#1
Putting it in there and keeping it operational is a daily logistical nightmare. It has always been thus in the hell-hole that is A-stan. This battle is a drain on us and weakens us strategically. Better to let the savages have this near worthless ground while we focus on more important locales as the need arises.
#2
If the 'savages' use the land to train and plan newvattacks on us then it is not 'wothless'. Please recall why we went there in the first place.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/03/2012 16:04 Comments ||
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#3
We didn't go there to build a nation. We went there to get bin Laden and throw the Taliban out. Both missions were accomplished. Shoulda left 8 years ago.
#4
I wouldn't argue with that, with the provision that our leaving doesn't leave the door wide open to al-Qaeda. Unfortunately, I think the Taliban would invite them back into that miserable excuse for a country in about five seconds after we left.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/03/2012 16:48 Comments ||
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#5
And Karzai would be dead in 6 minutes, Steve.
Whether he thinks so or not.
Posted by: Barbara ||
01/03/2012 19:08 Comments ||
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#6
Just anuther reason among many, past + future, for US or US-led unilateral war agz Iran.
Agree wid #2 - the 9-11 attacks agz NYC was a MIXED GROUP EFFORT = CONSPIRACY, of which OSAMA + Al-QAEDA + TALIBAN, to include Radical Islam as a movement, are merely the most famous or notorious. LOTS OF THINGYS ARE STILL THERE HANGING ON THE TREE OF JIHAD + ALIGNED FOR THE US + ALLIES TO FIGHT + DEFEAT.
IIRC CNN > Interview wid WALID PHARES > believes that at a Vertical level, while the US has successfully reduced, vee combat + drone strikes, much of the top leadership of AQ + Taliban, at the Horizontal level IT IS SEEING AL-QAEDA EXPAND OR FORM POTENS MORE VIOLENT NEW GROUPS = QAEDA AFFILIATES THROUGHOUT NORTH AFRICA.
E.g. EGYPT is, after all, AYMAN ZAWAHIRI home land.
* IIRC DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > [India Today]CHINA SECRETLY WANTS TO BUILD MILITARY BASES IN PAKISTAN, SAYS INTELLIGENCE REPORT.
IMO iff true read, GWADAR + KARACHI - subread, PLA NAVAL, AIR BASES IN PERSIAN GULF [Iran again] + NEAR NORTHERN INDIA [West = NW Indjuh, IOR].
* SAME > {Russia Today] ROGOZIN: NATO [US-led gross interference in Muslim, Regional affairs] BEHIND THE [successful] SPREAD OF RADICAL ISLAM, to "relatively secular" Arab-Muslim States + Regions, wid "un-intended consequences" for neighboring countries including Mama Russia.
The EU is closed between Christmas and New Year, but the Frankfurter Allgemeine (FAZ) newspaper reports that the EU Political and Security Committee on Dec. 20 tasked the commander of Operation Atalanta to rework the operational plan for the counter-piracy mission so that Somali pirates can be combated ashore.
This would involve changing the rules of engagement so that pirate vessels and installations can be attacked on shore and vessel protection teams can operate more autonomously from EU warships that up until now have had to be nearby. The European External Action Service has reportedly been tasked to reach agreement with the Somali authorities to support these changes, which they already do, according to the FAZ.
Participation of German forces in more aggressive operations would require a change in their mandate, which was renewed this month. This participation currently consists of three frigates with four Sea Lynx helicopters on board and three P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft. One of the frigates will be relieved next spring by the supply ship Berlin, from which a Sea King can operate, offering greater range than the Sea Lynx.
The FAZ reports that the British and French wish to conduct amphibious operations against pirates is opposed by the German Free Democrats, the junior partner in the German government, who fear that pirates could threaten reprisals against captured crews and civilian casualties.
On Dec. 21, the Italian tanker Savina Caylyn with a crew of 18 became the latest ship to be captured by Somali pirates.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/03/2012 00:00 ||
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Very interesting and educational article on the history of Israel and its relations with South Sudan, by Daniel Pipes.
Israel has helped the South Sudanese for over 50 years.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
01/03/2012 15:57 ||
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#1
The Christians of Souther Sudan have suffered enough from the Muslims out of Kartoum and the slave runners from the Darfur area.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
01/03/2012 16:20 Comments ||
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#2
Bravo Israel! This is a brilliant, strategic move by them. South Sudan is also developing a deep, bilateral relation with Ethiopia. If Ethiopia just had some easy access to the Red Sea, there would be a much easier trade corridor all the way to South Sudan from Israel.
Unfortunately, Eritrea is kooky, and if they support South Sudan it might be worse for them then if they didn't, and Djibouti supports North Sudan.
But Kenya comes to the rescue, also wanting deep bilateral trade with South Sudan. It is likely the direct corridor from Israel.
CAIRO: The trial of Hosni Mubarak resumed on Monday amid speculation that a recent acquittal of policemen tried for killing Egyptian protesters could be a prelude to the dismissal of charges against the ousted leader.
That would certainly be interesting...
Mubarak is charged with complicity in the killing of more than 800 protesters during the uprising that toppled his 29-year regime last year. The 83-year-old ailing Mubarak was brought by helicopter to the Cairo courthouse from a hospital where he is held in custody. He was then taken into the defendants' cage on a gurney, wearing dark sunglasses and covered by a green blanket.
He was full of vim and vigor until he was deposed. Then -- wham! -- he was beset with ailments. It's almost Old Testament...
On trial with Mubarak are his two sons, Gamal, his one-time heir apparent, and Alaa, along with the ousted leader's former security chief and six top police commanders. The Mubaraks face additional corruption charges in the same case.
The trial began Aug. 3 but has since been bogged down in procedural matters, including a demand by lawyers for the victims that the presiding judge, Ahmed Rifaat, be removed. That request alone took a separate court about three months to rule on.
Monday's hearing was adjourned until Tuesday, when the court is due to hear from the prosecution.
The relatively long time the Mubarak trial is taking before even starting to deal with the core of the charges against him have led many activists to brand the proceedings a farce, organized by the generals who took over power when the longtime leader was ousted.
The generals are led by Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, Mubarak's defense minister for the last 20 years he spent in office.
The activists believe the generals remain beholden to the Mubarak regime, and only placed the former president and his two sons under arrest after mounting pressure by protesters. The Mubaraks were arrested in April, two months after the ouster of the regime. Activists believe this was long enough for the three to conceal evidence of their alleged involvement in either the killings or corruption.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/03/2012 00:00 ||
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[Al Ahram] A purported front man for Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram ... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. Currently wearing a false nose and moustache and answering to Jama'atu Ahlus-Sunnah Lidda'Awati Wal Jihad, or Big Louie... has threatened to confront soldiers after the president declared an emergency in areas hit by attacks blamed on the turbans.
"We find it pertinent to state that soldiers will only kill innocent Moslems in the local government areas where the state of emergency was declared," Abul Qaqa told journalists in a phone conference late Sunday.
"We would confront them squarely to protect our brothers."
Qaqa, who has spoken on behalf of the group numerous times in the past, also threatened southern Nigerians living in the north of the country, roughly divided between a mainly Moslem north and predominately Christian south.
"We also wish to call on our fellow Moslems to come back to the north because we have evidence that they would be attacked," he said, speaking in the Hausa language common throughout the north.
"We are also giving a three-day ultimatum to the southerners living in the northern part of Nigeria to move away."
President Goodluck Jonathan ... 14th President of Nigeria. He was Governor of Bayelsa State from 9 December 2005 to 28 May 2007, and was sworn in as Vice President on 29 May 2007. Jonathan is a member of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP). He is a lover of nifty hats, which makes him easily recognizable unless someone else in the room is wearing a neat chapeau... declared a state of emergency on Saturday in parts of four states hard hit by violence blamed on Boko Haram.
The move came in response to scores of attacks attributed to Boko Haram, particularly a wave of bombings on Christmas that killed 49 people, most in an attack at a Catholic church in the northeast of the country.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/03/2012 00:00 ||
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[Al Ahram] A dissident Yemeni general said on Monday that President President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it... wants to sabotage the Gulf-sponsored political transition plan that calls for him to formally resign in February.
The president intends "to overthrow the Gulf initiative and its implementation plan," said a statement from dissident General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, one of Saleh's arch-rivals who defected from the army earlier this year in support of the mass protest movement demanding Saleh's ouster.
The proof is in the "continued bolstering of military units loyal to Saleh," the statement said noting the "refusal" by pro-Saleh troops to withdraw from the streets of Sanaa despite orders from the newly formed military commission created to restore order on the streets of the capital.
Residents in Sanaa said pro-Saleh snipers remain perched on rooftops and government troops in the volatile Hasaba district are still engaged in intermittent battles with tribal forces.
On Sunday, residents said the army fired shells near the home of the powerful tribal Shiekh Hemyar al-Ahmar, another Saleh opponent.
The latest festivities prevented the further dismantling of military barricades and checkpoints from Sanaa's streets, a clause in the Gulf plan intended to end the violence that since January has left hundreds dead and thousands more maimed.
In a statement published by Yemen's official news agency over the weekend, Saleh said he would "not allow the collapse of state institutions," in response to an increased number of protests within government institutions designed to unseat Saleh loyalists that continue to hold key positions.
Meanwhile, ...back at the argument, Jane reached into her purse for her .38... Yemeni officials, who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity, said Saleh cancelled a planned trip to the United States after a request by party members.
Last month, Saleh said he planned to travel to the US for talks on Yemen's upcoming election, scheduled for February 21, but US officials said his travel request would only be granted if there were "legitimate" medical reasons.
Saleh is still honorary president but handed authority over to his deputy last month when he signed the Gulf-brokered deal in which he won immunity from prosecution in exchange for ending his 33-year rule when polls are held in February.
Angry youths have staged defiant protests against the plan, insisting that Saleh stand trial and that all members of his regime be removed from their posts.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/03/2012 00:00 ||
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SANAA: A dissident Yemeni general said Monday that President Ali Abdullah Saleh wants to sabotage the Gulf-sponsored political transition plan that calls for him to formally resign in February.
And if you can't trust the statements of an arch-rival...
The president intends "to overthrow the Gulf initiative and its implementation plan," said a statement from dissident Gen. Ali Mohsen Al-Ahmar, one of Saleh's archrivals who defected from the army earlier this year in support of the mass protest movement demanding Saleh's ouster.
The proof is in the "continued bolstering of military units loyal to Saleh," the statement said noting the "refusal" by pro-Saleh troops to withdraw from the streets of Sanaa despite orders from the newly formed military commission created to restore order on the streets of the capital.
In a statement published by Yemen's official news agency over the weekend, Saleh said he would "not allow the collapse of state institutions," in response to an increased number of protests within government institutions designed to unseat Saleh loyalists that continue to hold key positions.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/03/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
Not enough information available yet to make sense out of this. I have trouble seeing a Green Beret NCO being as stupid as this makes him appear - a key puzzle piece is missing.
#4
S'OK, TW. You just need to put new batteries into the keyboard. or something.
Maybe a cup of tea. at midnight it all goes away ( well to the archives, anyway)
#5
Vancouver, BC radio this morning said this guy had lived in the area for 'some time...' and he was upset about some sort of Canadian immagration issue.
KABUL: NATO hopes for a quick reopening of blocked supply routes through Pakistan because the 5-week closure is damaging the economies of both Afghanistan and Pakistan, an alliance officer said Monday.
Pakistan shut the routes, which NATO uses to ship about 40 percent of the supplies for its forces in landlocked Afghanistan, after alliance airstrikes killed 24 Pakistani border troops in November.
NATO spokesman Brig. Gen. Carsten Jacobson said the military coalition has a stockpile of supplies that can keep operations in Afghanistan running at their current level even if routes through Pakistan remain closed. Afghan merchants have complained that their imports have also been affected by the closure of NATO traffic. They say the resulting shortages have driven up prices of staples four, sugar, rice and other staples.
We have reason to wish the reopening of the routes, Jacobson said. We are aware that the present situation on the border has a negative effect on both economies.
The coalition has reduced its dependence on Pakistan over the last two years by developing alternate routes to Afghanistan through Russia and Central Asia. In a sign that NATO fears the closure might last longer than expected, it has been arranging for its equipment to be shipped back to Europe through the northern route.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/03/2012 00:00 ||
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(Ay Pee) -- Sultan Mehmood Gujar was a solid supporter of Islamist hard boyz fighting in Pakistain, Afghanistan and India and even donated money to them, until he attended an innovative 40-day lecture series by a moderate holy man aimed at countering violent extremism.
The course, given to the public at an Islamic school in a hotbed of militancy in Pakistain, had a profound effect on the 46-year-old property dealer, convincing him the hard boyz were wrong to claim they were waging holy war, or jihad, justified by the Koran, the religion's holy book. "I was shocked to discover that what the hard boyz were doing was against Islam," said Gujar, sitting on the floor at the madrasa in Okara city where the lectures were delivered. "Now I call them terrorists, not jihadis."
Fazal ur Rehman, the holy man who runs the 400-student madrasa, recorded each of the 2-hour lectures he and others gave this past summer and would like to distribute the DVDs to reach a wider audience. But he lacks the money.
The U.S. has created a new unit in Pakistain that aims to leverage such grassroots efforts by working with local moderates to counter violent extremism -- the first of its kind set up by an American embassy anywhere in the world, according to U.S. officials here. The existence of the unit has never before been reported.
The three-person unit in the U.S. Embassy public affairs section was established in July. It plans to work with local partners, including moderate religious leaders, to project their counter-extremist messages and push back against the myrmidons' extensive propaganda machine, said U.S. officials.
It will use TV shows, documentaries, radio programs and posters. It also intends to ramp up exchange programs for religious leaders and public outreach to conservative Moslems who previously had little contact with American officials.
"There are a lot of courageous voices speaking out against extremism here in Pakistain," said Tom Miller, head of public affairs at the U.S. Embassy. "Our job is to find out how we can amplify those narratives."
The unit is just now ramping up operations, said officials. It was funded with an initial budget of $5 million that officials hope will grow. Officials declined to provide details on specific programs they are funding or plan to fund, for fear that publicly acknowledging U.S. involvement would discredit their partners.
BAGHDAD: Iraq's Parliament speaker warned Monday that human rights violations are putting the country's fragile democracy at risk, the latest pronouncement in a rapidly developing sectarian spat that threatens to destabilize the country after US troops pulled out.
The televised comments by Osama Al-Nujaifi, one of the country's top Sunni officials, are the latest salvo in a growing political crisis that was sparked when Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki's government issued an arrest warrant for the country's top Sunni politician last month.
Al-Maliki, a Shiite, controls the ministries that oversee Iraq's police and military. Some of Iraq's minority Sunnis, who fear being marginalized, accuse the prime minister of using the security forces to try to consolidate power.
"The armed forces should not be a tool to repress people and the armed forces should not interfere in political matters," Nujaifi said. "Human rights will not become a reality in a situation where the political process is snarled ... Losing these rights will destroy democracy."
Nujaifi also cautioned against a politicized security force, amid accusations that units have surrounded the homes of senior Sunni politicians inside Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone. "The priority of the army should not change from training and raising its combat level to seeking political power and supporting parties," Nujaifi said.
The Parliament speaker, a member of the Sunni-backed Iraqiya bloc, Al-Maliki's main political rivals, spoke a day before Parliament was scheduled to hold its first session of the new year. Iraqiya suspended its participation in Parliament last month to protest Al-Maliki's control of key posts, particularly those overseeing security forces.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/03/2012 00:00 ||
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The fence along the Egyptian border is proceeding nicely, yesterday the fence along the Jordanian border was announced, now Lebanon. Bibi is certainly finding interesting ways to spend the increased income from all those successful high tech companies. So much for all that pressure to negotiate land for the possibility of discussing peace with the Arabs -- certain unnamed parties will just have to deal with the disappointment, poor dears.
(Ma'an) -- Israeli military officials plan to build a new wall on the country's northern ceasefire line with Leb, Israeli media reported on Monday.
An official in Israel's northern command told Hebrew daily Yedioth Ahronoth that the 5-meter high and 1-kilometer long wall will be equipped with alarms and separate Israeli kibbutz al-Matala and Lebanese village Kafr Kala which lie near to each other.
The wall, the first of its kind along the frontier with Leb, will be planned in the coming days and building will start in a few weeks, the newspaper said.
Israel's army has requested the UN peacekeeping force stationed in the ceasefire zone coordinate with Leb in order to prevent festivities.
The border between Israel and Leb is disputed by the two sides and the UN-drawn "Blue Line" covers just part of the stretch, established in 2000 to determine whether Israel had withdrawn from Leb after its 1982 invasion.
(Ma'an) -- Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, leaders are holding meetings in Sudan to discuss joining the Moslem Brüderbund, the London-based Ash-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper reported Saturday.
Moving away from their Iranian sponsors? "The enemy of my enemy" is all very well, but those people are Shiites, after all.
Some 59 members of Hamas' Shura Council met in Khartoum to discuss creating a separate branch of the Moslem Brüderbund in Paleostine, the report said.
Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh ...became Prime Minister after the legislative elections of 2006 which Hamas won. President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed Haniyeh from office on 14 June 2007 at the height of the Fatah-Hamas festivities, but Haniyeh did not acknowledge the decree and continues as the PM of Gazoo while Abbas maintains a separate PM in the West Bank... met Moslem Brüderbund chairman Muhammad Badie on Dec. 26 during his visit to Cairo.
A Hamas delegation, including Haniyeh and Hamas chief Khalid Mashaal, is in Khartoum and met Sudanese President Omar Bashir on Thursday.
In October, a Moslem Brüderbund delegation visited the Gazoo Strip for the first time. The party had been curbed by US-aligned Hosni Mubarak ...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011... but it has been empowered by a strong showing in elections since the president's ouster.
Iran will take action if a U.S. aircraft carrier which left the area because of Iranian naval exercises returns to the Gulf, the state news agency quoted army chief Funny Face-Maker Ataollah Salehi as saying on Tuesday.
"Iran will not repeat its warning ... the enemy's carrier has been moved to the Sea of Oman because of our drill. I recommend and emphasize to the American carrier not to return to the Persian Gulf," Salehi told IRNA. Or what? The Twelfth Imam will pop out of a well somewhere?
"I advise, recommend and warn them (the Americans) over the return of this carrier to the Persian Gulf because we are not in the habit of warning more than once," the semi-official Fars news agency quoted Salehi as saying. You just said that.
Salehi did not name the aircraft carrier or give details of the action Iran might take if it returned. However, last week a spokeswoman for the U.S. 5th Fleet said the USS John C. Stennis had left the Gulf. Why on Earth would we pull that carrier at exactly that time?
Iran completed 10 days of naval exercises in the Gulf on Monday, and said during the drills that if foreign powers imposed sanctions on its crude exports it could shut the Strait of Hormuz, through which 40 percent of the world's traded oil is shipped.
The U.S. Fifth Fleet, which is based in Bahrain, said it would not allow shipping to be disrupted in the strait.
Iran said on Monday it had successfully test-fired two long-range missiles during its naval drill, flexing its military muscle in the face of mounting Western pressure over its controversial nuclear program. Why just two? Figure that's about the maximum you'll be able to shoot off before getting destroyed?
Iran also said it had no intention of closing the Strait of Hormuz but had carried out "mock" exercises on shutting the strategic waterway. Yes, I've been mocking them, too.
Tehran denies Western accusations that it is secretly trying to build atomic bombs, saying it needs nuclear technology to generate electricity.
The United States and Israel have not ruled out military action against Iran if diplomacy fails to resolve the Islamic state's nuclear row with the West.
The European Union is considering following the United States in banning imports of Iranian crude oil. U.S. President Barack Obama signed new sanctions against Iran into law on Saturday, stepping up the pressure by adding sanctions on financial institutions that deal with Iran's central bank.
Meanwhile, Iran said the new record low of the national currency to the U.S. dollar was not linked to the latest sanctions from the United States targeting the country's central bank.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast on Tuesday insisted there "is no relation" between the two. He said the American sanctions "have yet to be put into practice." So I guess you're saying Iranians are too stupid to do the practical thing of changing currencies ahead of getting whacked?
The Iranian currency's exchange rate hovered late Monday around 18,000 riyals to the dollar, marking a roughly 12 percent slide compared to Sunday's rate of 15,900 riyals to the dollar. Wow. A currency based on something worth 1/159th of a penny?
President Barack Obama on Saturday signed into law a bill targeting Iran's central bank as part of the West's efforts to pressure Tehran over its nuclear program. It goes into effect in six months.
#6
Is Iran seriously threatening to commit an act of war against a US ship in international waters?
Hmmm, if we BELIEVED them, and wanted an excuse to engage in a war with Iran, could we convert the USS John F Kennedy (non-nuclear and worn-out) into the world's largest radio-controlled craft and see what happens?
#7
If we had a POTUS who was interested in maintaining US credibility, he would send that aircraft carrier right back in there and then publicly ask the general exactly what he intends to do about it. I don't look for such a thing to happen with Hussein Obama but I think I know what Teddy Roosevelt would do.
#10
Still think we should take some of our grounded F-14's and paint them to look like Iranian jets and if possible set them up to fly by remote control and just cause some confusion and chaos. We could even use them as suicide bombers if they were remote controlled.
#12
An aircraft carrier really isn't the best ship for the Gulf. Instead, I'm thinking of sending a half dozen little Arleigh Burke class destroyers above and a number of cruise missile submarines below. With orders to blow the snot out of anyone who even thinks about interfering with them.
If the USN has a sense of humor, they could slap a motor on the USS Iowa (BB-61), as a target ship for the Iranians, and watch their surprise when they hit it with half their arsenal and it just toodled along without a care in the world.
#15
The "enemy's carrier". Well, I for one, would like to send our battlestars right into the narrowest section of the straight, and park for a respite.
Don't come at me, bro.
This shiat should have been settled in '79. But voting has consequences.
#16
Iran scared away US carrier, and will "take action" if it dares to return
Are you kidding me? Iran scared us away? What kind of language is this? Having Obama at the helm gives them the courage to threaten these things. Man do we ever need to get him out of office and pronto.
I'm with Anonymoose; send destroyers and cruise missle subs how dare Iran threaten us, we should be on the ready most definitely.
Posted by: Jan at work ||
01/03/2012 18:06 Comments ||
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#17
An aircraft carrier really isn't the best ship for the Gulf.
I don't see why not. We've operated three carrier groups in there simultaneously. There's additional air cover available from shore.
The moving the Stennis to the Gulf of Oman was probably an attempt at a detente. Too bad the Iranians chose to do some d*ck-waving instead.
#18
D *** NG IT, THE I-I-IRANIANS CAN'T DO THAT - SINKING A US CVN IS NORTH KOREA'S JOB!
The Brits = NATO could prob use the JFK, or any CVN(s) the US chooses to scrap.
As for the Burkies ...
* DEFENCE FORUM INDIA > [US= USDOD] ZUMWALT-CLASS DESTROYERS MAY BE RECONSIDERED - DDG-1000:BACK TO THE FUTURE, but wid modifications in design to fire the BMD-capable SM-3 Missle Sys + other latest.
* SAME > US NAVY TO DEPLOY "SWITCHBLADE" UAV [SLV] FROM SUBMERGED SUBMARINES.
#19
"Not believable, rjschwarz: the Iranian F-14's can't fly."
ROFL, Glenmore. :-D
Posted by: Barbara ||
01/03/2012 19:05 Comments ||
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#20
If the USN has a sense of humor, they could slap a motor on the USS Iowa (BB-61), as a target ship for the Iranians, and watch their surprise when they hit it with half their arsenal and it just toodled along without a care in the world.
Yah, just like the Bismark shrugged off everything from those cloth covered biplanes.
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > FARS NEWS AGENCY: FOREIGN WARSHIPS WILL NEED IRAN'S PERMISSION TO PASS [enter] STRAIT OF HORMUZ.
FNA quoting Iran MP Nadir Qazipour.
* SAME > PENTAGON: US NOT SEEKING CONFRONTATION WID IRAN OVER STRAIT OF HORMUZ.
* WAFF > PENTAGON PUSHES BACK ON IRANIAN WARNING TO US AIRCRAFT CARRIER | US TO IRAN: WE AREN'T GOING ANYWHERE.
* SAME > CBS NEWS: US: WARSHIPS WILL SAIL DESPITE IRAN THREATS.
* CHINESE MILITARY FORUM > [Foreign Affairs Jan-Feb 2012] FOREIGN AFFAIRS: TIME TO ATTACK IRAN.
versus
* WAFF > IRAN HAS NO LONG-RANGE MISSLES [IRBMS or ICBMS]: RUSSIA.
Russ DM Spox Vadim Kaval.
ARTIC > DM SPOX KAVAL > TEHRAN = IRAN DOESN'T HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY, + AREN'T LIKELY TO DEV OR ACQUIRE IT SOON.
Unfortunately for Vadim, Iran has OIL MONEY + repor lots of URANIUM ORE DEPOSITS, to entice both Foreign Specialists + Third-Party Govts-States.
In addition, as per LRBMS Iran has PAKISTAN + NORTH KOREA on one side, + indir rival TURKEY next door.
TURKEY = will repor dev a new 2500-KM ICBM, A TECH WHOSE DATUMS = MILSPECS WILL BE TOO ENTICING FOR IRAN + MILTERRS TO NOT TRY + GET ACCESS TO - LEGALLY OR ILLEGALLY.
#22
Actually there are no more US Tomcats; they all got cut up several years ago in response to illegal sales of their parts to Iran. too bad they didn't cut up the POS doing the selling. all the F-14 gate guards and museum pieces were rendered nonflyable as part of the deal to put them on display.
Syrian state media publishes letter, allegedly sent by Yedioth Ahornoth, describing exiles who interviewed for the publication as traitors; document aims to spark conflict within opposition
Syrian state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
and a website controlled by Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Leveler of Latakia... 's government published a letter over the weekend, allegedly sent from Yedioth Ahronoth, presenting Syrian exiles who were interviewed by the newspaper as "traitors."
The fallacy-ridden letter appears to have been printed on Yehioth Ahronoth stationary, and incorrectly describes the manner in which the exiles decamped Syria with the help of US diplomats.
The reports came on the heels of an interview that was published in the newspaper last week, in which two US-based Syrian exiles recount how they were falsely imprisoned and tortured by Syrian security forces.
Moreover, the document contains manipulative statements aiming to implicate individuals who had no connection to the article, while also intending to spark a dispute between Syrian opposition factions. The name of the supposed sender and other details have been removed from the document.
Yedioth Ahronoth stressed Sunday that the publication had nothing to do with the letter.
In last week's interview, the exiles denounced the Assad regime and called on the international community to bomb Syria. The article stirred controversy across the Arab world.
Efforts to uncover exiles' identities
Since the article's release, the Syrian regime made great efforts to uncover the identities of the exiles, whose names were withheld to protect their families back home. Yedioth Ahronoth posited that the fake letter was part of those efforts.
The two interviewees received an asylum in the US and have met with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ... sometimes described as The Woman to Call at 3 a.m. and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as Another William Jennings Bryan ... . They agreed to talk to the Israeli media in hopes that the Jewish state could help bring about humanitarian intervention in their homeland, which has been marred by a bloody crackdown on a popular uprising that began in March.
They later told the newspaper that they were not surprised to see the bogus document published by Syrian state media. They have learned from personal experience that the Assad regime is capable of far worse than faking a letter.
"The website that first published the letter is an Assad mouthpiece," another Syria exile told Yedioth Ahronoth. "These are their tactics."
Knesset Member Yitzhak Herzog addressed the letter on Saturday, after speaking with Syrian opposition members abroad.
"The Syrian regime appears to be under great pressure, if it allows a website under its control to fake an official document from a newspaper like Yedioth Ahronoth," he said.
[Al Ahram] Iran's currency, the rial, slumped 12 per cent in street trading Monday, accelerating a slide triggered on the weekend when the United States activated new sanctions over Tehran's nuclear drive.
The rial was being exchanged for 17,800 to the dollar late Monday.
Before US President Barack Because I won Obama on Saturday signed into law the new sanctions targeting Iran's financial sector and central bank, the rial was trading around 15,500 to the dollar.
Over the past year, the rial has lost 66 per cent of its value against the dollar.
The European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... is mulling its own additional sanctions, including a possible embargo on Iranian oil imports. If those are decided at an EU foreign ministers' meeting at the end of this month, Iran's rial could show further strain.
Iran has threatened to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz -- a passage at the entrance to the Gulf through which 20 per cent of the world's oil flows -- if further sanctions are applied.
The United States and its allies have imposed the sanctions to pressure Iran to halt its nuclear programme, which they fear is being used to develop atomic weapons.
Tehran denies that, saying the programme is for exclusively peaceful purposes: generating energy and providing isotopes for medical use.
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01/03/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
Importantly, oil is fungible. Given time to adapt to a changed market, production and distribution will be modified to minimize disruption. Here is a map of the Middle East pipelines.
[Al Ahram] La Belle France said on Monday that Iran's testing of missiles near the strategic Strait of Hormuz was regrettable and reminded Tehran of the need to keep the vital oil transit waterway open.
"We regret the very bad signal sent to the international community by the latest missile tests announced by Iran," foreign ministry front man Bernard Valero said, reminding Tehran of the "freedom of navigation in straits and the need to maintain a favourable climate in respect to this freedom."
Iran on Monday tested missiles near the Strait of Hormuz, underlining its threats to close the waterway as the West prepares to impose more economic sanctions to punish Tehran for its controversial nuclear work.
The launch of two missiles took place on the final day of war games in waters east of the strait at the entrance to the Gulf.
The show of military muscle was designed to show Iran's ability to close the Strait of Hormuz -- through which 20 per cent of the world's oil flows -- if it chooses.
Valero said talks in the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... on an embargo on Iranian oil imports "are progressing well". A meeting of EU foreign ministers at the end of this month will decide whether to implement the measure.
US President Barack In case you missed it, this week, there was a tragedy in Kansas. Ten thousand people died -- an entire town destroyed Obama also upped the pressure at the weekend, signing into law new unilateral sanctions targeting Iran's central bank and financial sector.
"We consider that the measures adopted this weekend by the United States go in the right direction," Valero said.
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01/03/2012 00:00 ||
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Is 'very bad signal' diplospeak for 'no way we can leverage this to our financial advantage'?
TEHRAN - A trial in Iran of an American-Iranian man accused of being a CIA spy has finished and he is now awaiting the verdict, the countrys chief prosecutor said Monday, according to the Mehr news agency.
The prosecutor, Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejeie, also rejected a US government call for the accused man, Amir Mirzai Hekmati, to be released. The prosecution has demanded the maximum punishment in the case, which presumably means the death penalty.
Hekmati, a 28-year-old former US Marine born in the United States to an Iranian immigrant family, was shown on Iranian state television mid-December saying in fluent Farsi and English that he was a CIA operative sent to infiltrate the Iranian intelligence ministry.
In his sole trial hearing, on December 27, prosecutors said Hekmatis confession showed he worked with the US Central Intelligence Agency to try to infiltrate the Iranian intelligence ministry by posing as a disaffected former US soldier with classified information to give.
The trial of the accused is finished. The (defence) lawyer has to submit his argument. The judge has not yet given his verdict, Ejeie was quoted as saying. He added that the US government was brazen to request Hekmatis release, saying he committed a crime in Iran and must be judged according to the law.
The US State Department said Iran has not permitted diplomats from the Swiss embassy in Tehran which handles US interests in the absence of US-Iran ties to see Hekmati.
Hekmati, who was born in the United States, travelled to Iran months ago to visit his Iranian grandmothers, according to his family in the US, who insist that he is not a spy.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/03/2012 00:00 ||
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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.
CAIRO: The trial of Hosni Mubarak resumed on Monday amid speculation that a recent acquittal of policemen tried for killing Egyptian protesters could be a prelude to the dismissal of charges against the ousted leader.
Goodluck Jonathan
... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it...
SANAA: A dissident Yemeni general said Monday that President Ali Abdullah Saleh wants to sabotage the Gulf-sponsored political transition plan that calls for him to formally resign in February.
(Ay Pee) -- Sultan Mehmood Gujar was a solid supporter of Islamist 
Iran will take action if a U.S. aircraft carrier which left the area because of Iranian naval exercises returns to the Gulf, the state news agency quoted army chief 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
Hillary Clinton
TEHRAN - A trial in Iran of an American-Iranian man accused of being a CIA spy has finished and he is now awaiting the verdict, the countrys chief prosecutor said Monday, according to the Mehr news agency.
