Nato forces aim to step away from the front lines in Afghanistan in the middle of next year and focus on training Afghan troops ahead of a complete withdrawal by 2015, US defence secretary Leon Panetta said today.
Speaking ahead of a summit with fellow defence ministers in Brussels, Mr Panetta said he believed international troops could end their combat role by the end of 2013, bringing a close to the decade-long engagement in Afghanistan.
"Hopefully by the mid to latter part of 2013 we'll be able to make a transition from a combat role to a training, advise and assist role," he told the Associated Press, adding that Nato troops would remain "combat-ready" in the event of a Taliban surge.
Britain and the United States, whose troops make up the overwhelming majority of the International Security Assistance Force, have previously said that all troops would withdraw by 2015 but Mr Panetta's comments are the first indication of when they could step away from the fiercest fighting.
He would not comment on whether the transition from fighting to training in late 2013 would mean a faster withdrawal of US troops. There are currently 91,000 American soldiers in Afghanistan, scheduled to be reduced to 68,000 by September.
Mr Panetta said next year would be critical for the success of the international mission in Afghanistan, noting that key provinces are scheduled to be transferred to the control of the Afghan security forces.
His comments came after a week in which France urged Nato to end its mission by the end next year, 12 months earlier than previously agreed.
#1
Over at CNBC + FOX FIVE, the News Pundits are wondering iff Leon was premature + said somethingy before the Bammer + Admin had formally approved it???
(Reuters) - The United States military has said in a secret report that the Taliban, backed by Pakistan, are set to retake control over Afghanistan after NATO-led forces withdraw from the country, Britain's Times of London newspaper said Wednesday.
"Many Afghans are already bracing themselves for an eventual return of the Taliban," the newspaper said, quoting the report. "Once ISAF (NATO-led forces) is no longer a factor, Taliban consider their victory inevitable," it quoted the report.
The Times said the "highly classified" report was put together by the U.S. military at Bagram air base in Afghanistan for top NATO officers last month. The BBC also carried a report on the leaked document.
Large swathes of Afghanistan have already been handed back to Afghan security forces, with the last foreign combat troops due to leave by the end of 2014.
The document cited by the Times and the BBC also stated that Pakistan's powerful security agency, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), was assisting the Taliban in directing attacks against foreign forces -- a charge denied by Islamabad.
A secret Nato report published by British media shows that the Taliban in Afghanistan are being directly assisted by Pakistani security services.
The report says that the Pak intelligence agency, ISI, "is thoroughly aware of Taliban activities and the whereabouts of all senior Taliban personnel"
They should, they provide meals, housing vouchers and expense accounts of all those 'senior Taliban personnel'...
The Taliban remain defiant and are widely supported by the Afghan people, according to the report.
The report, initially published by the Times of London and the BBC, has reportedly been derived from 27,000 interrogations with more than 4,000 captured Taliban, al-Qaeda and other foreign fighters and civilians.
The report, initially published by the Times of London and the BBC,
has reportedly been derived from 27,000 interrogations with more than 4,000 captured Taliban, al-Qaeda and other imported muscle and civilians.
"Pakistain's manipulation of the Taliban big shotship continues unabatedly," the report was quoted as saying.
"Pakistain knows everything. The Taliban are not Islam, the Taliban are Islamabad," the report says.
Part of the report which has been seen by TOLOnews says the Haqqani Network conducts most of the Taliban's "large-scale operations" in Kabul and the Taliban have designated the Afghan capital as "free area", in which any commander can conduct operation without prior coordination with the local command.
The report says that Sarajuddin Haqqani, the operational commander of the Haqqani Network, is in hiding and his brother Badruddin is in charge of all military operations.
The report also says Nasruddin, the oldest son of Haqqani Network's founder Jalaluddin Haqqani, who is described as loyal and competent "represents Sarajuddin in meetings with ISI [Pakistain intelligence agency] in Islamabad, Pakistain, and the Taliban Central Shura in Pak city of Quetta.
The report says that the Haqqani family "resides immediately west of the ISI office at the airfield in Miram Shah", Pakistain.
Oddly like the Osama bin Laden family residing in the shadow of the Abbotabad military academy.
A spokesperson for NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... -led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) LTC Jimmie Cummings said that "is clearly a collection of beturbanned goon detainee commentary, and should not be considered an analysis or any type of interpretation of campaign progress".
"This document aggregates the comments of Taliban detainees in a captive environment, without considering the validity of, or motivation behind their reflections," said Cummings in a statement.
Pakistain has always denied allegations of having any ties with the Taliban or other myrmidon groups.
Pakistani "truth".
"Afghan civilians frequently prefer Taliban governance over the Government of Afghanistan, usually as a result of government corruption, ethnic bias and lack of connection with local religious and tribal leaders," the report says.
The US Department of Defence has set out it fears about Pakistain and its influence in Afghanistan, but it said it could not comment on the report.
"We have long been concerned about ties between elements of the ISI and some beturbanned goon networks," said US Pentagon front man Captain John Kirby, adding that the US Defence Department had not seen the report.
Pakistain has frequently been accused by US officials of supporting beturbanned goons that carry out attacks against foreign troops and Afghan forces, something Pakistain has repeatedly denied.
The report comes as the Pak Foreign Minister Hinna Rabbani Khar is making her first visit to Kabul to extend Pakistain's support to Afghan peace efforts..
Taliban working with Pakistan (i.e. ISI, the state within the state):
Haqqani Network
Afghan Taliban (headquartered in Quetta, Pakistan)
Lashkar-e-Taiba
Hafiz Gul Bahadur's North Waziristan (AKA Muqami Tehrik-e Taliban)
Posted by: Mike Ramsey ||
02/01/2012 10:35 Comments ||
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#5
Tipper,
Bottom line Saudi funds all Sunni terrorist groups whilst Iran fund all Shia terrorist groups.
We in the West need to cut off funds to Islamist Pakistan,Egypt in the future and crack down on Saudi and Yemen Govts who are BFF of jihadis worldwide!
Posted by: Paul D ||
02/01/2012 10:43 Comments ||
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#6
So if the war in Afghanistan has done nothing else at least it has taught us who our real enemies are.
BEIJING: China's embassy in Sudan said all 29 Chinese workers kidnapped by rebels in the border state of South Kordofan remained in rebel hands, the official Xinhua news agency said on Monday, despite a Sudanese report that 14 of them had been freed.
The rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) said on Sunday it took the 29 workers for their safety after a battle with the Sudanese army. The army has been fighting the SPLM-N in South Kordofan bordering newly independent South Sudan since June. But there was uncertainty about how many of the workers remained with the rebels.
Sudan's state SUNA news agency said the Sudanese military had freed 14 of the workers. But on Monday, China's Xinhua news agency and government ministries continued to say 29 workers were abducted, and did not confirm the reported releases.
The Chinese embassy in Khartoum said 17 Chinese workers were "moved to a safe place by the Sudan army," but also that the "29 Chinese workers were still held by rebels," Xinhua reported.
"The abducted Chinese personnel have had all communications links with the outside world cut," an unidentified Chinese embassy official said, according to an earlier Xinhua report.
The fate of the workers has become a major news story in China where the country's expanding presence abroad and awareness of its rising status have brought public sensitivity about nationals killed or taken hostage.
The people leading the government, the flip side of China's growing nationalist fervour. Have fun riding that tiger, guys.
"The unstable political situation is the root reason for attack, and the possibility cannot be excluded that the rebels are targeting Chinese as a bargaining chip with the government," Li Xinfeng, a researcher on African affairs at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the China Daily newspaper.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/01/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
The fate of the workers has become a major news story in China where the country's expanding presence abroad and awareness of its rising status have brought public sensitivity about nationals killed or taken hostage.
Funny, they never seem to care when it happens in Pakistan.
[Pak Daily Times] Egypt's military leader has sacked the general responsible for media affairs to bolster an image tarnished by killings of protesters and accusations that the men in uniform are undermining Egypt's democratic revolution.
The change is the first in the military council since the generals took power from President Hosni Mubarak ...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011... during a popular uprising last February. Although it defused a violent confrontation by ushering Mubarak out, the military has also tried to crush subsequent protests by force, killing dozens. It has only grudgingly agreed to hand over to a civilian president by June, and tried to protect its privileges and avoid civilian oversight.
Major General Ismail Etman, 60, was "exempted from service and replaced by Major General Ahmed Abu El-Dahab, the director of the artillery division," a defence ministry source said. The decision was announced later by state media. Since the 1973 war against Israel, Egypt's army was seen as a respected institution set above the fray. But its direct involvement in politics has exposed it to closer scrutiny.
The generals are not trusted by many young pro-democracy campaigners, who suspect they want to curtail civilian power by exploiting the fragile security situation. Dozens died when the army tried to suppress protests on the streets of Cairo in November and December and video of soldiers mistreating injured demonstrators sparked widespread anger. The army said troops were also killed. It has blamed the violence on "invisible hands" determined to sow chaos among Egyptians and undermine the achievements of the uprising against Mubarak.
A source close to the military council said it was concerned about its deteriorating public image. "The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces concluded that the army's image in the media has suffered over the past year under Etman's leadership," said the source.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/01/2012 00:00 ||
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CAIRO: Egypt's military leader has sacked the general responsible for media affairs to bolster an image tarnished by killings of protesters and accusations that the men in uniform are undermining Egypt's democratic revolution. The change is the first in the military council since the generals took power from President Hosni Mubarak during a popular uprising last February.
Maj. Gen. Ismail Etman, 60, was "exempted from service and replaced by Maj. Gen. Ahmed Abu El-Dahab, the director of the artillery division," a Defense Ministry source said. The decision was announced later by state media.
A source close to the military council said it was concerned about its deteriorating public image.
"The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces concluded that the army's image in the media has suffered over the past year under Etman's leadership," said the source.
"The decision is intended to bring in new leadership to improve the armed forces' performance," and was decreed by Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, who heads the council, the source added.
Etman led the army department which handled a wide range of issues ranging from media relations to dealing with the concerns of military officers. Little is known about Etman's successor, Abu El-Dahab, and it remains to be seen whether the change will alter the army's public affairs policy.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/01/2012 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] The International Crimes Tribunal yesterday accepted charges against 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... leader Muhammad Kamaruzzaman regarding his alleged involvement in crimes against humanity during the Liberation War. The ICT fixed February 29 for hearings on charge framing.
The prosecution on January 15 pressed charges against the Jamaat assistant secretary general on nine counts of crimes against humanity, including conspiracy of genocide.
Kamaruzzaman operated in Mymensingh, Jamalpur, Tangail and Sherpur areas during the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971, according to the charges.
The three-judge tribunal headed by Justice Md Nizamul Huq yesterday directed prosecution to submit copies of the formal charges against Kamaruzzaman and other relevant documents to the tribunal's registrar by February 6.
It also asked defence to collect copies of the charges from the registrar's office on February 7 so that it could prepare for the legal battle.
The court said it had taken the charges against the Jamaat leader into cognisance after examining the formal charges, probe reports and documents submitted by the prosecution and seeing enough preliminary evidence for a trial.
On December 28 last year, the tribunal sent the formal charge against Kamaruzzaman back to prosecution as the charges were not classified and organised properly.
After the court passed the order yesterday, Prosecutor AKM Saiful Islam told news hounds that Kamaruzzaman, chief organiser of Al Badr Bahini (collaborators' force), was in charge of executing the plan of the Pak armed forces' operation Search Light on the night of March 25, 1971.
Kamaruzzaman personally took part in operations at many places during the Liberation War, he said.
Defence counsel Tajul Islam told news hounds the case had been filed against Kamaruzzaman in order to harass him. He was not, said the lawyer, involved in any crimes against humanity committed during 1971.
Kamaruzzaman is among six Jamaat leaders, including its former chief Ghulam Azam and two BNP leaders, facing war crimes charges before the court. All of them have been locked away and one of them is on bail.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/01/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
1971??
Does this mean they will get around to that thug in Sudan, Bashir in around 2052?
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
02/01/2012 11:04 Comments ||
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A group of four Islamic militants, all British citizens, admitted involvement on Wednesday in a conspiracy inspired by Al Qaeda to place a bomb in the toilets of the London Stock Exchange, part of a plot that, prosecutors said, was foiled after undercover counterterrorism officers tailed them as they surveyed London tourist attractions.
The case seemed part of BritainÂ’s long-running battle against militants born or residing in Britain since the July 7 bombings in 2005 that killed 52 people on three London subway trains and a bus.
The four were among a group of nine men who had been set to plead not guilty to terrorism charges but changed their pleas to guilty when they learned of the likely sentences, BritainÂ’s Press Association news agency reported.
The other five pleaded guilty to lesser charges. They are to be sentenced next week.
Prosecutors alleged that the men, who were arrested in December 2010, had drawn up a list of potential targets including the home of the London mayor, Boris Johnson, two rabbis, the American Embassy and the Stock Exchange.
In November 2010, two of the men, Mohammed Chowdhury, 21, and Shah Rahman, 28, both of Bangladeshi descent and from London, were followed by plainclothes counterterrorism operatives as they observed locations around Parliament, including the Big Ben clock tower, Westminster Abbey and the London Eye Ferris wheel, the prosecution said.
#3
Actually for the sake of the world economy, this is one terrorist attack we actually should applaude. The Brits have their hands all over a number of questionable derivative instruments that have tanked a number of governments. The City doesn't have a lot of the investor protection rules that the SEC has.
Blowing up the City and the London Exchange should be on our list of ways to improve our economy.
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
02/01/2012 11:01 Comments ||
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#4
The stock Exchange has nothing to do with AIG London or the FSA...
Maybe you applaud The twin towers attack for it's fight against dodgy financial dealings???
SEOUL, Jan. 31 -- North Korean leader Suet Face Kim Jong-un's repeated visits to the military may be a sign of weakness rather than strength, as the new leader desperately seeks to foster loyalty within the key backbone of the regime, analysts in Seoul said Tuesday.
The young Pudgy Kim paid eight visits to different military units this month, starting with an inspection of a tank division on New Year's Day, according to Yonhap News Agency's analysis of news reports released by the North's state media. The new leader, thought to be in his late 20s, also visited an institute for military officials and attended a concert given by a military orchestra, bringing to 10 his total number of military-related public activities. Of his remaining four public appearances this month, one was a visit to a construction site managed by the armed forces.
In comparison, his father Kim Jong-il, who ruled the country with an iron fist for 17 years, met with the military only once in a total of 14 public appearances in January last year.
"The fact that Kim Jong-un is making such frequent visits to military units is evidence that he does not enjoy solid support within the armed forces," said Baek Seung-joo, a senior analyst at the state-run Korea Institute of Defense Analyses. "(The visits) are aimed at boosting his presence among military officials and consolidating his power base."
The state media's prompt reporting of Kim's military inspections may serve to convince the North Korean people of their leader's authority within the armed forces, he added. The worthless young leader was designated as a four-star general in 2010 and declared supreme commander of North Korea's armed forces after his father's demise, though he is believed to have little, if any, military experience.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/01/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
Sonny-Boy KJU is fighting the clock vee a famine-affected Military + Chinese takeover.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 31 -- The U.S. intelligence chief warned Tuesday that North Korea will continue its exports of weapons of massive destruction despite its leadership change.
"North Korea's export of ballistic missiles and associated materials to several countries, including Iran and Syria, illustrate the reach of the North's proliferation activities," James Clapper, director of national intelligence, told a congressional hearing. "We don't expect Kim Jong-un, North Korea's new young leader, to change Pyongyang's policy of attempting to export most of its weapons systems."
Clapper's comments marked one of the firmest assessments by Washington of Pyongyang's new leadership.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/01/2012 00:00 ||
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Nork WMD exports are by ship. Sounds like an opportunity for target practice.
Posted by: Mike Ramsey ||
02/01/2012 10:41 Comments ||
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#2
Nork WMD exports are by ship.
Is it not possible that they export some of these weapons, if not the majority, overland through China? Especially if they give the Chicoms a cut?
#3
From China overland to where? From Chinese ports?
Possible, but it strikes me as a poor calculation.
Nuclear weapons are a threat to China as much as they are to the west.
And what would be the consequence to China if they were caught?
The norks have better military relations with Russia (the Kim's fear the Chinese). More likely that Russian flagged ships would be used than trusting China.
Posted by: Mike Ramsey ||
02/01/2012 12:30 Comments ||
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#4
Is it not possible that they export some of these weapons, if not the majority, overland through China?
More likely it'd be via NorK ship to a Chinese port for 'repackaging' (new manifest, new container, etc.)and then onward to an intermediate or final destination. Doesn't even have to be in a Chinese hull.
The NorKs might have to pay off a 'willing' shipping agent or freight forwarding company, but that is part of the cost of doing business.
A new report from the Democratic staff of the main House committee investigating Operation Fast and Furious stresses that federal law enforcement officials in Arizona relied on the investigative tactic of gunwalking as far back as 2006 and used it in three other investigations before the one that made the technique infamous.
The minority report, "Fatally Flawed: Five Years on Gunwalking in Arizona," was released early Tuesday, two days before Attorney General Eric Holder is to testify before a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing into Fast and Furious, a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives operation that allegedly permitted more than 1000 guns to flow from licensed dealers in the U.S. to Mexican drug cartels. Two of the weapons were found at the scene of the killing of a Border Patrol agent in Arizona in December 2010.
The timing of the Democratic staff report seemed aimed at taking the sting out of Thursday's hearing and muddling a more hostile narrative Committee Chairman Darrell Issa of California is likely to lay out.
In a letter accompanying the report, the panel's ranking Democrat, Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, indicated that the committee's year-long probe had turned up no indication that Operation Fast and Furious was directed from Justice Department headquarters
"Contrary to repeated claims by some, the Committee has obtained no evidence that Operation Fast and Furious was a politically-motivated operation conceived and directed by high-level Obama Administration political appointees at the Department of Justice,” Cummings wrote.
“The documents obtained and interviews conducted by the Committee indicate that it was the latest in a series of reckless and fatally flawed operations run by ATF’s Phoenix Field Division during both the previous and current administrations.”
WoT related due to Fast and Furious. Followup on the story posted last evening by R'burg reader Barbara.
House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) threatened Tuesday to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress if the Justice Department did not provide certain documents in response to the committee's subpoena.
In a letter to Holder, Issa wrote that "this committee will have no alternative but to move forward with proceedings to hold you in contempt of Congress" if Holder and the DOJ didn't produce documents they demanded relating to the Fast and Furious gun-walking scandal.
Issa accused the Justice Department of trying to "obstruct our investigation and deceive the public" by withholding documents. "Your actions lead us to conclude that the department is actively engaged in a cover-up," he said in a four-page letter.
The California Republican pointed to a document that the DOJ released last Friday, which indicated that Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer had promoted gun-walking to Mexico on the same day that Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich wrote to Congress denying that the DOJ had allowed guns to walk.
"It is inconceivable that the Department just became aware of this highly damaging document," writes Issa, pointing out that the Oversight Committee had originally issued a subpoena on Oct. 12, 2011.
Issa outlines certain documents which the DOJ has which has not been provided to the Oversight Committee, and demands their release to the committee by Feb. 9 at 5 p.m.
"The department has worked with the committee over the last year providing numerous witnesses for interviews, officials for testimony at hearings and thousands of pages of documents and we will continue to do so," a DOJ official told POLITICO in response to the letter.
Holder is scheduled to testify before the House Oversight Committee on Thursday, his sixth appearance before Congress regarding Fast and Furious in the past year.
The Democrats on the Oversight Committee have begun laying the groundwork for their strategy, and released a document Monday highlighting the fact that gun-walking had been used as far back as 2006, and was used in three previous investigations before Fast and Furious.
That doesn't change the problem Holder has with his selective memory. And it's irrelevant as F & F was done differently, and done (perhaps) with the intent of creating a backlash in the U.S., so as to push more gun control.
Under the Fast and Furious program, weapons were allowed to be illegally purchased in hopes of tracking gun traffickers and drug cartel leaders. But the ATF, which operates within the DoJ, lost track of these firearms, and many were allowed to cross into Mexico.
Firearms linked to the operation were later found to have been involved in the December 2010 shooting death of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, bringing the operation to public attention.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/01/2012 00:00 ||
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note that in the previous ops, the Mexican Gov't was a partner and the guns were tracked. F&F was done without informing Mexico and the guns weren't tracked. Kind of a big difference to all but the lying Dems (like their chief whore Elijah Cummings)
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/01/2012 8:16 Comments ||
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#2
This will be the first time in front of Issa's committee. The others have been before the Judiciary Committee.
Conflicting opinions that calling Holder only is a mistake. Some think that Burke, Cunningham, Hurley and Morrissey should be in attendance.
Police in Pakistan on Wednesday revealed that a parcel containing deadly anthrax powder has been sent to the official residence of the country's prime minister. While it marks the first time criminals have used the biological agent in an attack on a government office, letters laced with anthrax spores were sent to a mass-market Urdu newspaper and to a computer company in Karachi soon after 9/11, at the same time as scares in the US.
"We have just received the lab reports confirming it was anthrax but we cannot say more than that at the moment," said Hakim Khan, a police officer in the government and diplomatic area of the capital, where the prime minister, Yousuf Raza Gilani, has his official residence. The spores have a molecular signature. You can pretty much tell from what lab they came, if they came from a recognized lab in the West or Russia. Golly gosh, wonder if the Paks will let us have a sample for testing?
Pakistan has been gripped for months by speculation that the government could be toppled by the military or the courts, and the use of a biological agent will deepen concern about the country's fragility.
A spokesman for Mr Gilani said it had been delivered in October and police were notified this week after laboratory tests were completed.
"We believe the culprit was a lady professor," said Akram Shaheedi, but he declined to speculate on a motive.
#6
Attention Pak Sherlock Holmes-Try ISI HQ first!
Posted by: Paul D ||
02/01/2012 18:25 Comments ||
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#7
Try ISI HQ first!
Not necessarily. There are more than enough uber-Islam groups in Pakistain (including in the universities) that would do this without prompting by the ISI.
[Pak Daily Times] Sunni Tehrik ...formed in Karachi in 1992 under by Muhammad Saleem Qadri. It quickly fell to trading fisticuffs and liquidations with the MQM and the Sipah-e-Sahaba, with at least a half dozen of its major leaders rubbed out. Sunni Tehreek arose to become the primary opposition to the Deobandi Binori Mosque, headed by Nizamuddin Shamzai, who was eventually bumped off by person or persons unknown. ST's current leadership has heavily criticized the Deobandi Jihadi leaders, accusing them of being sponsored by Indian Intelligence agencies as well as involvement in terrorist activities... (ST) has announced to stage a sit-in in front of Sindh Chief Minister's House on Wednesday (today) against non-arrest of murderers of its activist. Addressing a news conference here on Tuesday, ST leader Shakeel Qadri said Sindh Home Minister Manzoor Wasan had assured that he would meet ST leaders at Markaz-e-Ahle-Sunnat but he did not come. He said the assassinations was still going on, however, the government seemed non serious to maintain peace. He said the workers of ST would stage a sit-in outside CM House.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/01/2012 00:00 ||
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[Pak Daily Times] The US must disclose details of the legal and factual basis for the lethal use of drones in Pakistain, Amnesia Amnesty International (AI) said on Tuesday, after US President Barack Obama They get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them... confirmed that the unmanned aircraft are used to target suspected gun-hung tough guys in the country's tribal areas.
President B.O. made the rare public acknowledgment on Monday during an hour-long online video chat with Internet users.
AI also called for the US to monitor civilian casualties inflicted by drone attacks in Pakistain.
"The US authorities must give a detailed explanation of how these strikes are lawful and what is being done to monitor civilian casualties and ensure proper accountability," said AI's Asia-Pacific Director Sam Zarifi. "What are the rules of engagement?" he asked.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/01/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
Main news was that Obama admitted to drone strikes in Pakland.
#2
Its better than piloted planes... That's a good reason. 70 some crashed drones beats 70 some crashed F-15s any day. The others are just jealous they don't have a space net and GPS sats to support drones.
Posted by: Water Modem ||
02/01/2012 2:29 Comments ||
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#3
Basis: "We've a powerful dislike for them taliban critters."
#4
Turn the question around; what US laws are being violated?
Charter of the United Nations, Chapter VII: ACTION WITH RESPECT TO THREATS TO THE PEACE, BREACHES OF THE PEACE, AND ACTS OF AGGRESSION. See article 51.
Idiots.
Posted by: Mike Ramsey ||
02/01/2012 14:31 Comments ||
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[Pak Daily Times] The lone surviving gunman from the 2008 Mumbai attacks, Muhammad Ajmal Amir Kasab, began a Supreme Court appeal against his death sentence on Tuesday by claiming that he had not received a fair trial. A lawyer read out a statement in court from Kasab, one of the 10 gunnies who laid siege to Mumbai in the attacks that lasted nearly three days and killed 166 people. The 24-year-old has appealed for his death penalty to be overturned after he was convicted in 2010 for a series of crimes. "I have been wrongly held guilty because I was denied a fair trial. I was denied a counsel," Kasab, who was not in court on Tuesday, said in a statement read by his appeal lawyer Raju Ramachandran. "The prosecution has failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt the charges against me... I may be guilty of killing people and carrying out a terrorist act but I am not guilty of waging war against the state."
Of course you are. That's what jihad is: war to replace the native governance with imposed rule by an Islamic state.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/01/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
And once again that Guy from Guam laughs at the MSM-Net describing Kasab as a "24-year old" = a young 'un.
WE STILL THINK ANNA NICOLE SMITH IS A REAL BLONDE, DIDN'T WE???
[Pak Daily Times] Taliban said on Tuesday they were ready to "negotiate" with the US but not with Washington-backed Afghan government of Hamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai ... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use... as it "is illegal and powerless."
Reliable sources told Beautiful Downtown Peshawar-based Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) news agency that Taliban's central shura took the decision in a meeting held to deliberate the issue of negotiation.
The AIP, however, did not say when and where the shura met.
"Even negotiations with the US would be restricted to swapping the prisoners held by each side and no other issue or proposal from the US," it said quoting unnamed sources as stressing.
Also, Taliban resistance against the "foreign occupying forces" in Afghanistan would "not be suspended for the duration of talks", the sources told the AIP.
The AIP quoted another Taliban source as saying that there were "no differences of opinion in the Taliban ranks" about the stand taken by their central shura on the issue of negotiations.
A military commander of Taliban, when contacted by the AIP, said, "There is no possibility of sitting on negotiating table with the Karzai-led government. If Taliban Islamic movement holds talks, with the incumbent Afghan government, our movement would split into two factions."
"One small group would hold talks with the Hamid Karzai-led government and the other faction would continue jihad," he maintained.
When asked if Mullah Omar ... a minor Pashtun commander in the war against the Soviets who made good as leader of the Taliban. As ruler of Afghanistan, he took the title Leader of the Faithful. The imposition of Pashtunkhwa on the nation institutionalized ignorance and brutality already notable for its own fair share of ignorance and brutality... is still leading Taliban, the commander said, "Mullah Omar has more authority and control over the prevailing situation than before. He frequently takes decisions on making changes."
Information received by the AIP about the US-Taliban negotiations in Qatar "suggests that no worthy development has so far been made in the negotiations".
The sources said that the process of negotiations was "so weak that an office for Taliban has not yet been opened" in Qatar. They added the Taliban representatives, who are currently in Qatar, could not travel freely in Doha.
The AIP sources clarified that the actual agenda of negotiations was prisoners' swap, adding that no progress was made in this regard so far.
The Taliban shura's decision of not holding talks with the Afghan government comes at a time when Hamid Karzai government has differences with the US over the negotiations in Qatar. "The Afghan government is unhappy for not being included in the talks. Secondly, the government of Afghanistan wants the talks to be Afghan-owned," the AIP said.
The deputy chairman of the High Peace Council, Abdul Hakim Mujahid, a renowned Taliban member and once their representative in New York, believed the ongoing US-Taliban talks in Qatar "are aimed at building trust between the two warring sides".
He hoped that after some time, the High Peace Council would join the talks between the Taliban and the US. Mujahid was of the view that the talks were incomplete and unsuccessful without their participation.
"Taliban are still firm on complete and unconditional withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan and not to allow permanent military bases to United States," sources said.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/01/2012 00:00 ||
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A court has sentenced 10 Islamic militants to up to eight years in prison for acquiring materials to be used in terrorist activities in Indonesia.
The defendants were arrested after a suicide bombing last April that wounded 28 people in a mosque attended by police in the West Java town of Cirebon.
The judges ruled today that the 10 defendants violated Indonesia's anti-terror law by either possessing or acquiring illegal arms and explosives material.
Dzulkifli Lubis and Musolah Saifullah were sentenced to eight-year terms. The other defendants received between five and seven and half years. The trial was held in Tangerang city, just west Jakarta.
The April 15 bombing was the first attack in a house of worship in Indonesia, where a string of terrorist attacks have occurred since 2002.
Two ships of the US Navy, the nuclear submarine USS Annapolis and the destroyer USS Momsen have passed through the Suez Canal into the Red Sea. Although their destination is confidential, they are now getting dangerously close to the Persian Gulf.
'Dangerously'? I think they know their way around...
The shipsÂ’ passage was a major operation for the Suez administration as due to safety reasons they had to close off the canal to all other traffic and even shut down the bridge, disrupting the link between the banks for some four hours. The traffic on the roadways alongside the canal was also restricted, Interfax news agency reports.
There are no reports regarding the destination of the vessels, but the news come amid the ongoing crisis in the relationship between the US and Iran. There is mounting speculation that the Annapolis and the Momsen are heading to the Persian Gulf to reinforce the US naval forces already present in the region.
They might be going for anti-piracy duty off Somalia. Or a flag-showing exercise in Ruritania...
Currently the US has two aircraft carrier groups in the region headed by USS Abraham Lincoln and USS Carl Vinson. It is expected that another aircraft carrier, USS Enterprise, will join the strike force in March.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/01/2012 12:15 ||
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#3
It seems to me that a type of anti-sub, mini-sub could be designed as "picket subs" for an aircraft carrier. Designed to be quickly deployed or recovered by crane.
Prior to passing through a tight area like the Strait of Hormuz, the carrier would drop them in the drink to scout for hostiles. Possibly unmanned, they could be very fast as they would have limited range for their mission, and would carry small anti-mini-sub torpedoes.
As soon as anyone detected a hostile in the water, a sonar signal could be sent, since there would be no need for quiet, and a designated sub would speed towards its target, then fire a torpedo, before it could fire one of its own.
Lots of uses beyond that. Some could be rigged as mine detectors, or to disable ships by blowing up their propeller.
#4
Mr Anonymoose, this already exists in multiple configurations, including underwater "unmanned drones". I cannot say whether the U.S. Navy, or any other navy, uses them extensively. But one would be wise to have this capability well in hand given these circumstances, n'est-ce pas?
#9
I could think of a few two faced allies in the world worth nuking!
Posted by: Paul D ||
02/01/2012 18:02 Comments ||
Top||
#10
Iran + Mullahs have the gonads to hold off doing anything unilateral to spark a US-NATO military counter-response in the Gulf - IMO iff there is a catalyst(s) for US,etal-vs-Iran War, it will likely be some kind of external event(s) outside of the Gulf proper which will drag the US-Allies + Iran toward direct mil conflict.
E.g. ANTI-IRAN ECON SANCTIONS, VERSUS US-NATO INABILITY TO SUPPORT POST-2014 AFGHANISTAN DUE TO PAKISTAN'S CONTINUING CLOSURE OF DOMESTIC NATO SUPPLY ROUTES.
Again, AS LONG US-NATO/ALLIED WARSHIPS STAY OFFSHORE + NO GROUND ARMIES INVADE IRAN, THE LATTER WILL GET ITS NUKES.
* TOPIX > IRAN FM [Salehi] COMPARES MEDIA INFLUENCE TO [form of] MILITARY POWER, which can determine, make-or-break, GEOPOL WINNERS + LOSERS.
D *** NG IT, IIUC IRAN/SALEHI = ITS THE MARKETING, STUPID, NOT THE NUKES OR LR MISSLES!
--------
More heat for IRAN ...?
* BHARAT RAKSHAK > KURDISH INDEPENDENCE [ + Syria Regime CHange = Breakup?] IS FIRST STEP TOWARD STABLE IRAQ.
"ITS THE PIPELINE, STUPID", from sovereign Kurdistan to the Med + regional US Allies!
Bypass Iran???
* SAME > PAKISTAN, [NOT China] WILL BE INDIA'S SECURITY [litmus] TEST.
* TOPIX > US TO TARGET/BOMBARD [northern]IRAN FROM GEORGIA? - RUSSIAN PAPER [Kommersant].
Georgia perceived as unlikely to turn down any possible request by the US to use same as a staging area for Iran milstrikes.
Lastly, the US should not fergit the conspiracy theory whereby Cuba = Fidel Castro may had ordered the assassination hit agz POTUS JFK, in retaliation for the Bay of Pigs, anti-Castro econ sanction, + alleged CIA attempts to kill Uncle Fidel. IRAN HAS MADE IT CLEAR IT RESERVES ITS RIGHT TO ACTIVATE MILTERR PROXIES ["Any + All Options"] TO STRIKE AT US-ISRAELI TARGETS + INTERESTS IN RESPONSE TO AN ATTACK BY THE LATTER AGZ IT = NUCPROGS.
* IRAN = "ANY ATTACK BY ISRAEL IS THE SAME AS AN ATTACK BY THE US".
By extension, such Iran-ordered, anti-US TerrOps may or may include possible attempts by pro-Iran MilTerr Groups to de facto capture or kill the US National Leadership AMAP, ala 1960's CUBA/CASTRO-VS-JFK.
US POTUS, CONGRESSIONAL ELECTION YEAR + POOR US ECONOMY = ????? VEE IRAN????
* SAME > IRAN'S NATIONAL MILITARY BUDGET INCREASES 127%.
Iran was + will continue to spend mucho $$$ on military-related ventures + acquisitions, as likely due to Iran-perceived US-Allied threats agz its NucProgs.
versus
* WORLD NEWS > US INTELLIGENCE CHIEF: AL-QAEDA HURTING, IRAN "MORE WILLING" TO LAUNCH [terror = proxy] ATTACKS ON US.
Al-Qaeda, "Core" [Zawahiri] or Affiliates, in favor of US-Iran War to "justify" TerrOps agz CONUS, espec agz POTUS Bammer + Washington DC???
* SAME > [USNI Director James CLapper] AL-QAEDA WILL RELY ON PAK MILITANTS TO CARRY OUT TRANS-NATIONAL TERROR ATTACKS IN 2012.
* SAME/TOPIX > [Pak Tribune] PAKISTAN'S RUSH FOR MORE [nuclear] BOMBS - WHY?
Lest we fergit, PAKISTAN > will side wid Iran = fellow Muslim country in case of any US-Israeli attack on same.
* SAME > SERIES OF ISLAMIST VICTORIES: NEXT EPISODE WILL LIKELY TAKE PLACE IN KUWAIT, i.e. where US troops are but perhaps not for much longer?
* SAME > ISRAEL'S "STEEL CANAL" TO [compete with +] BYPASS EGYPT'S SUEZ CANAL. Proposed Railroad network linking Israel's Tel Aviv wid its port at Eilat.
[Iran Press TV] An Iranian politician says the ineffective International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors should be banned from re-entering the country, if they once again publish unreal reports on Tehran's peaceful nuclear program.
Mostafa Kavakebian on Tuesday called on Iran's security officials to exercise vigilance over the IAEA inspectors' conduct in order to prevent them from collecting and leaking confidential information on the country's nuclear facilities.
Kavakebian, a member of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, also stressed that if the UN atomic agency's team would publish "unrealistic report" on Iran's nuclear activities and "mislead the global community" after leaving Iran, they must be denied entry into the country.
A high-ranking delegation of the IAEA, headed by the agency's Deputy Director General Herman Nackaerts and its number two Rafael Grossi, arrived in Tehran on Sunday upon an invitation by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI).
The visit was aimed at holding talks within the framework of the IAEA article of association to bolster cooperation between the two sides. The UN atomic agency's team had no plan to inspect Iran's nuclear facilities.
Referring to the negotiations between the agency's inspectors and Iranian nuclear officials, Kavakebian described the talks as "ineffective" if they were not bilateral.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/01/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
Right, 'cuz everybody knows they are just American stooges.
Posted by: Bobby ||
02/01/2012 5:45 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Pointless. Iran is letting the IAEA in because existing sanctions hurt and because Iran fears that Russia and China can delay the UN for only so long. If Iran kicks the IAEA inspectors out then the sanctions continue and will likely get worse.
Posted by: Mike Ramsey ||
02/01/2012 10:39 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Yeah, because that line of bull worked so well for Saddam.
[An Nahar] Fearing the loss of its last Arab ally and seeking to reassert its global clout, Russia is defiantly refusing to budge in a high-stakes diplomatic standoff with the West over the crisis in Syria.
Russia, a veto-wielding U.N. Security Council member, has exasperated the West by insisting it will not back a new resolution calling on Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Trampler of Homs... to step down despite the escalation of violence between the regime and the opposition.
Moscow retains close ties with Assad's secular regime that go back to the Soviet alliance with his father Hafez al-Assad, and Syria remains a major buyer of Russian arms as well as hosting a strategic Russian naval base.
The Kremlin watched the Arab Spring uprisings with anxiety as its ally Muammar Qadaffy ...a reminder that a single man with an idea can change an entire nation, usually for the worse... was ousted after the air campaign in Libya and the toppling of Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak ...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011... opened the way for increased Islamist influence.
"Russia and Syria have historic ties going back to the Tsars and the Soviet Union. Today Syria is Russia's sole ally in the Middle East," said Boris Dolgov of the Center of Arab Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences.
"If Russia were to give up Syria like Libya then it would terminally ruin our prestige," he said.
Two decades after the Soviet Union's fall and just months ahead of Vladimir Putin ...Second President of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Because of constitutionally mandated term limits he is the current Prime Minister of Russia. His sock puppet, Dmitry Medvedev, was installed in the 2008 presidential elections. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law. During his eight years in office Russia's economy bounced back from crisis, seeing GDP increase, poverty decrease and average monthly salaries increase. During his presidency Putin passed into law a series of fundamental reforms, including a flat income tax of 13%, a reduced profits tax, and new land and legal codes. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile... 's expected return to the Kremlin, Moscow also wants to issue a firm reminder to the West that it is a global power whose position cannot be ignored.
"First, unilateral sanctions are imposed without consulting Russia and then they go to the Security Council seeking our support," Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov told the Interfax news agency in an interview.
"Of course, we cannot support such an approach."
The extent of Russia's continued support for Assad was shown in January when a Saint Vincent-flagged cargo ship, the Chariot, docked in Syria after a brief stopover in Cyprus, reportedly carrying a supply of Russian arms.
While never officially confirming this delivery, Russia has openly stated it has every right to ship arms to the Syrian regime in contracts that provide a crucial income source for its weapons industry.
The general director of the Russia's Tactical Missiles Cooperation (TRV) Boris Obnosov told the RIA Novosti news agency on Tuesday that Moscow had delivered two years ago to Syria an order for Kh-31 air-to-surface weapons.
He revealed that TRV's losses from broken contracts due to the change of regime in Libya in 2011 amounted to 600 million euros ($790 million).
Russia in October vetoed an earlier Western-backed draft resolution on Syria along with its diplomatic ally China, which is usually happy to follow Moscow's defiance while being far less talkative in public.
Moscow was incensed that its abstention in March 2011 on the resolution that allowed the air campaign in Libya eventually led to the ousting of Qadaffy and appears determined not to allow the same scenario in Syria.
"We cannot agree with the use of the 'Libyan model' as a basis for solving internal disputes," said Gatilov.
Gatilov made clear that Russia would only support a resolution which condemned the violence "from whichever side", called for "objective dialogue" and ruled out the imposition of both military intervention and sanctions.
Georgy Kunadze, a former deputy foreign minister and now of the Institute of World Economy and International Relations, said that Russia's intransigence was allowing bloodletting to continue by preventing the adoption of a tough resolution.
"There are times when a state has to stand and protect its own interests, but I'm not sure that's the case here," he told Agence La Belle France Presse.
In a bid to position itself as mediator rather than recalcitrant obstacle, Russia on Monday unexpectedly announced that it had invited representatives of the Syrian regime and the opposition to talks in Moscow.
But the opposition rapidly said it had no interest in the idea until Assad stepped down.
"Talks were a nice but hardly realistic idea. It seems like Russia finally will lose its last ally in the region," said daily Vedomosti.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/01/2012 00:00 ||
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[8 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
#2
I just can't understand why Russia always chooses to be on the side of tyrants and thugs. They have a choice, why do they always choose the side of darkness?
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
02/01/2012 10:55 Comments ||
Top||
#6
I just can't understand why Russia always chooses to be on the side of tyrants and thugs. They have a choice, why do they always choose the side of darkness?
Because where else are they gonna sell all those second rate tanks and warplanes that they build?
#9
When pencilneck goes down for the count, Russia will have very little emotional bank with the new regime.
Seems kind of short sighted to me.
Russia claims that it is not the job of the international community to pick winners and losers in the domestic politics of sovereign countries. I have some sympathy for that position. But when you have a minority using the murder of civilians to oppose the popular will of the people, I draw the line. Pencilneck has got to go.
Posted by: Mike Ramsey ||
02/01/2012 13:08 Comments ||
Top||
#10
Inciting a violent unrest and using authorities' strong response as an excuse for invasion is one of the oldest tricks in the book, MR. In this case (unlike Libya) the unrest was incited by Soodies, rather than Euros, still...
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.
Egypt's military leader has sacked the general responsible for media affairs to bolster an image tarnished by killings of protesters and accusations that the men in uniform are undermining Egypt's democratic revolution. 
CAIRO: Egypt's military leader has sacked the general responsible for media affairs to bolster an image tarnished by killings of protesters and accusations that the men in uniform are undermining Egypt's democratic revolution. The change is the first in the military council since the generals took power from President Hosni Mubarak during a popular uprising last February.
Police in Pakistan on Wednesday revealed that a parcel containing deadly anthrax powder has been sent to the official residence of the country's prime minister. While it marks the first time criminals have used the biological agent in an attack on a government office, letters laced with anthrax spores were sent to a mass-market Urdu newspaper and to a computer company in Karachi soon after 9/11, at the same time as scares in the US.
[Pak Daily Times] The US must disclose details of the legal and factual basis for the lethal use of drones in Pakistain, 
The lone surviving gunman from the 2008 Mumbai attacks, Muhammad Ajmal Amir Kasab, began a Supreme Court appeal against his death sentence on Tuesday by claiming that he had not received a fair trial. A lawyer read out a statement in court from Kasab, one of the 10 
[Pak Daily Times] Taliban said on Tuesday they were ready to "negotiate" with the US but not with Washington-backed Afghan government of 
[Iran Press TV] An Iranian 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
...Second President of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Because of constitutionally mandated term limits he is the current Prime Minister of Russia. His sock puppet, Dmitry Medvedev, was installed in the 2008 presidential elections. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law. During his eight years in office Russia's economy bounced back from crisis, seeing GDP increase, poverty decrease and average monthly salaries increase. During his presidency Putin passed into law a series of fundamental reforms, including a flat income tax of 13%, a reduced profits tax, and new land and legal codes. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile...
