Robert Blackwill, who was Condolezza Rice's deputy as National Security Adviser in 2003 to 2004, will use a speech at the International Institute of Strategic Studies think tank in London on Monday to call on President Barack Obama to make drastratic changes in the war's objectives. He told The Daily Telegraph that the surge of forces launched last year to stabilise Afghanistan was "high likely" to fail and that the death toll in the conflict was too high a price to pay.
"The Taliban are winning, we are losing," he said. "They have high morale and want to continue the insurgency. Plan A is going to fail. We need a Plan B
"Let the Taliban control the Pashtun south and east, the American and allied price for preventing that is far too high."
I'm sympathetic to a point. However, Mr. Blackwell ignores two important problems with his position:
First, that the Taliban would somehow limit themselves to a 'Pashtunistan', preferring instead a 'Greater Pashtunistan'. After all, the Talibunnies tried to seize the whole country in the civil war of the 1990s. Why wouldn't they try again?
Second, that a majority of the Pashtuns want the Taliban ruling them. That's certainly not true. When we've talked about walling off Pashtunistan in the past (fence, moats, crocodiles, sharks with frickin' lasers on their heads, etc) it was in the guise of a Pashtun people ruled by their crazy elders -- crazy but not genocidal. The Taliban are so extreme that a majority of Pashtuns don't want them. That ought to count for something.
Mr Blackwill said that there had been a decade of "innumerable errors" in the Western approach to Afghanistan. Most notably American policy shifted after the atttacks on September 11, 2001 from expelling al Qaeda from its Afghan sanctuaries to crushing the Taliban and installing a democratic government in Kabul.
The result was that America now had 1,000 soldiers deployed for every one of the estimated 100 al Qaeda operatives now believed to be based in Afghanistan and was hemorraging $100 billion a year on the conflict.
Except that the real problem for Afghanistan are the Afghan Taliban groups, who are considerably more numerous than the few Al Qaeda operatives based in Afghanistan. Also, the Afghan Talibs are based in Pakistan, just like their Pakistan Taliban comrades in arms. Finally, I'm not sure US$100 billion/year is a lot to pay to keep the fight over there instead of planting IEDs along Highway 1. It may not seem fair to the Afghans, of course, but really they could be considered Patient Zero of this little pandemic.
Mr Blackwill believes the US should only seek to defend those areas dominated by Afghanistan's Tajik, Uzbek and Hazara minorities by pulling out of bases in the south. By accepting that the Taliban would overrun Kandahar and other big population centres, the US would threaten the Taliban only if it allowed al Qa'eda to reform or if the movement started to encroach northwards.
What if they only cut noses off women? What if they only enslaved women? What if they only killed religious minorities?
That would then be their problem. But the Taliban have been coordinating with other terror groups to cross-train and export terror around the world. This is not merely a local problem that can be walled off. Not, at any rate, so long as Pakistan has international airports, and cell phone and internet access.
"How many people really believe that Kandahar is central to Western civilisation. We did not got to Afghanistan to control Kandahar," he said. "Our preference at the time of the attack was for the Taliban to give up al Qaeda not to change the regime.
True. But they didn't, and so we had to adjust our preferences to accommodate independent reality
.Mr Obama himself and the administration say what we are trying to do in Afghanistan is to destroy al Qaeda."
The problem in that line of reasoning for Mr. Blackwell is that a Taliban-ruled Pashtunistan would almost certainly allow al-Qaeda free rein. It would serve as a base to destabilize the Sindh, Balochi and Punjabi regions of Pakistan. It would train terrorists to attack India -- and perhaps the U.S. That's what they did before; that's what they'd do again.
Since when is what President Obama claims to want a valid measure of what is wise and prudent?
Alongside misdirected strategy, the "utter corruption" of the government of President Hamid Karzai had eclipsed Nato's hopes to keeping the Taliban at bay after its defeat in late 2001.
Karzai's certainly corrupt -- if Mr. Blackwell would please identify an honest and yet influential man in Afghanistan, we'd be happy to work with said person.
In contrast to Mr Blackwill's view that Afghanistan's army and police could not be made ready to control the whole country, Liam Fox, the Defence Secretary, said the forces would assume responsibility by 2015.
"If we were to leave before 2015, a point at which on current progress we expect to have achieved our security aims, it would be a shot in the arm to violent jihadists everywhere, re-energising violent radical and extremist Islamists," he said. "It would send a signal that we did not have the moral resolve and the political fortitude to see through what we ourselves have described as national security imperative."
There is most certainly that.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/15/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
FWIIW, I'd make Dostum president. I'm confident he would manage to create a Lesser Pashtunistan.
[Dawn] Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Blinky Omar is based in Pakistain and everyone knows it, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Tuesday, calling on Islamabad to do more to help end the conflict.
"It's not a secret for anyone, everyone knows that Mullah Omar is in Quetta, if he's not now in Karachi," Kouchner told French lawmakers, referring to two major Pak cities known to harbour Islamic myrmidon cells.
"Taliban leaders have been given shelter in Pakistain. I'm not revealing anything," Kouchner said, telling parliament's foreign relations committee why Afghanistan has called on Pakistain to help negotiate a peace deal.
This is why we usually have the diplomatic corps speak for the country. They generally manage not to actually say things like this, which so annoy the recipients. It is awfully refreshing when it happens, though, and one can hope something salutary will result.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/15/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
It's a stare down, France and the Taliban. Who will blink first?
[Al Arabiya] The United Nations, aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society warned that the Somalia Orcs and similar vermin Shabaab are a serious international security threat, as it made a new appeal Monday for the nation's transitional government to end its squabbling.
Somalia will be in the U.N. spotlight with a debate on the strife-torn African country at the Security Council on Thursday and a top level ministerial meeting on the conflict at the UN General Assembly summit next week.
In a report to the Security Council, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said that "horrific" suicide bomb attacks by followers of the al-Qaeda inspired turban group in Uganda in July had shown the growing threat from al-Shabaab.
Seventy-six people were killed and Ban said: "The attacks demonstrated that al-Shabaab remains a serious security threat for Somalia, the sub-region and the wider international community."
Twenty years of civil war has brought Somalia virtually to its knees but the rise of Shabaab is a growing concern for Western nations, on top of the pirates operating out of Somalia harbors.
Some 7,200 troops in a poorly equipped African Union mission (AMISOM) are all that stops Shabaab taking over the Somali capital. With thousands reported dead in Mogadishu this year, the U.N. report said the city's "already weak health services are struggling to cope with casualties."
Posted by: Fred ||
09/15/2010 00:00 ||
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Another authority speaks out against terror-group jihads. If they are correct, an awful lot of people are already having their intestines roasted in Hell instead of playing with doe-eyed houris.
[Ennahar] Replying to a question on his website, Sheikh Ferkous considers illegal jihad in Algeria. We can not talk of jihad on Islamic land if the mujahideen are not under the authority and responsibility of the country.
For Sheikh Ferkous, the various jihadi groups have no legality if they are not under the authority of leaders and rulers of the country, citing El Ajeri who warned of Khawaridj currents.
Does Hamas count as a government or a jihadi group? What about Hizb'allah in Lebanon, sworn to Iran's mullahcracy? Or the Afghan Taliban, in the service of Pakistan's ISI? Requiring a responsible governmental authority raises all sorts of interesting questions.
Jihad, he says, is broader than the fight because it involves the physical sacrifice, the sacrifice of property and all we possess. Fight the disbelievers requires that conditions be met, faith, and material resources under the authority of a guardian (the leaders). For Sheikh Ferkous, not respecting the authority of leadership is the cause of serious conflicts between Mohammedans. The result: bloodshed, loss of rights and loss of stability and security in the country.
That is why Mohammedans are weak and have become a prey to all their enemies.
Part of the reason, anyway. Another part is that too many of them enjoy beautiful boys with faces like pearls.
Mohammedans, according to Sheikh Ferkous, must ensure to stick together behind their governments to whom they must devote respect and obedience and that, in order to preserve stability and security of the nation.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/15/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Mohammedans, according to Sheikh Ferkous, must ensure to stick together behind their governments to whom they must devote respect and obedience and that, in order to preserve stability and security of the nation.
Would be good if true. However, there are some 80 million radicalized muslims out there who want to impose sharia law in the country where they live by terror and stealth. There may be more who are sympathizers who are considered 'moderate." One must keep in mind that sharia law is a religious-political-legal-economic system. There is no separation between church and state.
#3
Meh, the takfiris *know* this, that's why they follow people they call "emir", to establish a "ruler" for the purposes of jihad. They've rhetorically delegitimized the established sovereign and are following their own alternative authority.
Of course, this cuts off the tourist-jihadi ghazi trade, but are they that much of a factor in Algeria? I'd think this point would be more useful in, say, Iraq or Afghanistan.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
09/15/2010 11:10 Comments ||
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#4
FTA: We can not talk of jihad on Islamic land if the mujahideen are not under the authority and responsibility of the country.
So, Non-Islam lands are still fair game. Us in other words....
Financial strength of hard boy organisation Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh has been a grave concern for law enforcement agencies as the banned outfit is reportedly getting more than Tk 50 lakh a month from local and foreign sources.
JMB's activities have lately appeared on the wane following the arrest of its top brass, including its chief Moulana Saidur Rahman, and explosives experts.
But law enforcers involved with anti-militancy drives believe its network of financial support survives intact. The flow of fund in the form of supporters' monthly contributions, Zakat and donation apparently remains uninterrupted.
The officers, however, could not say who handles the funds after the arrest of Saidur in May. The JMB chief himself was in charge of its finance division.
Of their monthly earning, around Tk 6 lakh is being sent by around 3,000 JMB supporters staying in Australia, England, Italy, Canada, Malaysia and middle-east countries, according to a statement made by Saidur at Taskforce for Interrogation cell recently.
They send cash to their families mainly via people including friends and relatives. A portion of the money goes to JMB fund.
Most of the 3,000 sympathisers belong to Ahle Hadith community, a top detective branch official quoted Saidur as saying.
Saidur also claimed to have received 18,000 British pounds and 1,500 US dollars -- equivalent to around Tk 20 to 22 lakh -- at the end of 2008 and early 2009 from a person named Ahmed.
Investigators could not say any further about Ahmed, as JMB never uses real name or identity.
Saidur also said Mamun, a person who was involved in fake currency business in India, had been donating Tk 50,000 every month to JMB fund until he was jugged.
The Daily Star obtained a copy of Saidur's statement.
Saidur, also the former ameer of Habiganj district Jamaat-e-Islami, disclosed JMB gets cash around Tk 50 to Tk 60 lakh in Ramadan.
In Bangla month of Baishakh they also get around Tk 10 lakh mainly from North Bengal in the form of Zakat and Ushr (a portion of harvested crop given as donation).
The statement also reads the highest earning by a unit (comprising several villages) is Tk 10 to 12 thousand, by a upazila unit Tk 50,000, a district unit Tk 2 lakh and a divisional unit Tk 5 to 6 lakh.
An Esher (full-time) member is put in charge of each of the financial units.
Money collected from members' monthly contribution and other sources is first deposited to the unit chief. After meeting the unit's expenditure he sends the surplus to the organisation's upazila level.
Thus money flows through different tiers -- village, upazila, district and division. Finally, if there is any left over, it goes to the finance division head.
Saidur as the finance division boss was accountable to four Majlish-e-Sura (highest decision-making body) members.
Moreover, the outfit earns around Tk 50,000 from the organisations' Taxicabs, CNG-run three wheelers, vans and rickshaws.
JMB members used to operate those vehicles with two objectives -- to disguise as part of the masses and to get used to tough job.
Security and Defence analyst Prof Imtiaz Ahmed of Dhaka University International Relations department stressed the need for a big investment in research on militancy as hard boys, who earlier used different channels and money laundering to send money, are exploring new systems to get the job done.
Lt Col Ziaul Ahsan, director of Rab's intelligence wing, said the militancy funding is really a concern for them as they usually don't know how gun-hung tough guys are getting or spending the money.
Contacted, Inspector General of Police Hassan Mahmood Khandker said they were inquiring into the matter.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/15/2010 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] The French parliament passed a law Tuesday prohibiting wearing a full-face veil in public, meaning a ban will come into force early next year if it is not overturned by senior judges.
The Senate passed the bill by 246 votes to one and, having already cleared the lower house in July, the bill will now be reviewed by the Constitutional Council, which has a month to confirm its legality.
The text makes no mention of Islam, but President Nicolas Sarkozy's government promoted the law as a means to protect women from being forced to wear Muslim full-face veils such as the burqa or the niqab.
Once in force, the law provides for a six-month period of "education" to explain to women already wearing a face veil that they face arrest and a fine if they continue to do so in any public space.
A woman who chooses to defy the ban will receive a fine of 150 euros (195 dollars) or a course of citizenship lessons. A man who forces a woman to go veiled will be fined 30,000 euros and serve a jail term.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/15/2010 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press] Turkey's Kurdish militants have demanded a system similar to Spain's Catalonia, promising to lay down arms if considerable autonomy is granted.
The Spanish model "is the one we are looking for," the leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), Murat Karayilan, said in a Sunday interview with the Spanish newspaper El Mundo, AFP reported.
He further pointed out that if his demand is met, the PKK would hand over its weapons to the United Nations.
"If we obtain Catalonia (style) autonomy, we would lay down our weapons and hand them over to the United Nations," Karayilan went on to say.
The PKK leader was referring to the independent police and parliament of the Spanish autonomous community.
The PKK signed a ceasefire agreement in mid-August which is due to expire on September 20. Kurdish armed conflict with the Turkish government has claimed around 45,000 lives so far.
The news comes at a time when Turkish voters have firmly supported constitutional amendments proposed by the country's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The package of 26 reforms will curb the military's power and could boost the country's bid to join the European Union.
It includes measures to increase the rights of individuals and workers and to curb the power of the military, which has staged several coups in recent decades.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/15/2010 00:00 ||
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[wsj] DETROIT - The Nigerian man charged with trying to blow up a bomb aboard a jetliner on Christmas Day fired his attorneys Monday, saying he wished to represent himself and indicating he might plead guilty.
Prosecutors accused Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the 23-year-old son of one of Nigeria's richest men, of detonating an explosive device in his underwear on a Dec. 25 flight from Amsterdam to Detroit. He faces six counts including the attempted murder of the 278 remaining passengers and 11 crew members.
Monday's hearing for Mr. Abdulmutallab in U.S. District Court in Detroit was supposed to be a routine matter to schedule his upcoming trial. Monday's hearing was the first time Mr. Abdulmutallab had appeared in federal court since Jan. 8. He is being held at a federal prison in Michigan while awaiting trial. No trial date has been set.
#2
What happens at the end of 10 years? How will one know when we are done with the place? Will they be civilized? Taliban ousted? Pacified? AQ killed off? We roll through the cities and level them? There is a non-corrupt leader in Afghanistan? It has become a vacation paradise?
#3
At the end of 10 years, the American and Afghan publics will be sick and tired of the corrupt and ineffectual government of Afghanistan, and someone like Dostum will get elected President, with a mandate to make the Pashtun problem go away -- by whatever means.
[Iran Press] Iran's envoy to Storied Baghdad has stressed that Tehran backs the swift formation of a new government in Iraq, dismissing allegations of Iranian interference in the war-torn country.
"The formation of a government in Iraq is an internal affair and we are not meddling in it. We hope that the new Iraqi government is formed as soon as possible," Mehr News Agency quoted Hassan Danaifar as saying on Tuesday.
"Iran has no red lines over the ascension of al-Iraqiya alliance leader Ayad Allawi to the post of prime minister," he added. "Iran does not object to the formation of a government in Iraq, but supports it."
Since the Iraqi elections in March, Allawi has repeatedly accused Iran of meddling in the country's political impasse over the nomination of a new premier.
In an interview with Der Spiegel last August, Allawi said above all other foreign powers he believes Iran wielded the most influence in Iraq.
"I am even sure that they have a red line and a veto on me," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/15/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Interference in Iraq
versus
* TOPIX > CHINA DAILY OpEd > [China-Japan]DAOYUS DISPUTE SOWED BY US, back in 1978 = 40 years ago.
(Ma'an) -- A senior commander of Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,' armed wing the Al-Qassam Brigades vowed Tuesday to "continue the path of resistance against the occupation until victory."
"With the power of faith, weapons and missiles, tunnels and commandos we will achieve victory for Paleostine and we'll end the occupation in Gazoo too," Ahmed Al-Jabari said.
Denouncing the latest round of direct negotiations hosted by Egypt, Al-Jabari said in a statement published on the Al-Qassam website that Israel should "only be treated with weapons and battle."
Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has accused Hamas of carrying out two deadly shooting attacks in the West Bank, in which four Israeli settlers were killed, in a bid to stay the progress of negotiations.
"What happened tonight in Hebron was timed to coincide with the PLO's efforts toward conducting credible negotiations to end the occupation and achieve freedom and independence for our people," Fayyad said.
The Al-Qassam Brigades grabbed credit for that attack and another near Ramallah.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/15/2010 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press] Iranian Parliament (Majlis) Speaker Ali Larijani has called for the creation of a new international charter to prevent the desecration of all divine religions.
"Pay attention to meeeeeee!"
In a letter to parliament speakers of the world, Larijani condemned the recent desecration of the Koran in the US and called on the International Organization of Parliaments (IPU) to facilitate the creation of the charter.
"Today people with extremist and dangerous thoughts have created challenges through their anti-Islamic words and actions such as the publication of the Satanic Verses, the blasphemous Danish cartoons [of Prophet Mohammad (PTUI!)], films such as Fitna and Surrender, and now their recent desecration of the Mohammedan holy book," read the letter carried by ISNA.
Controversial lawmaker Geert Wilders produced a 14-minute film called Fitna (ordeal) designed to instigate Islamophobia and hatred towards Islam.
Because quoting the Koran and showing actions inspired by those words instigates fear and hatred of Islam? Why is that so, d'you suppose?
Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard published blasphemous cartoons of Islam's Prophet Mohammad (PTUI!). The cartoons were first published on September 30, 2005 in Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, and reprinted repeatedly in newspapers in over 50, mostly Western, countries.
The moves were all met with fierce criticism from the international community. In many countries, including Iran, massive demonstrations were held to condemn the move.
You'll notice that the world does not care about such demonstrations in Iran, no matter how massive. So sorry.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/15/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Try this Mr. Speaker:
"You shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."
[An Nahar] MP Nadim Gemayel on Tuesday held Syria responsible for the assassination of his father, former president Bashir Gemayel, Druze leader Kamal Jumblat, former president Rene Mouawwad and former premier Rafik Hariri.
"The realization of Syria's dominance required the murder of Bashir Gemayel, Kamal Jumblat, Rene Mouawwad and Rafik Hariri, and we hold it responsible for all these murders," Gemayel said in a speech on the occasion of the 28th anniversary of the assassination of former president Bashir Gemayel.
"Our dispute with Syria begins and it will remain with the persistence of the Syrian scheme to dominate Leb."
"Bashir established a State even before he assumed power," the young MP told the cheering crowd that gathered in the external yard of the Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Church in Ashrafieh after the annual mass commemorating slain president Gemayel.
Maronite Archbishop of Beirut Boulos Matar, who was representing Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir, presided over the mass which was attended by the representatives of the three heads of state, Phalange Party cadres, a Lebanese Forces delegation and several ministers and MPs.
"Hizbullah must yield to the sole authority of the State, because it has chosen the State of war while the Lebanese have chosen the State of peace."
"We believe that the rights of the Christians cannot be achieved outside the framework of the State and the Christians are the pioneers of the renaissance," Gemayel added.
"Hizbullah must yield to the sole authority of the State, because it has chosen the State of war while the Lebanese have chosen the State of peace."
Gemayel warned that "the Lebanese entity is facing the test of unity, although the national decision is under foreign influence."
"We have always been with 'Leb First', and let no one try to give us lessons in patriotism," he said.
Gemayel condemned the "campaign against the Phalange Party" over the latest stances of its central committee coordinator, MP Sami Gemayel, on accepting weapons from Israel during the civil war period.
Gemayel stressed that when Leb is in danger, "all criterions and standards become irrelevant."
"Is defending Iran with Israeli weapons during its war with Iraq in 1985 an acceptable thing? Were the rulers of Iran traitors when they defended Iran with Israeli weapons? And was (the late founder of the Islamic republic of Iran) Imam (Ruhollah) Khomeini a collaborator?"
"Phalange Party is proud of its heroic history," Gemayel stressed.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/15/2010 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Head of the Counter-Terrorism Bureau in Israel, Brigadier-General Nitzan Nuriel, said Hizbullah owns drones and long-range missiles.
"Hizbullah has weapons that are not found in Europe," Nuriel said during a lecture at the annual conference of counter-terrorism in Herzliya, a city located on the central coast of Israel.
"Hizbullah has unmanned drones and missiles with a range of more than 300 km and so is the case of Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, in Gazoo," Nuriel added.
"There is a strong relationship between global terrorist organizations and terrorism taking place in Israel," he said.
Nuriel said terrorist organizations continue to get support and military assistance from countries like Syria.
"Today, terrorist organizations have capabilities equal to States," he added.
"If we are to fight terrorism, this requires an international will to combat the State which funds and supports terrorist organizations," Nuriel believed.
He said there are government sides in Syria which provides Hizbullah and Hamas with rockets.
"These sides are working hard to provide rockets for these organizations, and for this we send a clear message to Syria: next time you transfer missiles we will respond by destroying this government side," Nuriel warned.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/15/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
RPVs are very low tech (see you local hobby store). But it's a big leap to have one that carries a camera/payload and can put it on a specific target. /2cents
[An Nahar] Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hizbullah, criticized on Tuesday the Police Intelligence Bureau and General Prosecution calling them an "armed gang" demanding citizens not to obey them.
He stressed that the intelligence bureau does not abide by the laws, wondering who it answers to and who monitors its budget.
The MP said after the movement's weekly meeting: "Talk of a state is a big lie because this is a failed state and there are great efforts to destroy it."
Addressing former Genereal Security chief Jamil al-Sayyed's recent positions regarding the investigation in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, Aoun demanded that House Speaker Nabih Knobby Berri, the Hizbullah sock puppet form a parliamentary investigation committee to investigate with General Prosecutor Saeed Mirza, Internal Security Forces chief Ashraf Rifi, and head of the Intelligence Bureau Wissam al-Hasan because they followed up on the investigation in the crime.
He said that Sayyed can stand trial before the committee along with those he accused in order to reach solutions in the false witnesses file in Hariri's assassination.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/15/2010 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press] The deviation of the ineffective International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) from its legal framework can put the agency's credibility in jeopardy, says a senior Iranian lawmaker.
Spokesman for the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Kazem Jalali said on Monday that the involvement of the IAEA in politics and deviation from its legal framework can inflict serious damage on its function and credibility.
"A technical organization such as the IAEA should act based on legal perceptions, but unfortunately its track record has been negative so far," ISNA quoted Jalali as saying.
The Islamic Theocratic Republic says it has been fully cooperative with the IAEA, rejecting claims which question Iran's cooperation with the agency.
Iran has been critical of the UN agency for making its nuclear case political by passing its dossier to the UN Security Council (UNSC).
Tehran says the UN agency's latest report on Iran's nuclear program has been politically motivated.
The Islamic Theocratic Republic, however, argues that it will continue its cooperation with the IAEA in accordance with the signed agreements and not beyond that.
Iran rejects the US and the West's allegations that its nuclear program harbors a secret military program, insisting that it is entitled to benefit from peaceful and civilian nuclear energy.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/15/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Iran is like 1939 Germany, only much more dangerous.
Ayman al-Zawahiri has released an audio tape recording today blaming the US for the response to the recent floods in Pakistan. He also said the Pakistani government, which he called loyal to Washington, was to blame for the devastation caused by the massive floods which have uprooted millions.
"The primary concern of the ruling class in the government and army of Pakistan is filling their domestic and foreign bank accounts with dollars, and as far as they are concerned, Pakistan and its people can go to hell," the voice in the recording said.
He said that Washington was preventing al-Qaida and its allies from helping those in need, and threatened warned Pakistanis to be careful about receiving assistance from NATO. The al-Qaida leader then said that NATO soldiers had disgraced the Koran and insulted Mohammed.
He also mocked his own country's upcoming parliamentary election, saying Egypt's vote was a "game." He called for a jihad against the governments of Pakistan and Egypt in specific. He also urged Muslims around the world to overthrow their secular governments.
Zawahiri says that the past nine years have made clear that there are two orientations for Muslims: the path of jihad, and the path of surrender and defeat. The latter, he said, is exemplified by Mohamed ElBaradei, the former director of the IAEA, who has been calling for reform in Egypt.
#1
The primary concern of the ruling class in the government and army of Pakistan is filling their domestic and foreign bank accounts with dollars, and as far as they are concerned, Pakistan and its people can go to hell," the voice in the recording said.
What really peaks my interest in Ayman's new Video is that he doesn't describe or refer to BFF OSAMA, i.e. OBL's general state of health nowadays; + once again how zombie ABU-MUSAB ZARQHAWI [NET > Zark = Zarkey] was able to get himself killed back in 2006 but later seemingly founded the ETIP = East Turkestan Islamic MOvement [UIGHURS > West China/Xinjiang]???
#1
So, to recap: From 2006 to 2008, [practicing Mohammedan] R. Leslie Deak worked as a "business consultant" to this super-secretive security contractor with ties to the CIA and counterterrorism forces, and in those same three years he also donated nearly $100,000 in seed money to the foundation now advocating the construction of the so-called Ground Zero Mosque.
Interestingly, during the same three-year period during which the Deak Family Foundation was financing the Cordoba Initiative, Deak also donated a total of $101,247 to something called the National Defense University Foundation. The National Defense University is a network of war and strategy colleges and research centers (including the National War College) funded by the Pentagon, designed to train specialists in military strategy. The organization recently announced a November 5 dinner gala in honor of Defense Secretary and former CIA chief Robert Gates.
Quite the story. Are Deak's government-related dealings a false front for espionage? Inquiring minds want to know.
#2
The author does raise the question: Coincidence or conspiracy? All the linkages among people and organizations in the article make my head hurt and spin.
#3
Anguter Clomong5459, I'm clearly very slow today (we moved trailing daughter #2 into her college dorm today, so I've not been thinking about Rantburg things). I just realized you called it the Ground Zero rabbat, not the Ground Zero mosque. A very important point, that. Well done!
#4
From 2006 to 2008 he was a business development guy. The big hook on General Brown et all were not part of that company then. He was still SOCOM commander. There is a timeline push to build intrigue here. To drag somewhat high profile guys into it before they were there is disingenuous.
Posted by: 49 pan ||
09/15/2010 22:48 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.
Ayman al-Zawahiri has released an audio tape recording today blaming the US for the response to the recent floods in Pakistan. He also said the Pakistani government, which he called loyal to Washington, was to blame for the devastation caused by the massive floods which have uprooted millions.
