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President of Yemen returns home
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Afghanistan
Chaotic crowds lay Rabbani to rest in Kabul
Is there any other kind of crowd in that land?
Thousands of mourners buried slain Afghan peace broker Burhanuddin Rabbani on Friday, in riotous scenes that undermined calls from President Karzai to pursue reconciliation with the Taliban.

Angry Rabbani supporters threw rocks at government vehicles at the burial site, and chanted "Death to America, death to Pakistan, death to Karzai" before being broken up by guards who fired warning shots into the air.

As he was buried on top of a hill overlooking Kabul, a crowd of thousands jostled around the coffin waving black flags and placards and continuing to shout slogans alleging a range of conspiracies about the assassination.

Kabul police deployed thousands of extra policemen as part of a lockdown meant to prevent further spectacular insurgent attacks in the city following Rabbani's death and last week's 19-hour attack on the US embassy.

The chaos at the burial site contrasted with the quiet atmosphere at the heavily fortified presidential palace where hundreds of diplomats and officials filed past the body as it lay in state. The president, who did not attend the burial, said Tuesday's murder would not derail efforts to reach out to insurgents.

Karzai said, "The blood of the martyred (Rabbani) and other martyrs of freedom requires us to continue our efforts until we reach peace and stability. We will continue our efforts to reach peace which was the wish of martyred ustad (professor) but at the same time, we consider it as our responsibility to fight the enemies of peace with determination."

At the burial, Rabbani's supporters called for revenge. Enayatullah, a Tajik university student, said: "We are all grieving, people here have lost a great leader. We vow to take the revenge for Burhanuddin Rabbani. We also demand that the government detain those behind the killing.

"We want those who organised this meeting (Rabbani's ultimately fatal meeting with the turban bomber) to be put on trial, even if they are members of the High Peace Council."

Several thousand extra officers were deployed "on the highest state of alert" for the funeral, with the army and intelligence service also on standby. Police, some in armoured vehicles, and intelligence agents lined the streets and a large security cordon was in place in the area near Rabbani's home, where cars were banned and pedestrians were searched.
Posted by: ryuge || 09/23/2011 06:22 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "Death to America, death to Pakistan, death to Karzai"

Remind me why we are spending $100 billion/year on that crap hole?
Posted by: Eohippus Phater7165 || 09/23/2011 8:38 Comments || Top||

#2  Should only be death to Pakistan surely?
Posted by: Paul D || 09/23/2011 14:06 Comments || Top||


Africa North
Not so dead after all .....
The first film footage of the adopted daughter of Col Gaddafi of Libya, who he claimed had been killed in an American bombing raid in 1986, is published today by The Daily Telegraph.

The footage, part of a remarkable series of clips of the Gaddafi family at play while on a camping holiday outside Tripoli in the late 1980s, shows Hana Gaddafi kicking a football and being cuddled by her father.

It was filmed around three years after the raid on the Bab al-Azizia compound in Tripoli which Col Gaddafi claimed had killed the young Hana. On the video, other members of the family can be clearly heard calling her by her name.

The girl in the footage also resembles photographs of an adult woman named Hana Gaddafi whose educational certificates were found in a bedroom in the compound after the fall of the Gaddafi regime.
video at the link
Posted by: lotp || 09/23/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  31 Years ago, needs salt.
Posted by: Redneck Jim || 09/23/2011 18:51 Comments || Top||


Arabia
President of Yemen returns home
President Ali Abdullah Saleh has returned to the country three months after surviving an assassination attempt, according to Yemeni state television. He went to Saudi Arabia in June for treatment after a bomb attack on the grounds of the presidential palace.

Saleh, who's held power for more than 30 years, has refused calls for his resignation. Clashes have continued in the capital, Sanaa, between government troops and opposition forces. More than 80 people, the majority unarmed protesters, have died since Sunday.

Hopes are fading of a lasting ceasefire between the sides. On Tuesday, the government agreed to a truce after negotiations with Western envoys. But the ceasefire broke down hours later and at least three people were reportedly killed by sniper fire and shelling on Wednesday.
Posted by: ryuge || 09/23/2011 01:17 || Comments || Link || [14 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Here I thought he was as good as dead.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 09/23/2011 1:57 Comments || Top||

#2  And the implications of his return.
Posted by: newc || 09/23/2011 20:08 Comments || Top||


China-Japan-Koreas
2 Koreas Fail to Make Progress in Nuclear Arms Talks
South Korea's chief nuclear negotiator Wi Sung-lac met with North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho in Beijing on Wednesday for a second round of talks about the north’s nuclear program. The two last met in Bali, Indonesia on July 22.

But three hours of talks at an exclusive private members' club produced no results. The North Koreans merely repeated previous statements calling for unconditional resumption of six-party nuclear disarmament talks, according to a South Korean government official said. They said the six-party talks would allow "all parties to discuss all issues," including the North's uranium enrichment program.

Officials in Seoul nonetheless claimed the latest talks were not necessarily a failure. Although they produced no tangible results, the two sides were able to "remove some misunderstanding between them," one official said, and if the dialogue continues, it may be possible to resume the six-party talks at some stage.
Posted by: Steve White || 09/23/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Home Front: WoT
Dupe URL: FBI informant says Triangle terrorist cell leader intent on jihad
An FBI informant testified Wednesday that the man accused of heading up a terrorist cell in the Triangle routinely spoke about waging a holy war.

The informant, a Muslim of Moroccan descent who goes by the code name "Jawbreaker," told a federal jury in New Bern that he got so close to Daniel Patrick Boyd that he was with him at the time of his arrest in July 2009.

Boyd pleaded guilty in February to charges of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and conspiracy to murder, kidnap, maim and injure persons in a foreign country. He is expected to be a key witness in the trial of three other men charged in the case.

Mohammad Omar Aly Hassan, Ziyad Yaghi and Hysen Sherifi face multiple felony charges related to allegations they conspired to attack targets overseas. Sherifi also is accused of plotting an attack on the Marine base in Quantico, Va.

A federal indictment unsealed in 2009 alleges that eight Triangle men raised money to buy assault weapons and conduct training exercises and that they arranged overseas travel and contacts to help others carry out violent acts on behalf of a radical jihadist political agenda.

In audio recordings of conversations between Boyd and Jawbreaker that were played in court, Boyd talked about his intentions to attack Quantico. He spoke of how easy it would be to get on the base because it's also a city.

"I did some preliminary reconnaissance, and what I saw was amazing. I saw the residences of all their commanding officers," Boyd said in one recording, adding that Sherifi was in on the plan.

Jawbreaker said Boyd was intensely loyal to Afghanistan, where he traveled in 1989 to join the fight against Soviet occupation. Boyd always wanted to fight non-Muslims, the informant said.

"Every single day, it was about jihad and fighting," Jawbreaker testified.

An FBI search of Boyd's Willow Spring home in 2009 turned up about two dozen guns and more than 27,000 rounds of ammunition.
Takes a chunk of money to stockpile that much, even if you're a regular at CheaperThanDirt.com .

Boyd's biological father was a Marine Captain. Parents divorced, mom remarried a Muslim lawyer in DC, kid converted at age 17. High school girlfriend converted right before the wedding ceremony. Moved to Peshawar in 1989. Joined the Mujahadeen in Afghan to fight the infidel Soviets. Came home, started a store/worship room and began planning his next jihad adventure.
Posted by: lotp || 09/23/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


India-Pakistan
Pak FM to US: 'You will lose an ally' if accusations continue
Pakistan's foreign minister, Hina Rabbani Khar, told Geo TV on Thursday, "You will lose an ally. You cannot afford to alienate Pakistan, you cannot afford to alienate the Pakistani people. If you are choosing to do so and if they are choosing to do so it will be at their (the United States') own cost."
Remember when Obama's smart diplomacy was going to make America loved and respected around the world?
Posted by: ryuge || 09/23/2011 01:33 || Comments || Link || [9 views] Top|| File under:

#1  That said... they are not very fucking useful "allies". What with harboring binny and a shitload more lunatics and likely supporting his 911 attack. (It fits the ISI MO)
Posted by: Water Modem || 09/23/2011 2:40 Comments || Top||

#2  OK, OK, OK, WM.
How many of those H3 visas went to Paks?
We have pretty much imbedded Paks in everything that we do everyday. From Gas station/coffee shops to data services and long line telecomm.
That dude's got a point.
They can shut these services down.
Posted by: Skidmark || 09/23/2011 3:30 Comments || Top||

#3  That sounds like blackmail.India should be our partner in the region.They dont teach their kids to kill/hate infidels!
Posted by: Paul D || 09/23/2011 3:40 Comments || Top||

#4  Anyone losing sleep about losing such an ally?
Posted by: JFM || 09/23/2011 8:07 Comments || Top||

#5  I'm losing sleep about Pakistan getting away (and rich) with their sponsorship of the 911 attacks.
Posted by: Eohippus Phater7165 || 09/23/2011 8:29 Comments || Top||

#6  With allies like these....
Posted by: CrazyFool || 09/23/2011 8:52 Comments || Top||

#7  Which ally? Australia? Britain? Canada?
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 09/23/2011 8:55 Comments || Top||

#8  ..that's pretty much the trigger pulling allies in Afghanistan along with the former Eastern Block types like Poland and the Baltic states.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 09/23/2011 9:05 Comments || Top||

#9  They are the ones who need to fear losing an ally. The Chinese are not nearly so forgiving.
Posted by: Spot || 09/23/2011 9:59 Comments || Top||

#10  We should give Pakistan the cold shoulder for a year. Cut all spending into Pakistan. Cut all visas. Threaten to list them as a terrorist supporting state. Tell the truth and see what happens.
Posted by: rjschwarz || 09/23/2011 10:11 Comments || Top||

#11  Give half of pakiwakiland the Roman treatment of Carthage and then ask them nicely, "Now where were those pesky terrorists hiding?"
Posted by: Silentbrick - Halliburton Lost Drill Bit Division || 09/23/2011 10:26 Comments || Top||

#12  A hollow bluff from Pakistan, yet one aimed at the world's worst bluffer (Obama). They would not have tried this with Richard Armitage's ultimate boss.
Posted by: My two cents || 09/23/2011 10:27 Comments || Top||

#13  And you could lose a capital if you keep screwing around. SIT on the ISI, you twits.
Posted by: mojo || 09/23/2011 10:42 Comments || Top||

#14  I give them credit for reading Zero correctly. He is unwilling to be seen as losing an Muslim Nation ally in the GWOT even though they are actually an enemy. Optics and press opionion count more than fact and dead American military personnel. And in fact, the money to these POS will continue becasue Zero and Hildabeast have no actual stones or allegience to those who serve.
(oh wait, maybe she actually does, but in the literal, not figurative sense. But the allegience part is still accurate)
Posted by: NoMoreBS || 09/23/2011 13:33 Comments || Top||

#15  I'm not fan of Obama AT ALL, but he has been using the drone program pretty aggressively. And at least Mullen is now saying the obvious re: ISI and Haqanni. So those are positive steps. But they do have us over a barrel because of the supply line issue into A-stan. The sooner we leave that shit-hole, buddy up with India and cut funding to the Paks, the better.
Posted by: remoteman || 09/23/2011 14:57 Comments || Top||

#16  I say we call their bluff, leave Afghanistan (short of hundreds of thousands of troops occupying a transit corridor through Pakistan, we can't operate in Afghanistan without Pakistan's assent), declare Pakistan a terror sponsor, end aid to Pakistan and set up a total trade embargo.
Posted by: Zhang Fei || 09/23/2011 15:06 Comments || Top||

#17  Actually, in 18 months, we won't need the Pakis at all to move supplies: the Russians and the Stans are seeing to that with their roads and rail systems now. And if the Indians can clear up their rail system from the port cities up to the Afghan border, that is another route into the country of Afghanistan.
Posted by: Shieldwolf || 09/23/2011 17:43 Comments || Top||

#18  @#10 you are correct. this is the way to go.
Posted by: Mikey Hunt || 09/23/2011 18:04 Comments || Top||

#19  Another solution would be to leave Afghanistan.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 09/23/2011 19:11 Comments || Top||

#20  Remember when Obama's smart diplomacy was going to make America loved and respected around the world?

No.

Or was that cleverly disguised sarcasm? /sarc
Posted by: gorb || 09/23/2011 23:29 Comments || Top||


Gilani visits Kabul to express Rabbani condolences
[Dawn] Pakistain's prime minister has traveled to Kabul to convey his country's sorrow over the liquidation of neighboring Afghanistan's former president and peace envoy, Burhanuddin Rabbani
... the late legitimate president of Afghanistan...

The premier's office says Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani
... Pakistain's erstwhile current prime minister, whose occasional feats of mental gymnastics can be awe-inspiring ...
left for the visit on Thursday, accompanied by several senior Pak officials, including Interior Minister Rehman Malik
Pak politician, current Interior Minister under the Gilani administration. Malik is a former Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) intelligence officer who rose to head the FIA during Benazir Bhutto's second tenure. He later joined the Pak Peoples Party and was chief security officer to Bhutto. Malik was tossed from his FIA job in 1998 after documenting the breath-taking corruption of the Sharif family. By unhappy coincidence Näwaz Shärif became PM at just that moment and Malik moved to London one step ahead of the button men.
Rabbani was killed by a jacket wallah on Tuesday who tricked the former Afghan leader into allowing him into his home by saying he had an important peace offer from the Taliban.

Rabbani was the head of the Afghan High Peace Council, which was tasked with cultivating peace negotiations with the Taliban.
Posted by: Fred || 09/23/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  See also DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > VOICE OF RUSSIA [VOR]: AFGHANISTAN FACES SPLIT AFTER RABBANI DEATH.

But that twas the ultimate intent, wasn't it!?
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 09/23/2011 0:35 Comments || Top||


Pakistan rejects Mullen's ISI allegations
[Dawn] Pakistain on Thursday rejected the allegations made by the US military's top officer
"No, no! Certainly not!"
and said 'perceptional' matters were being discussed with Washington.
"Mere quibbles. Could happen to anybody."
"I would say a categorical no, no, certainly not," Foreign Office Spokesperson Tehmina Janjua said at the weekly media briefing while responding to Admiral Mullen's claim of Pakistain waging a proxy in Afghanistan through the Haqqani Network.
Then her full, red lips fell off.
Ms Janjua underscored that "the Government of Pakistain is committed to peace, reconciliation, stability and development in Afghanistan and the region."
"We just have a different definition of those things than anybody else. Anywhere."
"We have had political discussions. We have had intelligence-intelligence discussions. Therefore, all issues including perceptional issues are being discussed in these meetings."
Posted by: Fred || 09/23/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  Islamabad is refusing to take any military action = camapign agz the Haqqanis until their in-house PAK Army investigation proving or disproving Haqqani involvement is completed.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 09/23/2011 0:33 Comments || Top||

#2  It's way past time to start exterminating the ISI and its leadership.
Posted by: Water Modem || 09/23/2011 9:04 Comments || Top||

#3  Of course we could use cold war pc correct terms like "Ultimate Sanction".
Posted by: Water Modem || 09/23/2011 9:05 Comments || Top||


Mike Mullen: Pakistan is 'exporting' terror
[Telegraph UK] In an unprecedented public condemnation on Thursday, Admiral Mullen said that the country's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency was actively supporting a network linked to al Qaeda and blamed for an assault on the US embassy in Kabul last week.

Admiral Mullen accused Pakistain of "exporting" violent extremism to Afghanistan by allowing snuffies to act as an "arm" of the intelligence service.

"In choosing to use violent extremism as an instrument of policy, the government of Pakistain -- and most especially the Pak Army and ISI -- jeopardises not only the prospect of our strategic partnership, but also Pakistain's opportunity to be a respected nation with legitimate regional influence," he told US senators. "By exporting violence, they have eroded their internal security and their position in the region."

Rehman Malik
Pak politician, current Interior Minister under the Gilani administration. Malik is a former Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) intelligence officer who rose to head the FIA during Benazir Bhutto's second tenure. He later joined the Pak Peoples Party and was chief security officer to Bhutto. Malik was tossed from his FIA job in 1998 after documenting the breath-taking corruption of the Sharif family. By unhappy coincidence Näwaz Shärif became PM at just that moment and Malik moved to London one step ahead of the button men.
, Pakistain's interior minister, warned the US against an imminent raid against the Haqqani leadership in North Wazoo, a mountain region close to the border with Afghanistan.

He denied that the intelligence agency had ties to the network.

"The Pakistain nation will not allow the boots on our ground, never," Mr Malik said.
What, never?
No! Never!
What, NEVER?
Well, hardly ever ....
"Our government is already co-operating with the US but they also must respect our illusory sovereignty."
Posted by: Fred || 09/23/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  Its the only way Pakistan knows how to make money!

The Afghan war is just like the Soviet one where they filled their boots with money from the West.
Posted by: Paul D || 09/23/2011 13:01 Comments || Top||


Mullen: Pakistan behind Kabul embassy attack
(CBS/AP) The top U.S. military officer on Thursday accused Pakistain's intelligence agency of supporting Haqqani fighters in planning and conducting last week's attack on the U.S. Embassy in Kabul.
The Haqqanis, keep in mind, profess fealty to Mullah Omar, but function as a branch of al-Qaeda. I'm pretty sure Zawahiri lives in North Wazoo, in a Haqqani safe house. The command structure of al-Qaeda in Pakistain is also in the same area and occasionally Haqqanis and al-Q-P bad boyz are bumped off in the same dronezap. Something I've never seen addressed is how many ISI functionaries are waxed at the same time.
Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Pak duplicity puts in jeopardy not only the frayed U.S.-Pak partnership against terrorism but also the outcome to the decade-old war in Afghanistan.
I'm glad we're finally seeing the open use of the term "duplicity." It will elicit the predictable piggy squeals from the Paks, but it shows nobody's even pretending to be fooled anymore.
In his final congressional testimony before retiring next week, Mullen said success in Afghanistan is threatened by the Pak government's support for the Haqqani network of krazed killers, which he called a "veritable arm" of Pakistain's intelligence agency.
... which, in light of what I said above, brings into question the relationship between ISI and al-Qaeda: which is the horse (strong or otherwise) and which is the driver? Or are we looking at interlocking directorates? I suspect the latter.
A Pak government minister who spoke on condition of anonymity to CBS News' Farhan Bokhari in Islamabad said Mullen's accusation that the Pak agency, the ISI, has links to the Haqqani network "will not help to stop the ongoing slide in our relations. Any public bickering of this kind makes it much harder to overcome the damage."
This is the piggy squeal. When we actually comment on Pak perfidy it's not going to stop the ongoing slide in our relations. When they attack downtown Kabul or assassinate Rabanni it's just business, Mike. Don't rock the boat.
Posted by: Fred || 09/23/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan

#1  MULLEN ...

versus

* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > TALIBAN LOSING THEIR ABILITY TO ATTACK BROADLY, PANETTA SAYS.

As represented in Kabul Embassy attack.

* SAME > COAS KAYANI SHUT DOWN PAK MILITARY CALL FOR COUP?

* SAME > [US-Indjuh Think-tanks]INDIA, US URGED
TO PREPARE FOR PAKISTAN'S "WORST-CASE" SCENARIO [scenarios].

Contingencies Planning, espec as per PAK Nukes-WMDS.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 09/23/2011 0:29 Comments || Top||

#2  The Afghans/Indians could tell us ten years ago the Taliban are sponsored/trained by the ISI.Did we listen?
Posted by: Paul D || 09/23/2011 13:05 Comments || Top||


International-UN-NGOs
Ahmadinejad: Box Office Poison
The U.S. delegation at the United Nations walked out Thursday as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad delivered a fiery broadside against the United States and what he called its "slave masters and colonial masters."
Hmmmmmm. Wonder who he means by that?
Ahmadinejad told the U.N. audience that the United States used "the mysterious September 11 incident" as a pretext for wars against Afghanistan and Iraq.

The Iranian president offered his criticism in the form of a series of questions, asking who had engaged in slavery, imposed colonialism, supported military regimes and triggered World War I, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. "The answers are clear," Ahmadinejad said.

"By using their imperialistic media network which is under the influence of colonialism they threaten anyone who questions the Holocaust and the September 11 event with sanctions and military actions," he said.
Ah. Now I know who he means by that...
The two U.S. diplomats, who specialize in the Middle East, were followed out of the chamber by diplomats from more than 30 countries. They included the 27 European Union members, Australia, New Zealand, Somalia, Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino and Macedonia, a U.N. diplomat said.
Posted by: tu3031 || 09/23/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  [IMAGE = MYSTERIOUS NAMELESS FACELESS BODYLESS PAIRS OF ARMY BOOTS ONLY WALKING DOWN MILWAUKEE here].
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 09/23/2011 0:45 Comments || Top||

#2  I'm pleasantly surprised that so many countries' diplomats walked out--including ours!
Posted by: Mike || 09/23/2011 10:41 Comments || Top||

#3  When Somalia walks out on your dumb ass, you know you've gone 'around the bend'.
Posted by: bigjim-CA || 09/23/2011 14:20 Comments || Top||


Ahmadinejad: Box Office Poison
The U.S. delegation at the United Nations walked out Thursday as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad delivered a fiery broadside against the United States and what he called its "slave masters and colonial masters."
Hmmmmmmm.Wonder who he means by that...
Ahmadinejad told the U.N. audience that the United States used "the mysterious September 11 incident" as a pretext for wars against Afghanistan and Iraq.

The Iranian president offered his criticism in the form of a series of questions, asking who had engaged in slavery, imposed colonialism, supported military regimes and triggered World War I, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.

"The answers are clear," Ahmadinejad said. "By using their imperialistic media network which is under the influence of colonialism they threaten anyone who questions the Holocaust and the September 11 event with sanctions and military actions," he said.
Ah. Now I know who he means by that...
The two U.S. diplomats, who specialize in the Middle East, were followed out of the chamber by diplomats from more than 30 countries. They included the 27 European Union members, Australia, New Zealand, Somalia, Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino and Macedonia, a U.N. diplomat said.
Posted by: tu3031 || 09/23/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


US walks out as Short Round delivers anti-US speech
Along with about two dozen of our better friends.
Posted by: Steve White || 09/23/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  This ‘man’ is a lunatic.

He’s either a homosexual in denial or ruled by all women he’s ever met. LoL @ You
Posted by: Kojack || 09/23/2011 6:42 Comments || Top||


Iraq
Baghdad wants Raghad home
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: The Iraqi government called for the repatriation of former-president Saddam Hussein's daughter for being charged with terrorist crimes. The adviser to the PM National Reconciliation Affairs added that other Baathist leaders were also wanted.

Saddam Hussein's daughter, Raghda, was born in 1967 and widow of Hussein Kamil who fled to Jordan and after stupidly believing promises from Saddam returned back to Iraq where he was killed by his family in 1996. She is living in exile with her children in Jordan as a guest of the royal family.

Raghad is characterized with strong personality and has many times called for toppling the present Iraqi government.
Maybe they could send her to Gaza. She'd be a perfect fit...
On the other hand, the Iraqi government continues to communicate with different armed groups to achieve a state of reconciliation, even with those who object to the political process.
Posted by: Steve White || 09/23/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Peshmarga forces will not withdraw till Khaniqin is stable
SULAIMANIYA / Aswat al-Iraq: Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani confirmed today that Peshmerga forces will not withdraw from Khaniqin area until the situation is settled.
Just one of the several tinderboxes on the border of the Kurdish region in Iraq.
Member of the Polit-bureau of the National Kurdish Party Mahmoud Sinkawi told Aswat al-Iraq that Barzani confirmed this point, in addition to discussing the services rendered to the citizens there.

Barzani promised to develop the services in the disputed areas.
Posted by: Steve White || 09/23/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Palestinians submit application for UN recognition
So much for negotiation:

Defying U.S. and Israeli opposition, the Palestinian officially asked the United Nations on Friday to accept them as a member state, sidestepping nearly two decades of troubled negotiations in the hope this dramatic move on the world stage would reenergize their quest for an independent homeland.

Ineffectual Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas formally submitted the application for full U.N. membership after rebuffing an intense U.S.-led effort to sway him from the statehood bid earlier this week. ...

A top aide, speaking on condition of anonymity in order to discuss the move, said that in the letter to Ban accompanying the application, Abbas asks the U.N. chief to immediately send on the request for full U.N. membership to the Security Council and the General Assembly, which is likely to be asked to approve a more modest status upgrade if the bid in the Council founders as expected.

The move comes as a rebuke to Barack Obama, who tried to warn the Palestinians that attempting an end-around on direct negotiations would carry significant political consequences.
After of course, he told them he was okay with them having a state...
Abbas' persistence appears to show that Obama has little influence on events in the conflict now, which may have its own repercussions in the US for his administration. Congress will almost certainly respond by suspending aid to the Palestinians, and Obama will have to decide whether to defy a bipartisan effort to punish Abbas for his actions.
I am actually all for making Palestine a full and independent country. Give them the legitimacy of self government, and all the RESPONSIBILITY that goes with it. The first rocket launched at Israel by the new state will be an act of war and after Israel crushes them, they will be independent and on their own. Israel can wash its hands of this mess and walk away and not have to pay them any more funds, divert water and fuel and let them into Israel's borders. They will be independent... and on their own.
Posted by: DarthVader || 09/23/2011 12:18 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Rabbis Asked to Intervene in IDF’s No-Fire Orders
Frustrated by the restrictive no-fire orders handed down by IDF attorneys, local rabbis and leaders are asking the Chief Rabbis of Israel to take the rare step of issuing a direct contradiction. While the Rabbinate avoids involvement in military affairs, the rabbis said that in this case, the orders are a case of “pikuach nefesh,” life and death.

A letter from Rabbi Shalom Dov Wolpe, Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, and Professor Hillel Weiss reads:

To the Honorable Chief Rabbis of Israel,
Rabbi Shlomo Amar,
And Rabbi Yona Metzger


As the new year begins, we wish you a good and sweet year, a year in which you will raise the flag of justice in Israel and make G-d’s Torah beloved in the eyes of His people.

We have the honor of turning to you regarding a matter that affects many Israeli lives. It is in your hands to save many souls.

As you know, saving lives is more important than the entire Torah, as we were commanded, “Do not stand idly by your brother’s blood.” And our sages ruled, “One who comes to kill you – rise early to kill him.”

The residents of Jewish towns in Judea, Samaria and Binyamin, who are defending themselves, their homes, their wives and young children, must be ordered not to hesitate to fire on any enemy from a foreign nation who conspires to do harm, who infiltrates a town without permission. Experience teaches that such a person’s goal is to harm the town's residents.

We make this request in light of the inhumane “orders for opening fire” that were given to Jewish towns by the IDF lawyers, in which they were ordered not to do anything unless an Arab endangers a Jew’s life in a “concrete and immediate” manner. These orders are likely to cause disaster. In practice, they encourage Arabs to not only destroy Jewish property, but to cause them physical harm.

The residents of Judea, Samaria and Binyamin, who look to the Torah for guidance, are waiting to hear Torah from the rabbis of Israel, particularly regarding a question of life and death.

With blessings that you be inscribed and sealed for good,

Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, Rabbi Shalom Dov Wolpe, Professor Hillel Weiss.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 09/23/2011 11:46 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Refugees will not be citizens of new Palestinian state
BEIRUT: Paleostinian refugees will not become citizens of a new Paleostinian state, according to Paleostine's ambassador to Leb.
*speechless*
From behind a desk topped by a miniature model of Paleostine's hoped-for blue United Nations
...an idea whose time has gone...
chair, Ambassador Abdullah Abdullah spoke to The Daily Star Wednesday about Paleostine's upcoming bid for U.N. statehood.

The ambassador unequivocally says that Paleostinian refugees would not become citizens of the sought for U.N.-recognized Paleostinian state, an issue that has been much discussed. "They are Paleostinians, that's their identity," he says. "But ... they are not automatically citizens."

This would not only apply to refugees in countries such as Leb, Egypt, Syria and Jordan or the other 132 countries where Abdullah says Paleostinians reside. Abdullah said that "even Paleostinian refugees who are living in [refugee camps] inside the [Paleostinian] state, they are still refugees. They will not be considered citizens."

Abdullah said that the new Paleostinian state would "absolutely not" be issuing Paleostinian passports to refugees.

Neither this definitional status nor U.N. statehood, Abdullah says, would affect the eventual return of refugees to Paleostine. "How the issue of the right of return will be solved I don't know, it's too early [to say], but it is a sacred right that has to be dealt with and solved [with] the acceptance of all." He says statehood "will never affect the right of return for Paleostinian refugees."

The right of return that Abdullah says is to be negotiated would not only apply to those Paleostinians whose origins are within the 1967 borders of the state, he adds. "The state is the 1967 borders, but the refugees are not only from the 1967 borders. The refugees are from all over Paleostine. When we have a state accepted as a member of the United Nations, this is not the end of the conflict. This is not a solution to the conflict. This is only a new framework that will change the rules of the game."

The Paleostinian Liberation Organization would remain responsible for refugees, and Abdullah says that UNRWA would continue its work as usual.
Posted by: trailing wife || 09/23/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  And that is the exact reason Obama should give for the veto. Pretty much everyone with a veto should make that demand.

If they get a state they end the "Right of return" nonsense.
Posted by: rjschwarz || 09/23/2011 10:14 Comments || Top||

#2  Cut off all funding to the Palis, hamas, Gaza, the PA, hezbollah and Lebanon.
Now!
And put Egypt on notice!

The benefits outweigh the consequences
Posted by: Mikey Hunt || 09/23/2011 18:08 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Hikers' case shows lack of U.S. leverage with Iran
[Washington Post]
Posted by: Fred || 09/23/2011 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  Somebody read this and tell me it's not as stupid as I imagine. I can't bear to look.
Posted by: SteveS || 09/23/2011 1:37 Comments || Top||

#2  $1.5M of airborne ordinance might have better served than 'bail'.
Posted by: Skidmark || 09/23/2011 3:33 Comments || Top||

#3  Somebody read this and tell me it's not as stupid as I imagine.

It's not stupid, but it is willfully ignorant in certain areas.
Posted by: Pappy || 09/23/2011 9:01 Comments || Top||

#4  When you completely isolate a nation you pretty much lose most of your leverage.

When you isolate them for so long that your allies and others start to secretly manuever around your isolation attempts so that they don't even bother trying to seriously get you to end your policies you've lost all leverage.

Having said that, why were they hiking in that region?
Posted by: rjschwarz || 09/23/2011 10:16 Comments || Top||

#5  "Hikers' case shows lack of U.S. leverage with Iran hikers' adject stupidity"

FTFY.
Posted by: Barbara || 09/23/2011 10:21 Comments || Top||

#6  Add ungrateful to stupid.
Posted by: JohnQC || 09/23/2011 16:35 Comments || Top||



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Two weeks of WOT
Fri 2011-09-23
  President of Yemen returns home
Thu 2011-09-22
  Series of bombs kills 1, injures at least 60 in Dagestan
Wed 2011-09-21
  Lashkar-e-Jhangvi gunmen kill 29 Shia pilgrims in Pakistan
Tue 2011-09-20
  Murder most foul: Barhanuddin Rabanni assassinated
Mon 2011-09-19
  Fighting erupts in Bani Walid
Sun 2011-09-18
  "Norwegian" held over Danish cartoonist plot
Sat 2011-09-17
  Syrian Forces Kill 46
Fri 2011-09-16
  NTC Fighters Enter Gadhafi Hometown Sirte
Thu 2011-09-15
  US Drone Attack Kills Two Militants in Pakistan
Wed 2011-09-14
  Iran to Free US Hikers or whatever they were for $500,000 Each
Tue 2011-09-13
  Nato headquarters and US embassy under attack in Kabul
Mon 2011-09-12
  Head of New Leadership, Jalil, Arrives Tripoli to Great Welcome
Sun 2011-09-11
  EU Command: French hostage rescued from pirates
Sat 2011-09-10
  Cairo mob ransacks, torches Israeli embassy, staff flown out
Fri 2011-09-09
  Turkistan Islamic Party claims western China attacks


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