[Daily Nation (Kenya)] The Kenyan military said on Saturday it is now halfway through its mission to eliminate Al-Shabaab ... Harakat ash-Shabaab al-Mujahidin aka the Mujahideen Youth Movement. It was originally the youth movement of the Islamic Courts, now pretty much all of what's left of it. They are aligned with al-Qaeda but operate more like the Afghan or Pakistani Taliban... in southern Somalia, the objective of Operation Linda Nchi, which enters its 15th week on Sunday.
Speaking at the weekly media briefing on the operation at the Department of Defence headquarters, Col Cyrus Oguna, who is in charge of information and operations, said the Kenya Defence Forces are keen on destroying Al-Shabaab's command and logistics centres.
"As we are speaking now, Al-Shabaab is halfway in the pit," said Col Oguna, who was accompanied by the director of Horn of Africa division at the Foreign Affairs ministry Lindsay Kiptiness and deputy police front man Charles Owino.
"The targeting has been on logistics bases and command centres and (these) are critical in any operation. And if you cripple a logistics base and a command centre, the war is halfway won," said Col Oguna.
Winning the other half requires you to dig the bastards out of their holes and force them to surrender. Or to die. That's not quite as easy as crippling a logistics base, but until you do it the war remains only halfway won.
He said the assessment of the progress made so far was based on the recent air strikes at Bibi and Jilib on January 15, at Tatar the following day and Bula Haji in the Southern Sector on January 18.
Six vehicles -- five Toyota Land Cruisers and a lorry -- were destroyed in the air strikes, and KDF said six Al-Shabaab commanders and an unknown number of members of the militia group were killed.
On Saturday evening, there were reports from security agents in Mogadishu that Bilal El Berjawi, considered the successor to Fazul Abdalla and Saleh Nabhan at the helm of the Al-Qaeda terror group, had been killed in an kaboom linked to infighting within Al-Shabaab.
Col Oguna said the destruction of the defensive and supply base at Bibi and another at a town known as Hayo were crucial to KDF's mission to obliterate the group seen as a legitimate threat to Kenya's stability and economy.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/23/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
A kick in the shorts can be temporarily 'crippling'. Kinda short-term, though.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
01/23/2012 10:26 Comments ||
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#2
It may be short-term, Mullah, but done properly it can prevent second generation problems.
CAIRO: Hosni Mubarak is still the president of Egypt and the court trying him has no legal jurisdiction to do so, his defense lawyer said on Sunday, trying to undermine the prosecutions case against the leader deposed in a popular revolt last year.
Lawyer Farid El-Deeb was defending Mubarak for the fifth and final day of a trial that Egyptians who rose up against Mubaraks 30-year-rule hope will bring justice. The prosecution is seeking the death sentence on a charge that Mubarak was involved in the killing of some 850 protesters in the uprising.
Mubaraks defense has denied those charges and attacked the prosecutions case on other charges of corruption and abuse of power. Many Egyptians who want to see Mubarak held to account worry the case is not as strong as it should be.
A light sentence or an acquittal may fuel more rage and is likely to lead to street protests. Activists are calling for mass demonstrations on Jan. 25, the anniversary of the uprising.
Is Hosni Mubarak still the president? I say yes. In accordance with the constitution, he is still the president until this day, Deeb said to applause and chants of God is Greatest among the defense team. We have a clear constitutional article that stipulates that the president of the state is to be tried by a special court.
Citing texts from the 1971 constitution, Deeb said the president can only be referred to trial by two-thirds of parliament and that only a special tribunal can try him.
Any law that contradicts that article is overruled, Deeb said, as the security officers who filled up the court room, looked at each other in amusement and shock.
Amusement for the audacity, shock that the defense team is still alive...
Mubaraks defense told the court, as plaintiffs interrupted with verbal objections and others walked out, that Mubarak did not step down from office in accordance with the constitution. He would have had to send a written resignation to parliament. Instead, his deputy read out a televised statement in which he avoided the word resignation and said Mubarak was handing power to the Supreme Military Council, a group of army generals who have ruled Egypt since Feb. 11.
There is no such thing as a president of a state resigning just by informing his vice president, Deeb said, raising the pitch of his voice and flaring his arms in the direction of the cage where Mubarak and other defendants were.
Some of the lawyers representing about 850 protesters killed during the uprising yelled this is a revolution!
Ah, but was it a legal revolution?
Based on this fact, all the investigations and the referral to court is void and this court is not entitled to hear this case, Deeb said.
I call for a verdict in which this court says it is not entitled to hear the case, he added, calling for a preliminary innocent verdict to release the defendants.
As in previous sessions, the 83-year-old Mubarak was wheeled into the courtroom on a hospital trolley. The former air force commander listened to the defense, alongside him his two sons who are standing trial on charges of corruption, his former interior minister and other senior officers.
Broadcast live in its early stages, the trial mesmerised millions of Arabs. Mubarak is the first Arab leader toppled in a wave of protests to appear in court in person.
Mubarak, I tell you, as you are surprised by the betrayal ... do not despair as you hear and listen to your sons, your people, your brothers, turning on you, Deeb said.
You who have carried Egypt on your shoulders when you fought for Egypt and for the Egyptian people, he added.
The presiding judge suspended the trial until Monday, closing up his notes and leaving the room. The judge has given the defense until Feb. 16 to make their case.
No one will be happier than he when Mr. Deeb is done...
Mubaraks defense has said his accusers have no evidence that he ordered the killing of protesters and pointed out irregularities in their investigations.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/23/2012 00:00 ||
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[Magharebia] Morocco's newly appointed justice minister could soon seek a royal pardon for Salafist ...Salafists espouse an austere form of Sunni Islam that seeks a return to practices that were common in the 7th century. Rather than doing that themselves and letting other people alone they insist everybody do as they say and they try to kill everybody who doesn't... jihadists.
Justice Minister Mustapha Ramid has long been a champion of the issue, working for detainees as a lawyer and during his time as chairman of the Forum for Dignity (Al Karama). The minister, a member of the moderate Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD), is expected to announce his official position on the cases soon.
The Salafists have high expectations. Since the release of around ten Salafist detainees after a pardon from King Mohammed VI following a recommendation from the National Human Rights Advisory Council (CNDH) in April 2011, others have been waiting for their turn. Ramid's appointment has revived those hopes.
Released nine months ago, former Salafist detainee Mohamed Fizazi was once sentenced to 30 years in prison because of the ideological influence he had over the 2003 Casablanca bombers. Fizazi said his wish came true with Ramid's appointment to the justice ministry.
"Ramid is courageous in defending people's rights. He defended our cause with great daring. He now needs to open an inquiry into the case of the Salafists, which is clearly a thorny issue and full of injustice," commented the man known as the "Prince of the Salafists".
The minister has made it known that his ministry cannot intervene in cases that have already gone before independent magistrates. According to Ramid, the only solution available for the moment is to prepare a case for a royal pardon, and to lay it before the sovereign.
The minister said that there would certainly be the possibility of a legislative general amnesty under Article 71 of the new constitution, but that the procedure would be lengthy. "No individual, including the justice minister, has the right to intervene now or at any time in the future in decisions taken by magistrates," Ramid said.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/23/2012 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Abdul Hafiz Ghoga, the deputy head of Libya's ruling National Transitional Council, told Agence La Belle France Presse on Sunday that he is resigning from his post.
"My resignation shows that the NTC is a tribune for fighting for a cause and not a governing body. We are not looking for posts," he said.
Ghoga also told Arab satellite broadcaster Al-Jazeera that he was resigning "for national interests."
He said in a telephone call with the channel that his decision comes after "recent events," a reference to protests in the eastern city of Benghazi where protesters rolled their eyes, jumped up and down, and hollered poorly rhymed slogans real loud against him and opposed his presence in the council.
Several NTC members contacted by AFP said they were unaware of Ghoga's resignation.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/23/2012 00:00 ||
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[Daily Nation (Kenya)] UN leader the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon ... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan... is "appalled" by the wave of kabooms in Nigeria and called for transparent investigations into the scores of deaths, his front man said.0
"Bad guys dunnit. Prob'ly Boko Haram."
Ban "condemns in the strongest terms the multiple attacks that have taken place across the northern Nigerian city of Kano, causing large-scale casualties and massive destruction to property," said Ban Ki-moon in a statement released by his front man late Saturday.
"The secretary general is appalled at the frequency and intensity of recent attacks in Nigeria, which demonstrate a wanton and unacceptable disregard for human life."
Ban expressed "solidarity" with the Nigerian government and people and called for "swift and transparent investigations" into the attacks.
Nigerian 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... also arrived in Kano on Sunday to inspect sites hit in one of the deadliest waves of attacks in the Mohammedan north of the country, an AFP news hound said.
He visited the bombed regional police headquarters, two days after the violence targeted eight sites in Kano, including police offices, and killed at least 166 people.
"A terrorist attack on one person is an attack on all of us," Jonathan said.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/23/2012 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] The main opposition BNP has asked the government to disclose all facts regarding the plot to topple it after conducting a fair probe into it.
The party has also urged all members of the armed forces to uphold unity, solidarity and discipline at any cost.
"The government has thrown its credibility into question by providing incomplete information before the completion of the probe and spewing propaganda against the opposition ahead of its Dhaka rally," said BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir.
He was speaking at a presser at the party chairperson's political office at Gulshan in the city. It was the BNP's first official reaction to the army's announcement that it had "foiled a conspiracy to topple the government."
Addressing all members of the armed forces, he said, "Do not walk into a trap. We do not want any division, rashness or anarchy in the armed forces. We do not want to see any conflict or clash in army barracks, or hear the cries of a mother, a widow or a father."
He thanked Almighty Allah that no bloodshed had happened, and that the civil administration and constitutional process prevailed in the country.
"The game of blaming one another will not bring any success to anyone. It will rather result in a deterioration in the situation."
Alamgir alleged that the ruling party wanted to use the existing situation to further its own interests. He urged people in the government not to use the army for their petty party interests.
"The army's statement on Thursday is a reflection of the government's thoughts. The details of the failed coup were not provided. It did not even mention the names of the members of the court of inquiry."
Asked whether Khaleda Zia Three-term PM of Bangla, widow of deceased dictator Ziaur Rahman, head of the Bangla Nationalist Party, an apparent magnet for corruption ... had hinted at such an event through her allegation of the disappearance of army officers, Alamgir said she wanted to know about the matter from the government as "such information" was available in the media and on blogs.
It may be recalled that the BNP chairperson alleged at a Chittagong rally on January 9 that army officers had been disappearing.
Alamgir blamed ruling party leaders and the Indian media for carrying out propaganda implicating the BNP in the incident. He said the BNP always believed in a hand over of power through a free and fair election with the support of the people.
He also accused the Awami League of supporting army intervention in politics in 1975, 1982 and 2007.
When a news hound inquired whether the BNP wanted to have a discussion in parliament on the incident, he said the party's standing committee and parliamentary party would decide on the matter.
BNP standing committee members Moudud Ahmed, Nazrul Islam Khan, Dr Moyeen Khan, Jamiruddin Sircar and Mirza Abbas, party vice chairman Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury, and chairperson's adviser Osman Farruk were also present.
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01/23/2012 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] Abdullahhil Aman Azmi, a former brigadier general in Bangladesh Army, also a son of former Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... chief Ghulam Azam, yesterday claimed neither he nor any of his family members was involved in the recent "failed coup in the army".
Reading out a written statement at a media conference in his Moghbazar residence in the capital, Abdullahhil said "imaginary news reports" have been published by different news outlets trying to link him and his younger brother, who lives in the UK, with the "failed coup".
"I strongly protest against such false, baseless, fabricated and motivated news," he said claiming that a vested quarter has been publishing such news in a bid to tarnish the image of him and his family.
The former brigadier general condemned the "attempt to carry out a coup", and demanded stern punishment for those who were involved in it.
Mentioning that he served the army wholeheartedly for 30 years with sincerity, honesty, and discipline, Abdullahhil claimed all serving and retired senior officers including the present army chief and the retired chiefs, who were and have been in the army since his joining in the force, will give testimony in favour of his claim.
"There is no instance of me being punished for violating discipline," he claimed adding that he devoted his whole life for the development and prosperity of the army.
He also claimed neither he nor any of his family members knows the "reported plotter of the coup", Ishraq Ahmed, who "reportedly resides in Hong Kong".
"None of our family has even any remote relation with a person of that name," he said.
News reports about his younger brother Numan Azmi living in Malaysia or Pakistain and contacting Ishraq are also blatantly false, Abdullahhil claimed.
"Actually he [Numan] has never been in any third country other than Bangladesh and the UK," Abdullahhil said adding, "This morning I talked to him several times and he is now in the UK."
Posted by: Fred ||
01/23/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
See also INDIAN DEFENCE FORUM > "INDIA SHOULD WATCH FOR ISLAMISTS [wid violent/extremist views] IN BANGLADESH".
[Bangla Daily Star] Fifteen months after it was banned, the Islamist outfit Hizb-ut-Tahrir is once again in the spotlight after the army pointed to its involvement in the recent foiled plot to topple the government.
The banned ...the word banned seems to have a different meaning in Pakistain than it does in most other places. Or maybe it simply lacks any meaning at all...
organization on January 8 circulated provocative leaflets based on runaway Maj Syed Ziaul Haq's internet message throughout the country, the army said at a presser on January 19.
The Bangladesh chapter of Hizb-ut-Tahrir was banned on October 22, 2010 for its anti-state subversive activities.
However, death is not the end. There remains the litigation over the estate... instead of ceasing its activities, the outfit tried to bring out processions and hold rallies on several occasions in and outside the capital and advertised several of its publications.
It circulated the internet message of Maj Ziaul, who met a serving officer on December 22 last year and instigated him to engage in activities subversive of the state and democracy. The banned outfit also circulated a provocative leaflet in Bangla and English in December asking army officers to remove Sheikh Hasina from power and "establish Khilafat".
The army at its presser said a few incarcerated and suspected officers involved in the foiled plot were linked with the outlawed outfit.
"If you review the mode of activities of hard boy organizations, their indoctrination system, ideology and how they work, you will know that two to three officers who admitted their links with Hizb-ut-Tahrir relate to the patterns [mentioned above]," said Brig Gen Mashud Razzaq while responding to journalists' queries.
"Besides, information given on email has been mentioned in Hizb-ut-Tahrir leaflets," he added. He, however, said the links could be confirmed once investigations had been completed.
Against the backdrop of the latest developments, the law enforcement agencies have strengthened their efforts to trap Hizb-ut-Tahrir activists in the country.
A number of activists have already been incarcerated in the act of distributing posters, leaflets and other publications.
The outfit, however, continues promoting its activities, thus defying the government ban and challenging the law enforcers. Its members are continuously posting Tahrir posters on walls, bringing out processions, distributing leaflets and carrying out motivational activities across the country.
Posters at different strategic points across the country contain calls to support the outfit to topple the government and implement its proposed Islamic government.
Talking to The Daily Star, several top-ranked officials of the elite Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) and Detective Branch of police expressed their inability to combat the outfit's activities. They have stressed the need for a separate tribunal to check unabated militancy.
They said they had already launched a crackdown on Tahrir, pointing out that the arrest of five activists in Uttara was a part of the ongoing crackdown.
Lt Col Ziaul Ahsan, director of the Intelligence Wing of Rab, told The Daily Star, "It is tough to stop Tahrir men as they get all kinds of support from the organization if they are incarcerated. Families of the jugged activists also get financial support. As a result, they don't bother much about the arrest."
Since the ban, some 500 Hizb-ut men have been incarcerated, but most of them are now out on bail.
This article starring:
Maj Ziaul
Posted by: Fred ||
01/23/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
Think about it. When DoJ dumps lots of arms into Mexico to the cartels, it's sort of like someone
'inadvertently' dumping nails on the road driving business up at the local tire dealership.
Marine Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich agreed Monday to plead guilty to dereliction of duty for his role in the 2005 killings of 24 civilians in Haditha, Iraq.
Wuterich, the 31-year-old former squad leader, had been facing additional charges of manslaughter and assault. He originally had been charged with murder, but an investigating officer recommended downgrading the charges because of a lack of evidence.
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/23/2012 15:11 ||
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#1
I read the article and don't get this. Neither Wuterich nor his attorney say why he's pleading guilty.
If he honored the rules of engagement at the time, then by definition it wasn't dereliction of duty. He, his squad mates, and his commanding officer all say they were operating within the rules.
So why the plea?
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/23/2012 15:57 Comments ||
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#2
More here including the release by his defense attorneys - No one denies that the consequences of November 19, 2005 were tragic, least of all SSgt Frank Wuterich. But the fact of the matter is that he has now been totally exonerated of the homicide charges brought against him by the government and the media. For six years, hes had his name dragged through the mud. Today, we hope, is the beginning of his redemption. He has always publicly taken responsibility for the lawful actions of his squad that day, as portrayed in his interview with CBS 60 Minutes. Todays agreement is completely consistent with everything he has always said. Which is that the decisions he made that day led to an outcome that was tragic and regrettable and he takes responsibility for them, but they were not criminal.
#3
Compromise. Looks like government can't prove its case, but can make life very miserable for Wuterich. This deal may let government save face and let Wuterich end a nightmare at relatively little future cost. May not be justice, but pretty standard in the civilian world, so I figure it's not out of the norm in the military justice world.
#4
The sad thing is ALL the other defendants, his commander, and his troops, were either completely acquitted, or the prosecution was forced to drop the charges because they had insufficient evidence to prove the case. These were the Marines that the scumbag Murtha hung publicly.
Patrick Cunningham, chief of the criminal division of the U.S. Attorneys office in Phoenix, will invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination during a deposition scheduled Tuesday with Congressional investigators.
The other night, Texas Rep. Blake Farenthold, a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, appeared as a guest on Fox News Lou Dodds Program. He was not sympathetic to Cunninghams situation. Link is to video
Its an absolutely stunning revelation. This man is a government employee being asked to testify before his bosses, the hard-working American taxpayers. Congressman Blake Farenthold
You take the Fifth when you are about to be charged with a crime or are potentially guilty of a crime.Congressman Blake Farenthold
Cunninghams announcement marks the first time in the year-long investigation of Operation Fast and Furious that someone has invoked the Fifth Amendment right to remain silent. Many believe it was due to happen sooner or later.
It is fair to question why Cunningham believes he may self-incriminate by answering questions, or what he may know that could be subsequently used against him in a court of law. Others have come forward from the beginning; people whose careers have been damaged because they blew the whistle.
In less than two weeks, Attorney General Eric Holder is scheduled to testify before the House Oversight Committee, chaired by California Congressman Darrell Issa. It would not be unfair to speculate just what it is that Cunningham will not discuss that might have steered questions to Holder by Issa, Farenthold and their colleagues.
What appears to be on Farentholds mind, as well as many others, is the lesson learned from Watergate almost 40 years ago.
The truth always bubbles up in these issues and these facts, and it just takes a while to get there sometimes. Im frustrated with how long it is taking to get there, but again, youve got a cover-up and everyone knows in Washington its the cover-up that gets you.Congressman Blake Farenthold
#4
Have to love how a chief of a criminal division in the US Attorney's Office can invoke the Fifth on a criminal matter, and the MSM ... doesn't really care.
If only he were a Republican...
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/23/2012 15:55 Comments ||
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#5
This smells.
However, you'll recall how they got Libby. His memory diverged from somebody else's memory and the feds had some handwritten notes and...the jury was convinced that he couldn't have forgotten what he said and so he was lying when he said he forgot it.
IOW, it was a matter of a finding of how good Libby's memory was.
If you can't get Fitzmas, at least you can prosecute dueling memories.
I'd claim the Fifth if a fed asked me how my day was going.
Posted by: Richard Aubrey ||
01/23/2012 17:09 Comments ||
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#6
Richard, I have seen several things on the internet about how careful you have to be when talking to cops (and that goes double for FBI and/or Congress). Even if you are completely innocent. Cops can take anything you say and potentially turn it into evidence against you.
Invoking the Fifth does NOT mean you are guilty, even though a lot of people think that is the case. As the Scooter Libby case shows, all it takes is misremembering something, and suddenly you are looking at hard time.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
01/23/2012 19:09 Comments ||
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#7
In Cunningham's position I too would plead the Fifth. Wouldn't trust Holder, of course, but wouldn't trust Issa either.
#8
It would not surprise me if Cunningham dangled that 'Fifth' out there to see if there will be an immunity offer. Asclose as he was to the epicenter, he may have gotten a dose of 'conscious' and wants to right the wrongs.
i think he should behiring a car starter and food taster, especially if the immunity offer is made.......
BAGHDAD: Iraqs government cracked down harshly on dissent during the past year of Arab Spring uprisings, turning the country into a budding police state as autocratic regimes crumbled elsewhere in the region, an international rights groups said Sunday.
Security forces abuse protesters, harass journalists, torture detainees and intimidate activists, Human Rights Watch said in the Iraq chapter of its annual report.
Iraq is quickly slipping back into authoritarianism, said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director for the New York-based group. Despite US government assurances that it helped create a stable democracy (in Iraq), the reality is that it left behind a budding police state, she said.
But you didn't want us to stick around longer to work on the problem, so this is what you're left with. Happy now?
Protests against Iraqs US-backed and democratically elected government erupted around the country in February 2011, alongside other demonstrations in the Arab world. While protests in other countries demanded the downfall of autocratic regimes, most of the demonstrations in Iraq pushed for improved services like reliable electricity and water, and an end to corruption.
The government clamped down, sometimes sparking bloody clashes as when 14 were killed in confrontations between security forces and civilians across the country during the Feb. 25 protests billed as the Day of Rage.
A year later, with US troops withdrawn and Iraqs government mired in a political crisis, the protest movement has all but died out. Demonstrators who gather in Baghdads central Tahrir Square are usually outnumbered by the security forces watching over them.
Iraqis are quickly losing ground on the most basic of rights, including the right to free speech and assembly, said Samer Muscati, an Iraq researcher for the group. Nowadays, every time someone attends a peaceful protest, they put themselves at risk of attack and abuse by security forces or their proxies, he said.
Prison brutality, including torture in detention facilities, was a major problem throughout the year, the groups annual report said.
In February 2011 Human Rights Watch uncovered a secret detention center, controlled by elite forces who report to the prime ministers military office. The group claimed authorities transferred more than 280 detainees to the facility since the beginning of 2010 and charged detainees were tortured there with impunity. Government officials denied the facilitys existence and alleged abuses.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/23/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
Errant children always stamp their feet, but they never really want yes for an answer.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu Sunday called on Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein to open an investigation into Jerusalem Mufti Muhammad Hussein for incitement after he was recorded quoting a passage by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Hadith that calls for the killing of Jews.
"These are grave words that the world needs to condemn," Netanyahu said.
Responding to the allegations of incitement on Israel Radio Sunday, Sheikh Muhammad Hussein denied inciting the murder of Jews, saying he was just quoting the Islamic text. "I can't change the Hadith," he added.
MANILA: Communist guerrillas killed about 100 government troops and police and waged 447 attacks last year despite a continuing decline in their 43-year insurgency, the military said Sunday. The reported attacks by New Peoples Army guerrillas included 31 assaults on mining firms, banana plantations and other businesses. They earned nearly $7 million (300 million pesos) from extortion in 2011, military spokesman Col. Arnulfo Burgos said.
Although the Marxist insurgency, one of Asias longest-running, remains the Philippines leading security threat, rebel attacks have declined in recent years. The number of armed rebel fighters dropped 7.8 percent last year to 4,043, Burgos said.
The 447 rebel attacks last year were 11 percent fewer than in 2010 and consisted mostly of small assaults on remote detachments, killings, kidnappings, bombing and arson conducted as part of extortion demands, Burgos said. He said only 69 were major assaults, including simultaneous attacks in October on three nickel mining complexes in southeastern Surigao del Norte province that involved more than 200 guerrillas.
About 100 soldiers and troops were killed in rebel assaults last year, down from 184 in 2010, he said.
The Maoist rebels reliance on extortion from businesses and even poor villagers reflects a decline in their support from communities, Burgos said.
President Benigno Aquino III has opened peace talks with the rebels but the negotiations have been stalled for months over a guerrilla demand for officials to release more jailed rebels. Norway, which has been brokering the talks, has tried but failed so far to bridge the differences.
Political analyst Ramon Casiple said it is much harder now for the rebels to win political support from the people under the popular Aquino, son of revered pro-democracy figures, than in the time of disgraced leaders like former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who has been detained for alleged corruption, and the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, who was accused of plunder and massive human rights violations.
The rebels are dealing with a government that they cannot isolate politically like Marcos, Casiple said. Its also a political conflict, a battle for hearts and minds.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/23/2012 00:00 ||
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A senior member of Iran's parliament said on Monday the Islamic Republic would close the entry point to the Gulf if new sanctions block its oil exports, reiterating a threat made by officials a month ago that caused a temporary oil price spike.
"If any disruption happens regarding the sale of Iranian oil, the Strait of Hormuz will definitely be closed," Mohammad Kossari, deputy head of parliament's foreign affairs and national security committee, told the semi-official Fars news agency.
The threat came after European Union nations agreed on an oil embargo against Iran as part of sanctions over its nuclear programme. Diplomats in Brussels said the EU foreign ministers would officially adopt the measures later on Monday that were hashed out by the 27 ambassadors.
The measures include an immediate embargo on new contracts for crude oil and petroleum products while existing ones are allowed to run until July.
"I am confident that the EU will give a resolute answer today to Iran's refusal to fulfill its international obligations on the nuclear programme," German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said ahead of the official adoption by the foreign ministers.
#2
Iran's prob is keeping the Strait closed, espec iff the US Navy-DOD + NATO come around.
IMO Tehran must recognize they aren't ready at this time to seriously confront the US-NATO Navies, etc. in the Gulf, hence my belief that Tehran is indir/roundaboutly targeting + humiliating the SAUDI-led, mostly Sunni Arab League + OPEC-OIC.
The Arab League thus far isn't taking any sort of unilateral, non-US,NATO led Milaction agz Baby Assad's anti-Arab Spring bloody crackdown in Syruh - PRECISELY THE POINT???
Lastly, any serious Iranian closure of the Gulf makes the PIPELINE WARS in WEST, CENTRAL, + SOUTH ASIA that much more important.
[PIERCE BROSNAN, SOPHIE MARCEAU = JAMES BOND 007's THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH here].
#3
TOPIX > [Daily Mail.UK] WAR WID IRAN COULD TIP US INTO BLOODIEST CONFLICT SINCE 1945.
ARTIC = Despite any negative feelings they may have towards the Tehran Govt-Regime, the 1980's Iran-Iraq War showed that the People of Iran as a class are fiercely patriotic/nationalistic, hence are more likely to unite behind the Mullahs, NOT the US-Israel-Allies, in response to any foreign attack or invasion of Iran.
YYYUUUUPPPP - I MIGHT ALSO ADD NOT JUST A VIOLENT OR "BLOODY" CONFLICT [casualty-intensive], BUT ALSO POTENS HIGHLY DAMAGING, IFF NOT DESTRUCTIVE OR CATASTROPHIC, TO US + UK GEOPOL STATUS IN THE WORLD.
THE CONVENTIONAL = LIMITED NUCLEAR? NUCLEAR? EXISTENTIAL "MOTHER OF ALL BATTLES" + "PEOPLE'S WAR" THAT SADDAMIST IRAQ WAS NOT.
Iff the Mullahs have their way, it will be a REGIONAL, TRANS-REGIONAL, + GLOBAL CONFLICT.
Russia has signed a contract to sell combat jets to Syria in a show of support for President Bashar Assad's regime, a newspaper reported Monday.
The business daily Kommersant said, citing an identified source close to Russia's Rosoboronexport state arms trader, that the $550-million deal envisages the delivery of 36 Yak-130 aircraft. A spokesman for Rosoboronexport refused to comment on the report.
SYRIA has signed a $526.9 million contract to purchase 36 Yak-130 advanced training fighter planes from Russia.
The Kommersant business daily reported today that the deal was signed in December with Russia's Rosoboronexport state defence corporation.Kommersant cited a source close to the agency as saying that production of the jets would begin once the advance payment was made.
The two-seater entered serial production in 2009, with the defence ministry placing an order for 55 of the combat trainers from the Irkut defence corporation, according to Russian press reports.
The jets destined for Syria will be built separately from the ones commissioned by the Russian air force, Kommersant said.
"As soon as Syria transfers the advance to Russia, the factory will immediately assume the assembly of the second set for Syria," an unnamed source told the paper.
A Rosoboronexport spokesman declined to comment.
The US has expressed repeated concerns over Russia's military trade ties with Syria, which have continued despite the violent crackdown on protests pursued by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Russia, which along with China has blocked United Nations Security Council action against Assad, has defended the ties as legal under international law.
"We are only trading items with Syria that are not banned by international law," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said last week.
Wiki describes the Yak-130 here. As you might suggest, it has abilities other than just training; it's a dandy attack aircraft if your goal is to attack your own people. It wouldn't last long in a fight against the Israelis, but that's not the point here.
By the way, who's paying for the planes? Syria sure doesn't have the money.
If Syria's regime falls, the U.S. will be in a better position to answer one of the lingering questions from the long Iraq War: Did Storied Baghdad ...located along the Tigris River, founded in the 8th century, home of the Abbasid Caliphate... ship weapons of mass destruction components to Syria before the 2003 American-led invasion?
An opposition leader tells The Washington Times that a new, secular democracy in Syria would allow outside inspectors to survey and ensure destruction of what is believed to be one of the largest stockpiles of chemical weapons in the Middle East.
Western and Israeli intelligence suspect that Bashir al-Assad's regime in Syria also owns weaponized nerve agents.
Spy satellites tracked a large number of truck convoys moving from Iraq to Syria in the weeks before the 2003 invasion, raising suspicions that some carried weapons of mass destruction.
The invading Americans never found stocks of such weapons in Iraq, despite two years of searching by the Iraq Survey Group, the joint Pentagon-CIA organization formed to hunt for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
Yes, they did, but the reporting was limited, as it didn't fit the narrative Nonetheless, not nearly as much was found as was expected...and only some of those trucks were reported to be carrying Iraqi gold.
Charles Duelfer, who headed the Iraq Survey Group, filed a final addendum in 2005 to his exhaustive report. He said his Sherlocks found "sufficiently credible" evidence that material for weapons of mass destruction was shifted from Iraq to Syria.
"[The Iraq Survey Group] was unable to complete its investigation and is unable to rule out the possibility that [weapons of mass destruction were] evacuated to Syria before the war," he said.
"Whether Syria received military items from Iraq for safekeeping or other reasons has yet to be determined," Mr. Duelfer said. "There was evidence of a discussion of possible ... collaboration initiated by a Syrian security officer, and [the Iraq Survey Group] received information about movement of material out of Iraq, including the possibility that [weapons of mass destruction were] involved. In the judgment of the working group, these reports were sufficiently credible to merit further investigation."
#1
The Survey Group could have found ICBM's and MIRV's and the MSM would only begrudgedly reported it because it would have made George's premises correct.
The DCI, Tenent, was adamant that WMD existed in Iraq and the yellow cake thing was proven to be true, although buried on an obscure page in the WaPo. I don't think Tenent would have been so sure of himself if there was not credible evidence that they existed.
That's the way it is. If it walked like a duck, and quacks like a duck, its generally a duck and Saddam certainly quacked like someone with a butt load of WMD.
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
01/23/2012 10:15 Comments ||
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#2
Russians helped Saddam move his stuff the first time and I'm sure they'll help Bashir move it again.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
01/23/2012 10:21 Comments ||
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#5
Mullah,
According to former Deputy Undersecretary of Defense John A. Shaw, "The short answer to the question of where the WMD Saddam bought from the Russians went was that they went to Syria and Lebanon. They were moved by Russian Spetsnaz units out of uniform, that were specifically sent to Iraq to move the weaponry and eradicate any evidence of its existence." See here.
Posted by: Mike Ramsey ||
01/23/2012 15:38 Comments ||
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#6
"a new, secular democracy in Syria"
Dream on
Posted by: European Conservative ||
01/23/2012 17:59 Comments ||
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#7
Based on what's happened in the rest of the Mideast (Egypt, Tunisia, and probably Libya), the chance of a new secular democracy in Syria seems kind of slim.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
01/23/2012 19:12 Comments ||
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#8
WMDS, i.e. BioWar + ChemWar etc.. were found in Iraq. + evidence of budding covert NucProg - WHAT HAS NOT BEEN FOUND ARE FULLY ASSEMBLED, WORKING NUCLEAR BOMBS + WARHEADS ["Dirty",
Uranium, Hydrogen, Plutonium] WHICH IS WHAT THE CRITICS + MSM REALLY MEANT BY THE PDENIABLE LABEL "WMDS".
[An Nahar] Two Lebanese fishermen and the body of a third were handed over to the Lebanese army through the Abboudiyeh crossing at dawn Sunday after they were seized by Syria off the coast of the town of Arida the day before.
Sixteen-year-old Maher Hamad was killed and his uncles Fadi and Khaled, were seized and taken to the coastal city of Tartus in Syria after the Syrian navy opened fire on their boat.
A funeral procession for Maher made its way on Sunday from his parents' house in Arida towards the border, where mourners pelted Syrian troops on the other side with stones.
"There is no God but God, Bashir al-Assad is the enemy of God," they chanted, referring to the Syrian president who has faced 10 months of anti-regime protests.
Without the troops retaliating, the mourners turned around and made their way back to the village mosque.
Fadi Hamad recounted what he said was the boy's death at the hands of Syrian troops.
"We had cast our nets the night before and early Saturday morning we headed out to pull them in," Hamad, 36, told Agence La Belle France Presse.
"We then saw a boat pulling up to us and urged it to move back as they were nearing our net," he added.
"They disappeared briefly and then came back, and when they were near enough I could see about six gunnies in the boat. We were terrified. They opened fire and both Maher and my brother were maimed. Maher screamed."
The gunnies then forced the three fishermen into Syria, where Maher died of his wounds, he said.
Hamad said he was taken to a military intelligence center in Tartus where he was beaten and interrogated on whether he was an arms smuggler.
"I was asked repeatedly whether the arms were coming from Saad Hariri," Second son of Rafik Hariri, the Leb PM who was assassinated in 2005. He has was prime minister in his own right from 2009 through early 2011. He was born in Riyadh to an Iraqi mother and graduated from Georgetown University. He managed his father's business interests in Riyadh until his father's liquidation. When his father died he inherited a fortune of some $4.1 billion, which won't do him much good if Hizbullah has him bumped off, too. he said.
"I told them I was a fisherman... but they kept hitting me, and my hands were tied. About an hour later, I was told there had been a mistake and President Assad wanted to forgive me. I was also informed my nephew was dead."
Khaled Hamad, 35, was treated for gunshot wounds to the leg.
Protesters set up a tent near the border. They refused to leave until Syria returns the boat of the fishermen.
President Michel Suleiman ...before assuming office as President, he held the position of commander of the Leb Armed Forces. That was after the previous commander, the loathesome Emile Lahoud, took office as president in November of 1998. Likely the next president of Leb will be whoever's commander of the armed forces, too... condemned the incident on Saturday, saying they should be returned home. The two states must respect each other's illusory sovereignty and work together to prevent such incidents, he said.
Premier Najib Miqati also said the Lebanese-Syrian coordination committee should swiftly resolve the incident and bring back the men.
But Syria claimed on Saturday that its security forces seized the boat inside Syria's territorial waters after infiltrating form northern Leb in an attempt to smuggle arms.
The state-run Syrian news agency, SANA, said five Lebanese boats opened fire on the three men for trying to escape and injured two of them.
It did not say that the 16-year-old was killed.
Despite the Syrian claims, the Lebanese authorities remained mum.
However, some people cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go... several Arida residents told the media that not a single Lebanese boat can head deep into the sea without the supervision of official Lebanese apparatuses, which proves that SANA's statement is baseless.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/23/2012 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said on Sunday Riyadh was pulling its observers from the widely criticized Arab League ...an organization of Arabic-speaking states with 22 member countries and four observers. The League tries to achieve Arab consensus on issues, which usually leaves them doing nothing but a bit of grimacing and mustache cursing... observer mission to Syria because Damascus ...Capital of the last remaining Baathist regime in the world... had not kept its promises.
Soddy Arabia "is withdrawing from the mission because the Syrian government has not respected any of the clauses" in the Arab plan aimed at ending the crisis there, he said according to the text of a statement he made at a ministerial meeting of the 22-member body in Cairo.
Prince Saud also urged Arab nations to "seriously respect the decisions taken by the council of the vaporous Arab League to impose sanctions on Syria, in order to cause it to respect its commitments" to stop the violence.
In November, the League slapped strong sanctions on Syria, the first time such severe measures had been taken against one of its own members, freezing commercial transactions with the government and its accounts in Arab states.
"These sanctions are still valid, and we have not decided to lift them," Prince Saud said.
Riyadh's move came as foreign ministers of the pan-Arab body met to hear the recommendations of a League panel that the organization extend its monitoring mission to Syria by a month.
The panel was briefed earlier on the first month of the monitoring mission by its chief, General Mohammed Ahmed Mustafa al-Dabi of Sudan.
Dabi wants his mandate to be strengthened, not scrapped, a League official had said.
The Dabi report blames both sides in Syria, the government and opposition, for the bloodshed, according to an Arab diplomatic source.
It recommends extending the monitoring mission while cautioning that its observers would not be deployed indefinitely.
The United Nations ...boodling on the grand scale... says that at least 5,400 people have been killed in a Syrian government crackdown since mid-March last year, when protests erupted against the regime of Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Supressor of the Damascenes...
Posted by: Fred ||
01/23/2012 00:00 ||
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Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, denied on Saturday a report that appeared in Lebanese news outlet Elaph that one of Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal's daughter was tossed in the clink along with her husband in Syria over corruption charges, Egyptian daily Al Ahram's news website reported.
Hamas - in a written statement - called the report baseless and said it was simply an attempt to "discredit" the Islamist group and its leaders.
According the Elaph report, Syria also tossed in the clink two employees in Mashaal's Damascus ...Capital of the last remaining Baathist regime in the world... residence on suspicions that they doubled as spies for the Mossad.
Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? Mossad knows! Bwahahahah!
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.
the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon
Goodluck Jonathan
Khaleda Zia
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu Sunday called on Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein to open an investigation into Jerusalem Mufti Muhammad Hussein for incitement after he was recorded quoting a passage by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Hadith that calls for the killing of Jews.
Najib Miqati
