border.
According to the Voice of Lebanon, one of the cables had been used for wiretapping, while the other had been used for broadcasting. News agency DPA in Beirut quoted a Lebanese source who suggested that the devices the Lebanese army had detonated were "batteries" belonging to the "espionage device" that had exploded earlier.
IDF troops were said to have conducted patrols close to the border later in the day.
Hizbullah has for years been claiming to find various forms of "listening" or "spying" devices on Lebanese soil.
The IDF Spokesman Office said it was "looking into" Sunday's claims.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2009 00:00 ||
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The Iranian armed forces have accused the United States and Britain of involvement in a suicide bombing that targeted the Islamic Republic's Revolutionary Guard on Sunday, and warned of revenge.
The headquarters of the armed forces blamed the bombing on "terrorists" backed by "the Great Satan America and its ally Britain".
"Not in the distant future we (Iran) will take revenge ... and Baluchis will clear this region from terrorists and criminals," Fars quoted a statement as saying, referring to the inhabitants of Sistan-Baluchestan province, where the attack took place.
Both the U.S. and Britain condemned the attack on Sunday and denied any involvement.
"We condemn this act of terrorism and mourn the loss of innocent lives. Reports of alleged US involvement are completely false," said State Department Spokesman Ian Kelly.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad earlier in the day vowed to strike back at the "criminals" behind the suicide bombing.
"The criminals will soon get the response for their anti-human crimes," IRNA quoted Ahmadinejad as saying. The Iranian leader also accused unspecified foreigners of involvement.
At least 35 people were killed in the attack including five senior commanders of the Guard, the country's official news agency reported.
Earlier Sunday, a Sunni rebel group claimed responsibility for the attack, Iranian state television said.
"Rigi's terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the attack," it said, referring to Abdolmalek Rigi, leader of Jundollah (God's soldiers).
The group, which has waged a low-level insurgency in recent years, accuses Iran's mostly Shi'ite government of persecution and has carried out attacks against the Revolutionary Guard and Shi'ite targets in southeastern Iran.
Meanwhile, Iranian state television cited informed sources as saying Britain was directly involved in the suicide attack.
The Guards had earlier blamed "foreign elements" linked to the United States for the attack in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan.
The attack and the allegations of foreign involvement are likely to raise tension between Iran and the West, a day before nuclear talks in Vienna including Iranian, U.S., French and Russian officials.
"Some informed sources said the British government was directly involved in the terrorist attack ... by organizing, supplying equipment and employing professional terrorists," Iranian state television said.
The television report said analysts believed the aim of the attack was to "re-direct" parts of the West's problems in Afghanistan across the border to Iran.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
Yeah, whatever. It had to be the Jooooooooooos or US. Iran has no other enemies.
#4
We can only hope that our intelligence sources in Iran are good enough to allow us to pull this thing off.
Obviously SOMEONE'S intel is pretty good.
Too bad it required a suicide boomer to do this. I would have prefered something more subtle, like a B-2 bomber load of explosives....just to let Achmenutjob that we are listening.
Posted by: James Carville ||
10/19/2009 17:18 Comments ||
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#5
Just to remind Rantburgers the Islamic world view the UK in the same boat as the US before people slag of the UK and its committment to the WOT in Iraq and Afghanistan! We are your closest ally which some people on this site forget easily!
Posted by: EX PARA ||
10/19/2009 20:10 Comments ||
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#6
Ex Para - our slagging on the UK is directed at the politicians "leaders" who have been busy running your country into the ground ever since Maggie Thatcher, not the ordinary citizens of the UK.
Just like we slag on our own worthless politicians who are presently running our country into the ground as fast as they can. :-(
May they all burn in hell.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
10/19/2009 20:18 Comments ||
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#7
Just to remind Rantburgers the Islamic world view the UK in the same boat as the US
Truly, EX-PARA. And all the rest of the upstart kaffirs who dare resist the establishment of the world-wide caliphate headed by Al Qaeda or the Deobandis of Pakistan or the Twelvers of Iran or... Welcome! I look forward to hearing what you have to say about all the things I only know about from reading. :-)
[Iran Press TV Latest] A deadly suicide attack by a Pakistan-based terrorist group has prompted a top commander to pledge a crushing response while President Ahmadinejad presses Islamabad on the issue.
During a unity conference between Sunni and Shia tribal leaders in the borderline city of Pishin in Sistan-Baluchistan on Sunday, a suicide bomber blew himself up, killing at least 42 people, including raking commanders of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).
The commander of the IRGC's ground force, General Mohammad Pakpour, said the perpetrators will be dealt a crushing response.
President Ahmadinejad reacted to the attack and demanded Pakistan eradicate the terrorist group Jundullah, which has taken responsibility for the bombing.
"We have heard that certain officials in Pakistan cooperate with main agents of these terrorist attacks in eastern parts of the country. It is our right to ask (for extradition) of criminals," Ahmadinejad said after a Cabinet session on Sunday night.
"Those who carry out such brutal attacks are unhappy with boosting confidence and coherence among Iranian officials and people."
Earlier, Iran's Foreign Ministry summoned Pakistan's charge d'affaires to protest against the terrorists' use of Pakistani soil to conduct activities against the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/19/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
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.
Down a rutted street in a quiet suburb of south Kabul lives a man the CIA once locked in a cage for months as an enemy combatant. 
[Quqnoos] At least 13 prisoners fled from a prison in the northern Afghan province of Balkh on Saturday, officials said The detainees escaped overnight in a prison-break in the remote district of Nahr-e Shahi, the head of Balkh prison, Ghulam Usman Tarin, told reporters. "The prisoners -- all of them criminals -- holed a wall of the district prison and ran-away," Mr Tarin added. 
France's defence minister on Sunday pledged his country's support to the development of the Seychelles' judiciary, ill-adapted to dealing with suspected Somali pirates captured in its waters.
(Bloomberg) -- Two suspected al-Qaeda militants killed in a gunfight in Saudi Arabia this week were planning to stage a terrorist attack, the Interior Ministry said. 
South Korea will consider resuming humanitarian aid to impoverished North Korea but it has ruled out assistance on the large scale of previous, more liberal administrations, a senior official said Sunday.
[Geo News] US Senator John Kerry has arrived in Islamabad, Geo News reported Sunday.
[Al Arabiya Latest] A large Israeli cafe chain has decided to stop selling Turkish coffee and plans are afoot to boycott Turkish resorts in the wake of increased tensions between the two nations, officials said Sunday.
After Jundallah terrorist ring carried out a bloody attack in southeastern Iran, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev expressed readiness to help Iran fight "terrorism". 
VIENNA -- Iran signaled ahead of international talks Monday that it will not meet Western demands for a deal that would move most of its enriched uranium out of the country and delay its gaining the ability to make a nuclear bomb.
