Afghan and U.S. officials finalized a long-awaited strategic partnership deal Sunday that is meant to set forth guidelines for U.S. involvement in Afghanistan as forces draw down, the two governments said.
Afghan and U.S. officials had said that they expected to sign the deal before a NATO summit in May but a series of disagreements had threatened to derail the partnership in recent months. Some of the most contentious issues were removed from the broader pact into separate memorandums of understanding.
"The document finalized today provides a strong foundation for the security of Afghanistan, the region and the world and is a document for the development of the region," Afghan National Security Adviser Rangin Dadfar Spanta was quoted as saying.
U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker and Spanta initialed the document at a ceremony in the capital, a statement from President Hamid Karzai's office said. U.S. embassy spokesman Gavin Sundwall confirmed the same information.
"The agreement is now ready for signature by both the presidents," Karzai's office said.
At the signing, Spanta said the agreement had taken more than a year and a half of work, according to the Afghan statement.
[Daily Nation (Kenya)] US President Barack Obama This is a teachable moment... on Saturday called for an end to fighting between Sudan and South Sudan and negotiations between the leaders of the two countries to settle their conflict.
Because history demonstrates that when Muslims are bent on jihad, and the kufrs in the vicinity object, negotiations always fix the problem amicably.
"We know what needs to happen -- the government of Sudan must stop its military actions, including aerial bombardments," Obama said in a videotaped message to the people of the two countries.
"Likewise, the government of South Sudan must end its support for gangs inside Sudan and it must cease its military actions across the border," the president added in the address released by the State Department.
"The presidents of Sudan and South Sudan must have the courage to return to the table and negotiate and resolve these issues peacefully," Obama pointed out.
There he is, folks: The Smartest Man in the Room. And he's running for reelection, so you know what you must do,
The appeal came after Sudan said on Saturday its forces had chased South Sudanese troops out of its main oilfield as the South ordered an end to its 10-day occupation, a move which had sparked fears of a wider war.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/22/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
According to the Beeb: satellite photos show significant parts of the Heglig oilfield are "no longer operating". Heglig provides most of of Sudan's oil production and crucial to its economy.
Other parts of the oil production and transport system have also been destroyed.
(Sh.M.Network)- Tense of fighting and military exercises are reportedly rose on Saturday in parts of Somalia's Lower Jubba region as both Somali and Kenya army make more advances againts bad turban strongholds.
Locals in Afmadow town, 620 Km south of Mogadishu said that heavily armed Somali soldiers together with Kenyan military have moved this morning to rebel-held areas near Afmadow where is now under Al shabab control.
The situation is tense as Al shabab agents begun intensifying their defensive drills around Afmadow town in a bid to protect the coalition forces from capturing their base.
Kenyan has sent last year troops and tanks into the neighboring war-tornSomaliato pursue Al shabab, whom Nairobi blames for the growing insecurity in its soil.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/22/2012 00:00 ||
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TRIPOLI: Libya says it is building its case against Muammar Qaddafi's detained son, gathering witnesses and documents, according to The Hague-based war crimes prosecutor, as it seeks to persuade the International Criminal Court to allow for a local trial.
'Persuade'? They have him jugged. It's the ICC that has to do the persuading if they want the trial at the Hague.
The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Seif Al-Islam last year after prosecutors accused him and others of involvement in the killing of protesters during the revolt that eventually toppled his father, who ruled with an iron fist for 42 years. It has called on Libya to hand Seif Al-Islam over but Tripoli has insisted he will be tried in his home country after his capture in the southern desert in November.
ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo traveled to Libya this week as part of ICC investigations into crimes committed during Libya's war, meeting the head of the ruling National Transitional Council and chief prosecutor.
"I understand he has more than 30 witnesses, he's got documents, he has interceptions, so I understand he has a strong case but I don't know the details," Moreno-Ocampo told a news conference yesterday, adding he had not seen the information as it remains confidential at this stage of the investigation."Libya has to present the argument to the judges."
No they don't...
Tripoli is to outline its case to the ICC on April 30 as to why it should put Seif-Al Islam on trial.
Libya has the right to try him on its soil following his arrest there. The ICC will only act if a country is deemed unable or unwilling to investigate or prosecute, for instance when its legal system has collapsed.
Moreno-Ocampo said it seemed unlikely any trial would transpire before Libya's first free elections in June.
"There is no deadline for the judges. I suppose two, three months but in the meantime I don't see a trial in Libya before that because the process requires first an accusation."
Several human rights groups have questioned whether the Libyan justice system can meet the standards of international law as the interim national government struggles to impose its authority on a myriad of armed groups. The Libyan government has yet to convince the former Zintan rebel fighters who captured Seif Al-Islam to turn him over to its custody.
Moreno-Ocampo said he was told that Qaddafi's son had not been mistreated. "(Saif's location) is a matter for the national authorities. Respecting Saif's well-being is also matter for the national authorities," he said.
Moreno-Ocampo added that it was critical for Libyans who fought against the injustices of the Qaddafi regime to now show they could "respect justice for a person like Saif."
The ICC is also investigating rapes committed during Libya's conflict. Moreno-Ocampo, who traveled to Misrata -- scene of some of the bloodiest fighting last year, said his mission was considering how to tackle the taboo subject, looking at gathering evidence against top officials of the old regime, some of whom are outside Libya.
While there have been allegations of rape used as a weapon during the fighting, it remains unclear how widespread violence against women was. Rape is a highly sensitive issue in the Muslim country and is rarely discussed in public.
"Libya has to give recognition to these people, because if not, it will be double punishment -- they were raped and now they are marginalized," Moreno-Ocampo said.
This article starring:
Luis Moreno-Ocampo
Seif Al-Islam
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/22/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
...Would I be correct in imagining - for just a moment - that the real reason the ICC wants Seif so badly is so that he doesn't say anything...ummm...embarrassing on the stand in an effort to save his worthless butt?
(Embarrassing, that is, to the Eurotrash who kept doing business with his Dad all those years.)
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
04/22/2012 9:29 Comments ||
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#2
I'm guessing that's reason #1. Keeping him locked up in a hotel suite prison at the Hague while awaiting a 20 year trial run by Carla del Ponte certainly solves that problem.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/22/2012 11:14 Comments ||
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[An Nahar] Egypt's constitutional court refused on Saturday to rule on a parliamentary draft bill barring former regime figures from standing in next month's presidential election, judicial sources said.
The court, asked by the ruling military to decide on the bill's legality, said it could only consider a law after it comes into effect, the sources said.
The military, in charge since an uprising ousted president Hosni Mubarak ...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011... last year, must first sign off on laws.
The Islamist-majority parliament hurriedly approved the bill on April 12 after Mubarak's vice president and spy chief Omar Suleiman ... Now former Vice president of Egypt. From 1993 until his appointment to that office in 2011 he was Minister without Portfolio and Director of the Egyptian General Intelligence Directorate (EGID)... said he would run in the election.
Suleiman has since been disqualified, for not gathering enough endorsements from all the country's provinces, along with the Moslem Brüderbund's Khairat El-Shater, barred because of a previous military court conviction.
The provision, an amendment to the political activity law, excluded any president, vice president or leader of Mubarak's now dissolved ruling party from candidacy in the May 23 and May 24 election.
If ratified by the military it may disqualify Mubarak's last Prime Minister, Ahmed Shafiq, who is also a former air force chief.
But it would not exclude Jerry Lewis doppelgänger Amr Moussa ... who was head of the Arab League for approximately two normal lifespans, accomplishing nothing that was obvious to the casual observer ... , a front runner who served as Mubarak's foreign minister until 2001 before heading the 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... . He faces the head of the Moslem Brüderbund's political arm, Mohammed Moursi.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/22/2012 00:00 ||
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A top Saudi hacker who targeted Israel and Jews has died at age 28, Saudi media reported Sunday. The man, who was not named, died of an asthma attack brought on by summer sandstorms.
The hacker, who called himself Cyber Terrorist, was known for hacking well-protected sites including Microsoft. He targeted Jewish and Israeli sites in particular, as well as a site belonging to Danish cartoonists who drew cartoons of Mohammed.
A fellow Saudi hacker calling himself hell cyber told the media that Cyber Terrorist had put defending Islam and the Prophet as his top priority.
One company had shown interest in working with him for a large sum of money, but he rejected the offer because it came from a Jewish company, he related.
Israeli experts have warned that cyber warfare, already an active part of the Israeli-Arab conflict, will become more important with time. While Arab hackers have so far created financial problems, in the future enemies could crack Israeli military or healthcare systems, they say.
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/22/2012 14:51 Comments ||
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#5
What about the dumb ass ones that wasted Israels time and shined everyone on instead of getting down to it when the world was in a better way? Bombs or a keyboard what works better?
Posted by: Harry Dark Lord of the Boskonians8849 ||
04/22/2012 18:36 Comments ||
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#6
What I would like to know is how the Israelis arranged for the sandstorm.
[Yemen Post] Iran accused Soddy Arabia of recruiting Sunni Somalis in order to fight the Houthis, who follow the Shiite sect of Islam, in northern Yemen, where the Houthis hold complete control, taking an advantage of the unrest which roiled Yemen for over a year.
The Iranian official news agency Fars said on Saturday that Riyadh has started implementing a plan of recruiting Somalis who live in Yemen as refugees with the aim of sending them to Saddah and Hajjah provinces and take part in festivities with the Houthis, who are reportedly backed and trained by Iran.
Perhaps it's not as much fun to be a jihadi in Somali as before?
Remember that in Somalia, Yemen is 'paradise'...
Fars said, "that about 1300 Somali refugees who were initially living in Yemen have been moved to areas along the Yemeni-Saudi borders. The Somalis are trained in Saudi military sites and brigades and would be sent back to Yemen in order to fight the Houthis."
According to the Iranian news agency the US intelligence is part with Riyadh in its plan intended to confront "the Islamic youth in Yemen."
The Houthis support Iran and hold apposing stance against Soddy Arabia policies in general, especially in Yemen, accusing it of being behind every crisis in the poor Gulf state.
The kingdom feel threatened by the Houthis' expansion in the country in areas along its borders, and called on the government repeatedly to assume its role and reestablish its control in the far north of Yemen.
Many Somalis were killed during the past couple of months in festivities in the southern Yemeni province of Abyan as they fought with al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
Hundreds of Shabaab al-Islam, a group affiliate to al-Qaeda in the Horn of Africa country, have reportedly infiltrated into Yemen to fight with Ansar al-Sharia ...a Yemeni Islamist militia which claims it is not part of al-Qaeda, even though it works about the same and for the same ends... , the Yemeni wing of al-Qaeda.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/22/2012 00:00 ||
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[6 views]
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#1
Was John Mc Cain in charge of operations or was it Billary.
[Yemen Post] Officers and soldiers of the Air Forces have filed a memo of charges to the Attorney General Ali Al-Awash in which they demanded to arrest the dismissed commander of the Air Forces and prosecute him on charges of refusing presidential decrees and looting stocks of the Air Forces.
Sources of the Air Forces revealed that the memo included detailed information about looting weapons from Al-Dailami Air Base by gunnies affiliated to the dismissed commander, Mohammad Saleh Al-Ahmar, who is a half-brother of the former president President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh. ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it... The memo that Yemen Post received a copy of it emphasized that Al-Ahmar committed other crimes, asking to ban him of travel and freeze his assets.
The sources said that Al-Ahmar is still existed in the headquarters of the Air Forces in Sana'a, pointing out that the disobedience of the decree aimed to blow up the situation and drag the state into violence and chaos.
They cited the ultimatum given to Al-Ahamar to hand over power to the newly-appointed commander Rashid Al-Janad ended and that the officers and soldiers of the Air Forces wait bolder decisions to be taken by President Abdu Rabo Mansour Hadi ...the second and possibly the last president of Yemen, successor to former President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh... against Al-Ahmar.
Meanwhile, ...back at the pie fight, Bella opened her mouth at precisely the wrong moment... media sources said that a military unit of the 2nd Infantry Bridge affiliated to the Republican Guard was sent on Friday the headquarters of the Air Forces, reaffirming that the Republican Guard headed by the elderly son of the former President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh seeks to create new two positions inside the Air Forces.
Media sources said Hadi threatened Al-Ahmar last Sunday with stripping him from military rank and bring him to a military court in case if he continued his rebellion against his decree.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/22/2012 00:00 ||
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[Yemen Post] The former Minister of Endowment and Guidance and the head of a dialogue committee tasked with conducting dialogue with Al-Qaeda hard boyz has called for an inclusive national strategy to combat terrorism in Yemen. Seems a bit late in the game for that, since al-Q has taken over a considerable portion of the country. But I guess any start is a good start. Just what Yemen needs, another committee...
Committees do keep people who weren't going to do anything anyway from having to do anything more...
In an interview with the state-run Al-Jomhoria Newsapaper, Hamouid Al-Hitar who persuaded Al-Qaeda hard boyz to give up violence in the period from 2002 to 2005 affirmed that Al-Qaeda in Yemen is merely 10 percent of what was painted by medial outlets.
He attributed the expansion of Al-Qaeda power to the lack to a serious political approach to combat the terrorism, insecurity Yemen has lately witnessed, some governorates are not under the control of the state since three years, and the lack to education that immunize youth against fundamental ideologies.
He further said that Al-Qaeda was propped up with the aim of distorting the image of the peaceful struggle in the South and the peaceful uprising that broke out in 2011, hinting that some official of the former regime headed by President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it... want to turn Yemen to another Somalia.
Al-Hitar who resigned in protest at crimes committed against peafowl protests in 2011 accused some military and security leaders of cooperating with Al-Qaeda, stressing that they provided the organization with weapons and ordnance in Rada of Baida and Zinjibar and Jaar of Abyan.
He said that Ansar Al-Shariah (supporters of the Islamic Law) is a mixture comprised of Al-Qaeda turbans, elements of the armed Southern Movement and supporters of Saleh.
He stressed that there are dissimilarities between Al-Qaeda and Ansar Al-Shariah, pointing out that the former only target non-Moslem persons and Western interests and that they do not attack Moslems or looting their properties, and that the latter target both.
He cited that there was cooperation between the former regime and Al-Qaeda, reiterating that some relatives of Saleh personally contacted with Al-Qaeda operatives and hampered the completion of investigation on the case of USS Cole.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/22/2012 00:00 ||
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Retired general Mario Arturo Acosta Chaparro was attacked Friday afternoon in the Mexico City suburb of Polanco in Anahuac colony near the intersection of calles Lago Como and Lago Trasimeno. He was hit three times in the head by gunfire. He was rushed to receive medical attention,but died at about 1820 hrs local time.
Mexicans these days recognize the general as a disgraced commander who was accused of receiving money from the founder of the Juarez Cartel, Amado Carrillo Fuentes AKA Señor de los Cielos or Lord of the Heavens, part of the charges for which Acosta Chaparro was arrested on August 30th, two months short of his retirement. He was later sentenced for crimes against health. Those charges actually related to his time as a counterinsurgency commander in Guerrero state in the 1970s. General Acosta Chaparro spent almost seven years in Campo Militar No.1 military prison in Mexico City.
In the summer of 2007, an appellate court, Quinto Tribunal Colegiado, ordered the Supremo Tribunal de Justicia Militar to impose a new sentence on Acosta Chaparro, saying sufficient evidence had been found of the general's ties to drug trafficking. The new sentence was for a charge he had already been acquitted of, so n June 2007 he was released.
General Acosta Chaparro was one of several military commanders who made their bones in the 1970s and 1990s fighting Marxist guerilla movements in Mexico, a list which includes General Mario Renan Castillo Fernandez, Military Zone commander during the latter phases of the Chiapas Conflict of 1994 to 1998, General Leopoldo Diaz Perez, who was Castillo Fernandez's intelligence chief during the Chiapas Conflict, and General Juan Alfredo Oropeza Garnica, commander of the 27th Military Zone in Acapulco, who effectively ended Ejercito Popular Revolucionario (EPR) combat activities in Guerrero in the late 1990s.
Acosta Chaparro was born January 19,1942 in Mexico City and entered military school in 1959. He graduated from Frances Hidalgo college in 1962, receiving his officer's commission as a 2nd lieutenant.
Between then and 1970 he spent time in a number of military police and rifle units before going to Fort Bragg, North Carolina for paratrooper training. He served briefly as an aide to Mexican Secretaria de Defensa Nacional (SEDENA) General Marcelino Garcia Barragan before being assigned as a staff officer in Brigada de Fusileros Paracaidistas, an airborne infantry unit.
In December, 1974 he was promoted by President Luis Echeverria to major and at some point was assigned to the 27 Military Zone in Acapulco. His service record shows these assignments under the heading War Campaigns and Actions. He worked with Guerrero governor Ruben Figueroa Figueroa during that time, in coordination with the Procuraduria General de la Republica (PGR) in the campaign against Marxist guerillas operating in Guerrero state. Chief among those was a group headed by Lucio Cabanas, Partido de los Pobres.
While in the 27th Military Zone, it is alleged that then-major of infantry Acosta Chaparro ran the Brigada Blanca, which was allegedly responsible for the forced disappearances of 143 individuals, and which operated the "death flights" which disposed of many more executed in Acapulco.
The Mexican leftist weekly, Proceso, published an article back in the 2000s which described in chilling detail how ordinary citizens had been swept off the streets of Acapulco, interrogated, then executed without trial. The bodies were transported to a local military airfield at night, then flown offshore some kilometers, where the bodies would be dumped.
The article understandably has been redacted, but it can be found here.
How much of that story is true is uncertain, but what is certain is that General Acosta Chaparro was implicated in that grisly activity and faced an investigation under the presidency of Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de Leon. An assistant attorney general of Distrito Federal Samual de Villar attempted to charge Acosta Chaparro with the murder of several individuals during Acosta Chaparro's time as head of Guerrero state's Polica Judicial del Estado, but the complaint was unable to be moved forward.
Almost as an aside, it was with the help of Acosta Chaparro that the armed leftist insurgency in Guerrero was exterminated, not to be revived until after the Chiapas Conflict went hot in 1994.
When Chiapas went hot in 1994, after literally years of SEDENA and then-President Carlos Salinias de Gortari ignoring the warnings of a growing and hostile armed movement in Chiapas, current General Acosta Chaparro came up with a document based on files he had accumulated while fighting Marxist guerillas in 1970 that provided SEDENA with an insight into what Mexico was fighting with the Ejercito Zapatista de Liberacion Nacional (EZLN).
The document can't be found online, but from various descriptions available, it appears the general excoriated the intelligence services for their failures in recognizing the threat from EZLN. His files were later published in 1995 in a book entitled Movimiento Subversivo en Mexico.
Following his posting in Guerrero, which ended in 1977, Acosta Chaparro held a number of military police and rifle unit commands until his arrest in 2000. Despite his record as a warfighter during the 1970s, he was never assigned a military zone.
Just after the general was released from prison, President Felipe Calderon brought him out of retirement for one last mission in 2008, a year after the start of Calderon's term.
According to data supplied by Proceso writer Jorge Carrasco Araizaga, who gathered information provided by a book written by Anabel Hernandez entitled The Drug Lords, Hernandez identified a Mexican General called "General X", a military commander that Carrasco Araizaga identified as General Acosta Chaparro.
President Calderon's mission was for General Acosta Chaparro to contact the leaders for the top five drug cartels, and to negotiate with them to get them to tamp down the violence.
In turn, Acosta Chaparro met with:
Jesus Mendez Vargas AKA El Chango and Nazario Moreno AKA El Pastor, top leaders of La Familia de Michoacana.
Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano AKA La Lanzca and Miguel Angel Trevino Morales, AKA Z40, top leaders of Los Zetas, then the enforcement wing for the Gulf Cartel.
A second meeting took place in February, 2009 when General Acosta Chaparro asked Lazcano Lazcano why General Mauro Enrique Tello Quinones, commander of 21st Military Zone had been killed just days before. The reply was that he failed to comply.
Lazcano Lazcano helped the general contact Arturo Beltran Leyva, AKA El Barbas, head of the Beltran Leyva cartel. That meeting was held at a location between Cuernavaca and Acapulco, and was attended by Edgar Valdez Villarreal AKA La Barbie, Mario Pineda Villa AKA El Borrado and Jesus Nava Romero AKA El Rojo. Less than nine months later Arturo Beltran Leyva and Nava Romero would be killed in a military operation. Valdez Villarreal allegedly dropped a dime on Beltran Leyva and escaped the kill zone. Valdez Villarreal would himself be detained in Mexico City in 2010.
Next, the general met with leaders of the Juarez Cartel, probably Vicente Carillo Fuentes, the organization with which prosecutors alleged Acosta Chaparro had links.
The last meeting held was with Joaquin Loera Guzman AKA El Chapo, head of the Sinaloa cartel.
Ultimately, Acosto Chaparro's mission failed. He managed to get meetings with all the biggest cartel chiefs, but the goal Calderon set of getting the cartels to reduce the violence went unrealized.
Following his release, Acosta Chaparro was discharged from the military, a move against which he sued SEDENA in the courts and won. The suit allowed him to recover back pay and assets lost when he went to prison His name was eventually added to list of Mexican Army heroes by concurrent SEDENA General Guillermo Galvan Galvan for his efforts in extinguishing the armed Marxist movements in the 1970s.
Although he did spend almost seven years in prison and was acquitted, it was his efforts and experience in killing Marxist guerillas in Guerrero in the 1970s that won him a politically motivated charge of a nexus with organized crime, of which he was eventually cleared.
Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com
MI6 and Muammar Gaddafi's Libyan intelligence service set up a radical mosque in a western European city to lure al-Qaeda terrorists, London's Sunday Telegraph has revealed.
The operation, which had the potential to backfire if a terrorist cell launched an attack from the location, was run behind the backs of Western allies in the chosen city.
The joint operation, undertaken as Britain attempted to secure a deal with Colonel Gaddafi to reopen diplomatic relations, shows how closely Britain's Secret Intelligence Service was prepared to work with his regime's spies, despite allegations of human rights abuses.
At the time, Britain was encouraging Colonel Gaddafi to give up plans for weapons of mass destruction. Four months later, the dictator and Tony Blair, then British prime minister, struck the 2004 ''deal in the desert'', which ended Libya's pariah status.
The co-operation extended to recruiting an agent to infiltrate an al-Qaeda cell in the European city, which cannot be named for security reasons.
The double agent, code-named Joseph, was closely connected to a senior al-Qaeda commander in Iraq and had been identified as a possible spy by the ESO, Libya's external intelligence service.
MI6 began recruiting the agent without telling its allies in the European country where he lived. The agency agreed on a narrative with the agent and the ESO to fool their allies about his recruitment. Documents seen by The Sunday Telegraph outline the subterfuge. The papers were left in Tripoli as Colonel Gaddafi's regime crumbled.
[Dawn] Former Jamaat-i-Islam chief Qazi Hussain Ahmad ... third president (1987--2009) of the Pak Jamaat-e-Islami. Qazi was also head of the Muttahidah Majlis-e-Amal until his ego became bigger than the organization. Qazi is what is known as a fiery preacher, which means he has lots of volume, a good delivery, and not a lot of reverence for coherence. He was the patron of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, Rasool Sayyaf and Osama bin Laden during the war against the Soviets. He used to recommend drining camel's urine to maintain good health before his kidneys started to go... on Friday opposed the proposal of unilateral withdrawal of troops from Siachen and said if it happened, it would tantamount to accepting India occupation of the glacier.
Talking to journalists after addressing party workers in Khairabad area of Nowshera, Mr Qazi criticised Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz chief Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... for suggesting Pakistani troops' unilateral pullout from Siachen and said the suggestion was irresponsible.
He said India should take initiative and take its troops on Siachen glacier to the 1984 position and once that happened, Pakistain should withdraw forces from there.
"India committed aggression and sent its troops to Siachen. Unilateral troop pullout by Pakistain will tantamount to recognition of Indian occupation of the glacier," he said.
The JI chief also opposed resumption of goods' supply to Afghanistan-based NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A single organization with differing goals, equipment, language, doctrine, and organization.... forces through Pakistain and said the government and the army should avoid providing 'oxygen' to the Indian occupation forces.
He blamed NATO forces for the killing of hundreds of thousands of Paks and Afghans over the years and said his party was opposed to the reopening of NATO supply and would let it happen.
JI general secretary Liaquat Baloch, who was also in attendance, said people would block NATO supply route if the government decided to let goods for Afghanistan-based forces pass through the country. He said the US and its allies had suffered defeat in Afghanistan and were looking for safe exit.
Mr Baloch demanded immediate end to military operations in Fata and Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... and said the operations had worsened the situation in the two regions instead of restoring peace.
In Charsadda, JI provincial chief Professor Mohammad Ibrahim told a 'Youth Assembly' in the day that his party would bring about Islamic revolution in the country by organising Pak youth and give them proper direction to meet future challenges.
The assembly, which was organised by Shabaab-e-Mili, the JI youth wing, had JI provincial vice chief Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, Shabaab-e-Mili central president Attiqur Rehman,
provincial president Abrar Akbar, district chief Mohammad Riaz Khan, Shabaab-e-Mili district president Shabbir Ahmad, former MPA Arshad Khan and former nazim ...small time big shot, the chief elected official of a local government in Pakistan, such as a district, tehsil, union council, or village council... Naseer Mohammad Khan in attendance.
Professor Ibrahim said enforcement of Islamic system was the only solution to the country's current socioeconomic and security crises. He said corrupt rulers had been imposed on the country and they had given the people prolonged power outages, high inflation, growing lawlessness and massive unemployment.
He said if elected to power, JI would give people jobs, peace and goods at affordable prices. The JI leader later awarded shields to Faiz Mohammad, Hamdullah Jan, Dr Zahoor Ahmed, Ghafirullah, Farhad Ali Rabbani, Shah Zed, Shaukat Ali, Hafeez Suhail Ahmad and Arshad Shahkar for highlighting people's problems and trying to resolve them.
Meanwhile, ...back at the game, the Babe was wondering why the baseball kept getting bigger and bigger. Finally it hit him... around 50 noted scholars of Charsadda on Friday issued a fatwa (decree) that administration of polio ...Poliomyelitis is a disease caused by infection with the poliovirus. Between 1840 and the 1950s, polio was a worldwide epidemic. Since the development of polio vaccines the disease has been largely wiped out in the civilized world. However, since the vaccine is known to make Moslem pee-pees shrink and renders females sterile, bookish, and unsubmissive it is not widely used by the turban and automatic weapons set... vaccines to children under the age of five was not un-Islamic.
The fatwa was issued at Ulema Convention organised by National Research and Development Foundation (NRDF) to seek Learned Elders of Islam cooperation in convincing parents about vaccination of their children.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/22/2012 00:00 ||
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[3 views]
Top|| File under: Jamaat-e-Islami
#1
He said India should take initiative and take its troops on Siachen glacier to the 1984 position and once that happened, Pakistain should withdraw forces from there.
"You can trust us"
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/22/2012 10:38 Comments ||
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General Pasha of the ISI was very much in the news this week, for some reason..
Writing in Jang Hamid Mir stated that outgoing ISI chief General Ahmad Shuja Pasha was an expert at playing double game at whatever he did. He named 'national interest' every time he did something while promising to do something else. He adopted fair or foul means to achieve his ends but he failed in the end. Because the very constitution under which he had pledged his honour was betrayed by him. He considered the Constitution the biggest wall in the way of his objectives. He told journalists that presidential system instead of parliamentary system was good for Pakistain. He praised General Ayub and his governance and told journalists that they were condemned under the present to live as slaves the children of Zardari and children of Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... . But he approached Zardari repeatedly for extensions in his job. He was the master of the Double Game.
Pasha and his extensions
Daily Jang had Hamid Mir writing that General Pasha as head of the ISI got items published implying that the PPP government would extend his tenure yet again, because General Kayani ... four star general, current Chief of Army Staff of the Mighty Pak Army. Kayani is the former Director General of ISI... and the Americans liked him. He had met CIA chief General David Petraeus in Thailand and Britannia assuring him that NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A single organization with differing goals, equipment, language, doctrine, and organization.... supplies would resumed but at the same time he was giving the impression in Pakistain that he was opposed to the US because America was Pakistain's biggest enemy.
General Pasha and terrorists
According to Hamid Mir column in Jang ISI chief General Pasha stated in November 2008, right after the Mumbai attack, that Fazlullah and Baitullah Mehsud were the assets of Pakistain but in March 2009 the same bully boyz attacked the Sri Lankan team in Lahore, giving the lie to Pasha. Once he told Hamid Mir that relations with India would mend soon but after attack on the GHQ in 2009 he said that attack had come from India.
Pasha the jinxed ISI chief
Columnist Hamid Mir wrote in Jang that ISI chief General Pasha's era in power was a nightmare for Pakistain: May 2011, Osama was killed by the US in Abbottabad ... A pleasant city located only 30 convenient miles from Islamabad. The city is noted for its nice weather and good schools. It is the site of Pakistain's military academy, which was within comfortable walking distance of the residence of the late Osama bin Laden.... ; May 2011 Mehran naval base was attacked in Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It may be the largest city in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... ; after attack at Salala, drone attacks were resumed on his watch. In the four years under him the Baloch were made to disappear and largest number of journalists were killed in the conflict zones of Pakistain.
Pasha can't write
Award-winning columnist Haroon Rasheed wrote in Jang that when he met General Pasha of the ISI he asked him to write a book about himself to defend against the untrue comment being written in the press. Pasha replied that that he had no experience of writing and therefore could not write a book. He said that he was good at speaking: if you invite me to a two hour lecture I can prepare it in ten minutes.
General Zaheerul Islam will be the next Army Chief
Daily Jinnah reported that General Zaheerul Islam newly selected as ISI chief was bound to become the next Army Chief after General Kayani. The other reason was that General Zaheer was very close to Kayani. In the past Kayani first ran ISI then became Army Chief.
Zaid Zaman and murder of Maulana Jalalpuri
Banned magazine of Sipah Sahaba monthly Paigham Khatme Nubawwat wrote that Zaid Zaman was the continuation of the mission of False Prophet Yusuf who hid after the death of Yusuf then appeared on TV talking in such a way that people took him to be a proxy of ISI and Army, When Bloody Karachi's Maulana Saeed Jalalpuri became critical of him as the follower of Yusuf the False Prophet he was killed. An FIR was registered against Zaid but little was done to get hold of him. But ISPR and ISI have declared that they were not supporting him.
Fatwa against Zaid Hamid
Banned monthly Paigham Khatme Nabuwwat reported that Jamia Banuria had published a fatwa against Zaid Hamid saying that Yusuf the False Prophet had nominated Zaid as next in line. Zaid Zaman was made responsible for making the False Prophet leave Pakistain safely. False Prophet Yusuf nominated Zaid Hamid (then Zaman) of Brinks Company as his khalifa.
Roedad Khan will not appeal
Quoted in Express ex-civil servant stated that if the Supreme Court convicted him in Asghar Case known as Mehrangate he will not appeal the sentence. The case has him working together with President Ghulam Ishaq in a cell put in charge of planning the defeat in elections of the PPP.
Tehrik Insaf and its 'seasonal birds'
Daily Jinnah stated that Insaf Party of Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who ain't the sharpest bulb on the national tree... was already a failing party because the opportunists (mausami pancchi) had either decamped or were fighting among themselves. This resulted in the party not being able to frame its constitution. People came late to the meeting in Islamabad and deputy chief Shah Mehmood Wormtongue Qureshi was absent.
Osama was buried in America!
Daily Jinnah reported that the dead body of the late Osama bin Laden ... who is now among the dear departed, though not among the dearest... after his murder in Abbottabad was not thrown in the Indian Ocean but was transported secretly to the state of Maryland in the US to a military hospital and the body was taken in a special plane of the CIA.
Contest of apologies in Moslem League
Quoted in Jinnah PMLN leaders invited each other to apologise for wrongdoing. Nawaz Sharif asked Chaudhry Shujaat to apologise to the people for siding with General Musharraf. Chaudhry Shujaat asked Nawaz Sharif to apologise for being supported by General Zia.
Mubahila: discussion unto death
Reported in Nawa-e-Waqt a mubahila was arranged in Lahore against the Ahmadis for which the latter did not turn up, thus yielding victory to the truthful Sunni opponents. Mubahila is a discussion which some describe as a competition of curses in the name of God in which the false party dies of its own accord. Ex-president Rafeeq Tarar also attended. The speakers said that Mansoor Ijaz can't get away by reciting the kalima. The challenge is a call to prove the truth or falsehood of the Qadiani religion.
Regal Chowk should be Akbar Bugti Chowk
Writing in Jang that Punjab University held a discussion on Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... in which the speakers were Oria Maqbool Jan and Suhail Warraich among others. Warraich said that media in 1971 was not alive therefore East Pakistain was lost but now it was alive therefore Balochistan would not be lost.
Truly impeccable logic. If only djinns were included, it could never be answered.
Hamid Mir suggested that Regal Chowk in Lahore should be renamed Akbar Bugti Chowk.
Mumtaz Bhutto to join PMLN
Reported in Nawa-e-Waqt Sindhi leader Mumtaz Bhutto stated that Tehrik-e-Insaf ...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations.... had approached him but he had already decided to join the PMLN. He said that Imran Khan himself had made the approach and invited him to join his party but he excused himself because of prior commitment.
Raza Rabbani talks about his political creed
Quoted in Jinnah PPP leader Raza Rabbani stated that he found that Socialism was the only way of life for the states of the world. Socialism was the true revolution which the rightwing politicians wanted to destroy. He said third party employment (through contractors) was the worst form of employment and was exploitative. He said PPP would do its best to end this system.
Thank goodness the PPP's very best is never good enough.
#1
but at the same time he was giving the impression in Pakistain that he was opposed to the US because America was Pakistain's biggest enemy.
Is the problem in Pakistan the Pak military or the Pak public?
Iraq's prime minister is in Tehran for top level talks, underlining the close ties between governments of the two countries.
Nouri al-Maliki is expected to meet Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during his two-day official visit. Al-Maliki's Shiite-dominated government has received support from Iran, a regional Shiite powerhouse.
Among topics for discussion will be Iran's nuclear program. Iraq will host the next round of nuclear talks between Iran and the six world powers in Baghdad May 23.
Al-Maliki was given a red carpet welcome by First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi at Saadabad Palace in north Tehran, state TV reported Sunday.
Apparently Egypt doesn't need the shekels... cut off all aid
Egypt's national gas company EGAS announced Sunday that it will be cancelling its natural gas supply deal with Israel.
Ampal-American Israel Corporation, a partner in the East Mediterranean Gas Company (EMG), which operates the pipeline, said the Egyptian companies involved had notified EMG they were "terminating the gas and purchase agreement".
The company said in a statement that the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation and Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company had notified them of the decision, adding that "EMG considers the termination attempt unlawful and in bad faith, and consequently demanded its withdrawal".
It said EMG, Ampal, and EMG's other international shareholders were "considering their options and legal remedies as well as approaching the various governments."
Sources close to EMG said in response, "Egypt does not understand what it is doing. This move will bring back the country - politically and economically -- by 30 years. This is a breach of the peace agreement with Israel." yep. Don't subsidize fanatical stupidity Wonder if this means Jordan will still get its share of the gas that Egypt promised to provide. As I recall the pipeline goes through Israel.
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/22/2012 15:27 ||
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What OTAN countries will be following Spain into South America does anyone know?
Before the sabotage, Egypt supplied about 40 percent of Israel's natural gas, which is the country's main energy source.
Israeli officials have said the country was at risk of facing summer power outages due to energy shortages.
Companies invested in the Israeli-Egyptian venture have taken a hit from numerous explosions of the cross-border pipeline and are seeking compensation from the Egyptian government of billions of dollars.
Ampal and two other companies have sought $8 billion in damages from Egypt for not safeguarding their investment.
In response, Israel must make an extra effort to overcome any obstacles to getting Israel's own gas fields flowing this year as opposed to its scheduled operational start in 2013, a statement added.
WASHINGTON: A House panel is boosting money for Israels Iron Dome missile defense system by $680 million amid an election-year fight over whether President Barack Obama is doing enough for the longtime Mideast ally.
The issue isn't how much they spend, it's how much is needed, and how much can be spent properly and usefully. This is typical "we spend more because we care" Washington mentality.
The Republican-controlled Armed Services Committee, which begins crafting a fiscal 2013 defense budget next week, plans millions more for the system designed to intercept short-range rockets and mortars, according to a congressional aide.
The money would be in addition to the $205 million that the Obama administration and Congress agreed to in a special request in the 2011 budget and would cover several years, through fiscal 2015.
An increase in money for the program was expected as the Pentagon said last month that it would work with Congress to steer more funds to a system that has proven effective in intercepting rockets and mortars fired by Palestinian fighters from Gaza.
Supporting the security of the state of Israel is a top priority of President Obama and Secretary (Leon) Panetta, the Pentagon said last month. The Department of Defense has been in conversations with the government of Israel about US support for the acquisition of additional Iron Dome systems and intends to request an appropriate level of funding from Congress to support such acquisitions based on Israeli requirements and production capacity.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/22/2012 00:00 ||
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the $680 is for three years of R,D and production
rumor is that both Israel and the US are working to reduce the size and cost of the intercept vehicle;
the current model is about 200 pounds but the thought is that a 80 pound vehicle would work almost as well and be much less expensive
Posted by: lord garth ||
04/22/2012 0:17 Comments ||
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I can't help thinking a railgun is the answer. You could even included a parachute, so projectiles that miss could float back to earth and be re-used.
#4
With a railgun the projectile would be a simple aluminum rod. If it misses so what.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/22/2012 11:18 Comments ||
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as long as we are doing blue sky concept, I have thought that drones might be used to launch small (5 to 10 pound) interceptors. That way, the missile might actually be hit before it even gets to home territory. Having the remnants of their own missiles fall on them would be quite a morale depressant for the Paleos.
If the missile is missed by the drone interceptors and the missile is projected to hit populated area, the Iron Dome interceptors could be used.
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
04/22/2012 12:44 Comments ||
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Three Iran officials say that Iran's construction of new drone, based on data decoded, extracted from downed US spy plane.
Iran has started to construct a duplicate of the US-manufactured unmanned aerial vehicle Tehran claims it downed last year when it was spotted flying over Iranian territory, Iranian news agency Mehr reported Sunday according to a Revolutionary Guards commander.
Iran's construction of the new drone, announced by Revolutionary Guards Commander Brigadier Hajih Zadeh to commemorate the founding of the Revolutionary Guards, is based on data extracted from the downed spy plane, which the Iranian military claims it was able to ground without causing substantial damage to the aircraft.
Iran Navy Commander General Ali Fadavi and General Amirali Hajizadeh, IRGC Aerospace Commander also discussed Iran's successful decoding of the memory of the US's R.Q. 170 Stealth drone, according to an Iranian News Agency (IRNA) report on Sunday. The two commanders added that Iran repaired any minor damage that had been caused to the drone.
#3
DO you seriously think they can copy the technology. A simple variant will emerge with aspects of the drone and a huge leap forward for Iranian drone capabilities. Thats the good news.
That they sold every aspect of it to Russia and China, and that they willl not only replicate our sate-of-the-art in their drones, but they will exploit the identified vulnerabilities in what we operate now in collections ops against their interests. (Anybody else note the Seychelles connections of PLA basing and drone crashes?)
[An Nahar] The rebel Free Syrian Army hailed the United Nations ...a lucrative dumping ground for the relatives of dictators and party hacks... Security Council vote on Saturday to send 300 observers to monitor a ceasefire in Syria and said it was committed to the truce.
"We salute the dispatch of new observers," FSA front man Colonel Kassem Saadeddine told Agencce La Belle France Presse through a Skype call from Homs province.
The rebel army remains "committed to the ceasefire" that went into effect on April 12 as part of a plan designed by U.N.-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... envoy Kofi Annan ...Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh and so far the worst Secretary-General of the UN. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize for something or other that probably sounded good at the time. In December 2004, reports surfaced that Kofi's son Kojo received payments from the Swiss company Cotecna, which had won a lucrative contract under the UN Oil-for-Food Program. Kofi Annan called for an investigation to look into the allegations, which stirred up the expected cesspool but couldn't seem to come up with enough evidence to indict Kofi himself, or even Kojo... to halt more than a year of deadly violence in Syria that has killed thousands of people.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/22/2012 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Daily Nation (Kenya)] US President 
Jerry Lewis doppelgänger Amr Moussa
Officers and soldiers of the Air Forces have filed a memo of charges to the Attorney General Ali Al-Awash in which they demanded to arrest the dismissed commander of the Air Forces and prosecute him on charges of refusing presidential decrees and looting stocks of the Air Forces.
[Yemen Post] The former Minister of Endowment and Guidance and the head of a dialogue committee tasked with conducting dialogue with Al-Qaeda 
[Dawn] Former Jamaat-i-Islam chief 
Nawaz Sharif
Pasha 'double game' expert
Tehrik Insaf and its 'seasonal birds'
WASHINGTON: A House panel is boosting money for Israels Iron Dome missile defense system by $680 million amid an election-year fight over whether President Barack Obama is doing enough for the longtime Mideast ally.
Three Iran officials say that Iran's construction of new drone, based on data decoded, extracted from downed US spy plane.
...Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh and so far the worst Secretary-General of the UN. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize for something or other that probably sounded good at the time. In December 2004, reports surfaced that Kofi's son Kojo received payments from the Swiss company Cotecna, which had won a lucrative contract under the UN Oil-for-Food Program. Kofi Annan called for an investigation to look into the allegations, which stirred up the expected cesspool but couldn't seem to come up with enough evidence to indict Kofi himself, or even Kojo...
