A new report on Afghanistan warns that the departure of Nato forces in 2014 could be followed by the government's collapse and even civil war, unless steps are taken now.
The International Crisis Group (ICG) says the Afghan police and army are unprepared for security responsibility.
It added that polls in two years' time would be "plagued" by fraud unless the state acted to ensure a clean vote.
The Afghan government labelled the predictions "nonsense and garbage".
"Our nation was not born in 2002. We have a history of 5,000 years. We have fought against superpowers in the past. Our national police and army are ready to defend the country's soul and sovereignty," a statement said.
#2
The International Crisis Group (ICG) says the Afghan police and army are unprepared for security responsibility.
...and never would be prepared without a tectonic change in culture. Best case would have been to do with the non-Pushtun northern tribes what was done with the Kurds, making them autonomous and self sustaining, if not a constant pain in the a$$ to those to the south.
[Al Ahram] America's longest war entered its 12th year Sunday, with the anniversary marked by a Taliban statement claiming that NATO forces are "fleeing Afghanistan" in "humiliation and disgrace". More painful because it's true...
The US led the invasion on October 7, 2001 to topple the Taliban government for harbouring Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden after the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington. The Taliban were quickly routed, but launched an insurgency that grew in strength over the years until NATO had some 130,000 troops from 50 countries defending the Western-backed government of President Hamid Karzai. That was the problem right there. Karzai is no Nour al-Maliki...
The troops have now begun pulling out and all foreign combat forces will be gone by the end of 2014 according to a withdrawal schedule agreed by the US and NATO.
"With the help of Allah, the valiant Afghans under the Jihadi leadership of Islamic Emirate defeated the military might and numerous strategies of America and NATO alliance," the Taliban said in a statement Sunday.
"And now after eleven years of unceasing terror, tyranny, crimes and savagery, they are fleeing Afghanistan with such humiliation and disgrace that they are struggling to provide an explanation".
It will be interesting to see what President Romney decides to do about the situation.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/08/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
Forget the "explanation". Simply don't permit it happen again. Despite what some in Washington may believe, much of the world does not long for American style democracy and representative governance. They are not ready for it, and they may never be.
#2
Who cares what these goat-buggering swine think. We certainly cannot make policy based on the fear that we are going to be mocked by them.
We made the mistake of trying to help them rather than just killing the bad guys and leaving. I hope we learn our lesson. But we do need to leave. I hope that Romney realizes this. Our military will be stronger the faster we get out of Afghanistan.
[Al Ahram] Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir Head of the National Congress Party. He came to power in 1989 when he, as a brigadier in the Sudanese army, led a group of officers in a bloodless military coup that ousted the government of Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi and eventually appointed himself president-for-life. He has fallen out with his Islamic mentor, Hasan al-Turabi, tried to impose shariah on the Christian and animist south, resulting in its secessesion, and attempted to Arabize Darfur by unleashing the barbaric Janjaweed on it. Sudan's potential prosperity has been pissed away in warfare that has left as many as 400,000 people dead and 2.5 million displaced. Omar has been indicted for genocide by the International Criminal Court but nothing is expected to come of it. on Sunday ordered land and river border crossings with South Sudan reopened, official radio said, after agreements eased long-running tensions between the neighbours. Bashir "ordered the opening of all the highway or river gates on the border," Radio Omdurman said in a brief alert sent by text message. It said Bashir made the request after a meeting with Sudan's new ambassador to South Sudan.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/08/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
Reopen the borders for what? A fresh invasion?
Posted by: American Delight ||
10/08/2012 6:18 Comments ||
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(Sh.M.Network)--The new prime minister of Somalia's fledgling government Abdi Farah Shirdon Saaid has promised to tackle corruption, misuse of power and internal disputes in the previous governments.
Mr. Shirdon, a new political comer, said on his nomination ceremony on Saturday in Mogadishu on Saturday he will set up transparent and competence inclusive cabinet within one month beginning from his parliament approval day.
He said he will bring changes to Somalia's volatile situations and will not tolerate corruption during in term office.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/08/2012 00:00 ||
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#3
Sad story that must be told. More will come to light as time goes by on the rest of the entire event. "They deserve better". I have no words to express my anger towards this administration.
#4
thanks for posting. I was unaware of several aspects of this story. the media made it sound like these two SEALS were on the personal protection detail of the ambassador. there was also no mention that these guys kept the fight going for two hours, that 20 people were evacuated, or that there were so many attackers. An outstanding act of bravery by these two men.
#5
This is the most dishonorable, lieing, corrupt administration ever seen in the over and otherwise noble 200 year history of this great nation.
It is the responsibility of this generation to hold everyone of the trash occupying the executive branch accountable, including Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Eric Holder to the fullest extent of the law.
If more great Americans such as these two Seals die needlessly due to the executive branch's corruption and incompetence, these three people deserve punishment reserved to murderers.
#6
A leaked memo to Jake Tapper reveals the State Dept. withdrew security in August despite their concerns about threats. Lt. Col Andy Wood testified to Congress, who is issuing a report to the FBI. Patrick F Kennedy was responsible for security at State...
#2
Sting? With the Ministry of Truth in full Newspeak mode, it'll barely itch. Had it been any other president sitting, they would have been crucified.
[Bangla Daily Star] An assistant to a trucker, jugged Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages! in connection with the Ramu violence, told a magistrate in Chittagong yesterday that five people had forced him to drive a mob to Ramu on September 29.
A team of Cox's Bazar police jugged Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages! helper-turned-driver Ramzan Ali of south Rajarkul in Ramu at Sitakunda in Chittagong Friday.
Police produced him before the court of Senior Judicial Magistrate Towhidul Haque yesterday.
In his statement, Ramzan told the court that while he was staying with the truck at a bus terminal in Cox's Bazar on September 29, Rafiq, Harun, Amin, Alam and Ramzan forced him to take them to Ramu around 11:00pm, said Zaker Hossain, an inspector of the Detective Branch of Cox's Bazar Police.
Zaker said in his statement Ramzan said the five picked up people from different areas and boarded them on the truck to go to Ramu.
A mob destroyed 12 pagodas and more than 50 houses in Ramu on the night of September 29. The violence was apparently triggered by a Facebook posting of a photo derogatory to the holy Koran.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina ...Bangla dynastic politician and current Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She has been the President of the Bangla Awami League since 1981. She is the eldest of five children of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangladesh. Her party defeated the BNP-led Four-Party Alliance in the 2008 parliamentary elections. She has once before held the office, from 1996 to 2001, when she was defeated in a landslide... goes to Ramu today and will hand over relief to the victims. She will also hold meetings with high officials, politicians and eminent citizens of the district.
Meanwhile, ...back at the cheese factory, all the pieces finally fell together in Fluffy's mind... protest and condemnation continued to pour in with expatriate Bangladeshis demanding judicial and administrative enquiries into the incident and urging highest punishment to the culprits through trial.
In a statement they said a heinous conspiracy and a hand of the anti-liberation forces were behind the attack.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/08/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
We used to have this sort of thing happen all the time when I worked for Triple A Cooper (blessed be their brakes). Usually they were forced to go to, yeah, Dothan, because of hours and such.
[Bangla Daily Star] International Crimes Tribunal-2 yesterday decided to hold the trial of war crimes accused Abul Kalam Azad "in absentia" for his alleged involvement in crimes against humanity committed during the Liberation War.
The three-member tribunal headed by Justice ATM Fazle Kabir took the decision as expelled 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 maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. 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... member Azad, also known as Bachchu Razakar, did not appear before it even after publication of newspaper advertisements to this effect.
This is the first time that one of the war crimes tribunals has decided to hold a trial in the absence of an accused since the formation of the International Crimes Tribunal on March 25, 2010. The trial of eight other war crimes suspects is now pending with the two tribunals.
On September 23, the tribunal directed the authorities concerned to publish an advert in two national dailies asking Azad to appear before it within 10 days of the publication.
Sahidur Rahman, the conducting prosecutor of the case, yesterday told the tribunal the advertisements were published accordingly in two national dailies -- The Daily Star and Bangla daily Janakantha -- on September 25.
Afterwards, the tribunal in its order said it appeared that in spite of the publication of a notice in newspapers, the accused had remained absconding and could not be tossed in the slammer Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! and there was no immediate prospect of arresting him.
As per the act and rules of procedure of the tribunal, the trial of the accused would commence and be held "in absentia," said the tribunal chairman.
Azad, also a former leader of Islami Chhatra Sangha, the then student wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami in Faridpur, went into hiding around seven hours before Tribunal-2 issued an arrest warrant against him on April 3.
The tribunal yesterday also appointed Supreme Court lawyer Abdus Sukur Khan as "state defence" for defending Azad in the case and directed the chief prosecutor to supply formal charges and other documents to the state defence through the registrar of the tribunal by October 11.
The tribunal will pass a "further order" in this regard on the day.
On September 9, the tribunal took into cognisance formal charges filed against Azad and issued an arrest warrant for the second time.
As the law enforcers could not arrest Azad within September 23, the advertisements were published as per the tribunal's directive.
On July 26, the investigation agency completed its enquiry and found Azad's involvement in the killing of at least 14 people and two acts of genocide in Faridpur during the War.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/08/2012 00:00 ||
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Nine people who provided sureties to enable WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to get bail were today ordered to forfeit £93,500.
Among those out of pocket are a Nobel prize winner, an award winning journalist, the wife of a former Labour minister and the actress and model the Marchioness of Worcester.
Others including Jemima Khan who had put up securities for Assange have already lost their money after Assange fled to the Ecuador embassy in Knightsbridge in breach of his bail conditions.
In a ruling today Chief Magistrate Howard Riddle said he had some sympathy with those offering sureties so they should not have to pay the full £140,000 they had put up.
In declining to publicly (or as far as I know privately) urge Mr Assange to surrender himself they have acted against self-interest. They have acted on their beliefs and principles throughout. In what is sometimes considered to be a selfish age, that is admirable.
I cannot avoid taking some account of their integrity but I approach this decision on the basis that I should forfeit no more than is necessary, in public policy, to maintain the integrity and confidence of the system of taking sureties so that a person may be released on bail.
The nine are: retired educationalist Professor Tricia Davies who must pay £10,000 (she had put up £20,000), Lady Evans better known as literary agent Caroline Michel £15,000 (£20,000), Assanges assistant Joseph Farrell £3,500 (£5,000), Assanges ex-girlfriend Sarah Harrison £3,500 (£5,000), ex-Sunday Times journalist Philip Knightley £12,000 (£20,000), Kent caterer Sarah Saunders £12,000 (£20,000), Frontline Club owner Vaughan Smith £15,000 (£20,000), Nobel prize winning biologist Sir John Sulston £15,000 (£20,000) and Tracy Worcester £7,500 (£10,000). The court heard that Mr Smith, speaking for his colleagues, said it would be a betrayal if they criticised Assange for losing them their money. Also amongst them was Michael Moore who may have to go on a diet for a week.
CARACAS, Venezuela -- Venezuela's electoral council says President Hugo Chavez has won re-election, defeating challenger Henrique Capriles.
Yup, he stole it fair and square.
National Electoral Council president Tibisay Lucena says that with most votes counted, Chavez had about 54 percent of the vote.
It's a hoary cliche these days, but what matters isn't who votes, but who counts the votes. Hugo's friends counted these. I'm a little surprised that they allowed the count to be this 'close', but I suppose they wanted just enough realism to calm some of the rubes...
It was Chavez's third re-election victory in nearly 14 years in office. The victory gives Chavez another six-year term to cement his legacy and press more forcefully for a transition to socialism in the country with the world's largest proven oil reserves.
And you can tell where the heart of the AP reporter lies in that sentence...
But should he die next week after going off his meds to campaign, all is moot, including the fond wishes of the highly educated journalist. Let us pray for sepsis.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/08/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
The exit polls NOT under Chavez' control gave his opponent a victory of 51%
Posted by: European Conservative ||
10/08/2012 0:16 Comments ||
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Possibly, given that the MSM will lie its ass off to drag the One across the finish line, to include 'exit polls' that don't match the real count, that was one of the complications of the 2000 vote. Though it will likely only be feeding their shrinking base as the MSM has all but killed its credibility outside that subset of the electorate.
#12
I was thinking more about Holder and the real (Obama-wise) purpose of Fast & Furious, P2K.
I recall a statistic from back in the 70s. The largest armed body in the world at the time was the PLA in China, followed by either the Soviet or American military. The latter two have been significantly downsized since. The fourth largest armed body was the American public. That hasn't downsized but has only grown. All those public security people at the end of the day have to go home to families which are not in barracks or fortified compounds. Notice how in gun controlled Mexico, pictures of the Mexican military showing off their cartel 'catches' usually are masked to prevent identity. Masks won't help much when such a large population is armed and the 'authorities' no longer have legitimacy. Google Battle of Athens TN
[Dawn] French President Francois Hollande ...the Socialist president of La Belle France, and a fine job he's doing of it... vowed tough anti-terror laws and tightened security as police Sunday pressed on with sweeping raids that saw one man killed and 11 tossed in the slammer Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw! over an attack on a Jewish store.
"The state is totally mobilised to fight all terror threats," Hollande said after meeting Jewish leaders at the Elysee palace, vowing that "planned anti-terror laws will be put before parliament as soon as possible."
He said Saturday's raids, in which one man was killed and 11 other suspects tossed in the slammer Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw! nationwide, had helped "crush an Islamist cell which we think had struck in the past and which could stage attacks in the coming weeks."
He gave no details about the cell, but officials evoked the growing threat of homegrown radical Islamists, many of whom were recent converts.
Hollande also said that La Belle France, which has Western Europe's largest Moslem population, should not "stigmatise" its estimated four million adherents.
"The Moslems of La Belle France are not all Islamist fanatics," he said. "They are also victims."
He said surveillance would be stepped up "at places of worship because secularism, one of La Belle France's fundamental principles, directs the state to protect all religions."
Jeremy-Louis Sidney, a 33-year-old convert to Islam, was rubbed out by police Saturday during a raid over a September 19 attack on a kosher grocery store in the gritty northern Gay Paree suburb of Sarcelles which left one person injured.
Police on Sunday raided an apartment in the French Riviera city of Cannes and searched a vehicle following the arrests of two men there who had at one time given refuge to Sidney, a source close to the investigation said.
Gay Paree prosecutor Francois Molins described Sidney as "a delinquent who had converted to radical Islam" and said his fingerprints were found on the remains of an bomb lobbed at the kosher grocery.
Sidney had been at the home of "one of his two religious wives", a woman of 22 who has a girl of six and a one-month-old baby, during the early morning shootout in the eastern city of Strasbourg.
Interior Minister Manuel Valls meanwhile warned of a surge in homegrown Islamist radicals.
"There is a terrorist threat in La Belle France," Valls said in a radio interview.
"It does not appear to come from foreigners, it appears to be French converts."
The 11 tossed in the slammer Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw! suspects were born in the 1980s and 1990s, the Gay Paree prosecutor said, adding that some were "common criminals who set out on a path of radicalisation toward Islamist jihadism".
Three of the suspects had criminal records for cases involving drug trafficking, theft and violence. Sidney himself had been sentenced to two years in prison in 2008 for drug trafficking.
Jewish groups on Sunday complained of increasing hate attacks.
"The facts speak for themselves. Anti-Semitic acts are increasing rapidly,"Alain Jakubowitz, the head of the International League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism, told the Journal du Dimanche.
"The worst enemies of Moslems are not the 'Islamophobes' but the radical Islamists," he said. "They have to understand that they will be the first victims" as a result of this growing trend.
Richard Prasquier, who heads the Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions, added: "The intrinsic hatred against Jews is being more and more trivialised.
"There will be no progress if barriers are not put on the national and international levels," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/08/2012 00:00 ||
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#2
Maybe - but France can't afford any risks right now. This is a high-risk time period where a strike by AQ is a real possibility - before the Nov elections. They may not be able to strike within CONUS - but Europe is definitely vulnerable.
Hoisting and petards come to mind, for some reason.
[Dawn] Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam ...Assembly of Islamic Clergy, or JUI, is a Pak Deobandi (Hanafi) political party. There are two main branches, one led by Maulana Fazlur Rahman, and one led by Maulana Samiul Haq. Fazl is active in Pak politix and Sami spends more time running his madrassah. Both branches sponsor branches of the Taliban, though with plausible deniability... -Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman Deobandi holy man, known as Mullah Diesel during the war against the Soviets, his sympathies for the Taliban have never been tempered by honesty ... on Sunday, while terming Pakistain 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.... (PTI) chief Imran Kahn a "western agent," claimed that Khan wants to destroy our society by injecting his 'western thoughts' in it, DawnNews reported.
Speaking to a conference organised by Jamaat Tulba-e-Islam, the student wing of the JUI-F, Fazl declared the "peace march" by the PTI as 'frivolous.'
Meanwhile, ...back at the bake sale, Umberto's Mom's cannoli were a big hit... PTI chief Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who ain't the sharpest bulb on the national tree... addressed crowds gathered in Tank after being disallowed by the authorities from entering into South Wazoo.
The PTI leadership decided to hold a public meeting in "Jahaz Ground" in Tank instead of KotKai, Dawn.com news hound, Sajjad Haider, who was travelling with the convoy quoted the PTI official sources as stating.
Commenting on Rehman's criticism, Khan said that he wanted to end the speech a little earlier but a 'Maulana' (Maulana Fazlur Rehman) was stuck in his head. Some people in the crowd shouted 'diesel... diesel". Referring to Fazlur Rehman's constituency in D.I. Khan, the PTI chairman said "when we were young there were some people who neither played nor let anyone else played... If you don't want to serve the people at least let us serve them."
The PTI was carrying out a peaceful convoy of party supporters, human rights ...which are often intentionally defined so widely as to be meaningless... activists and national and international media representatives to Waziristan against US drone attacks in the region bordering Afghanistan.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/08/2012 00:00 ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] The Philippine government and the country's biggest Mohammedan rebel group yesterday announced they had agreed a deal to end a decades-long separatist insurgency that has killed more than 150,000 people.
The agreement would see the establishment of a new semi-autonomous Mohammedan area in the resource-rich southern Philippine region of Mindanao, which the 12,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front regards as its ancestral homeland.
"This framework agreement paves the way for a final and enduring peace in Mindanao," President Benigno Aquino said in a nationally televised address.
"It brings all former secessionist groups into the fold. No longer does the Moro Islamic Liberation Front aspire for a separate state."
The MILF hailed the breakthrough, which was achieved in the latest round of peace talks in Malaysia that ended on Saturday, as the "beginning of peace".
"We are happy and we thank the president for this," MILF vice chairman for political affairs Ghazali Jaafar told AFP by phone from his base in Mindanao.
The Philippine government and the country's biggest Mohammedan rebel group yesterday announced they had agreed a deal to end a decades-long separatist insurgency that has killed more than 150,000 people.
The agreement would see the establishment of a new semi-autonomous Mohammedan area in the resource-rich southern Philippine region of Mindanao, which the 12,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front regards as its ancestral homeland.
"This framework agreement paves the way for a final and enduring peace in Mindanao," President Benigno Aquino said in a nationally televised address.
"It brings all former secessionist groups into the fold. No longer does the Moro Islamic Liberation Front aspire for a separate state."
The MILF hailed the breakthrough, which was achieved in the latest round of peace talks in Malaysia that ended on Saturday, as the "beginning of peace".
"We are happy and we thank the president for this," MILF vice chairman for political affairs Ghazali Jaafar told AFP by phone from his base in Mindanao.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/08/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
I dunno - I still suspect the MILF will prefer to stay neutral iff any war breaks out between China + PHIL in the South China Sea.
Unless the PLA decides to attack + invade Moro homelands.
#3
TOPIX > [Manila Bulletin] WE'RE STILL ALIVE - MNLF.
Don't youse forget about me = us.
ARTIC = ...
- 1996 Final Peace Ageement between the MNLF + PHIL Govt. all but ended widout much progress.
- New Govt-MILF Accord effectively abrogates the 1996 Agreement between Manila + MNLF, + does not show or operate any convergence between the two Islamic Groups, MNLF + MILF.
* SAME > [Xinhuanet] NEWS ANALYSIS: PHILIPPINE GOVT, MORO REBELS REACH ACCORD,BUT FINAL PEACE PACT [post-2016]STILL BEING WORKED OUT.
* SAME > [Guardian.UK] PHILIPPINE PEACE DEAL IS FAR FROM DONE DEAL, as it still remains affected vee both domestic + regional, non/anti-MILF violent Militant Groups, e.g. Mindanao-based ABU SAYAFF + Indonesia-based JEMMAH ISLAMIYAH.
versus
New domestic resistance in the PHIL, Moro or otherwise, may arise iff US forces return or a permanent or protractive basis.
* WORLD NEWS > [Gulf News] SUBIC BAY: PHILIPPINES SEES PORT AS VITAL TO THE US, besides also the former Clark AFB + other Cold War installations.
The new accord wid the MILF recognizes Palawan Island as part of the new post-ARMM "Bangsamoro" sub-state entity - what will happen vee China + PHIL SCS territorial claims iff the new Muslim Bangsamoro sub-state does not want PHIL or US Marines on the island???
Granted, Manila remains in charge of Foreign Policy, BUT HISTORY SAYS A TREATY(S) DOTH NOT AN ARMY MAKETH. Subic + Clark, etc. in the northern PHIL is of more interest to China for time being than Mindanao is. CHINA HAS ALWAYS HAD AN INTEREST IN THE PHIL, + HAD GIVEN TOP PRIORITY TO THE NORTHERN PHILIPPINES OVER THE SOUTH SINCE THE US-SOVIET COLD WAR = DAYS OF ANTI-US "RED CHINA".
[France24] Hezbollah officials have long denied reports that their fighters were operating in Syria. But a recent spate of Hezbollah fighters mysteriously killed in the line of "jihadi duty" has put the Lebanese Shiite movement in an embarrassing position.
Never mind their embarrassment, they are thinning the ranks. Who, then, will shoot off Iran's missiles at Israel when the time comes?
On October 1, Hezbollah, the powerful Lebanese Shiite movement, announced the death of one of its fighters in a terse statement. "The commander Ali Hussein Nassif [nicknamed Abu Abbas] was martyred while fulfilling his jihadi duty," said a notice relayed on Hezbollah-controlled media outlets. No further details were provided.
But if there was a paucity of information surrounding Nassif's death, his funeral ceremony -- in his native village of Bouday in the Bekaa Valley -- was replete with Hezbollah pomp and circumstance.
Fighters from Hezbollah's militia wing, dressed in all-black uniforms topped with burgundy berets,
Snazzy. Or perhaps more like seriously dour. But please do go on about the festivities.
carried the coffin draped in Hezbollah's distinctive yellow-and-green flag through packed village streets. Armed guards were deployed as several senior Hezbollah officials paid their respects to the dear departed.
Clearly, Nassif was an important figure in the Hezbollah pecking order.
Over the past few weeks, a number of Hezbollah fighters have been killed while fulfilling their "jihadi duty" -- a phrase that has raised eyebrows in many Lebanese circles.
"Nobody is fighting a war with Hezbollah at the moment, so [Hezbollah leader Hassan] Nasrallah should explain how his fighters can die as deaders, or while fulfilling their jihadi duty in Leb," said a Lebanese observer -- who did not wish to be named - in a phone interview with FRANCE 24 from Beirut. "Unless, of course," he added, "they have died in Syria, where there is indeed fighting between rebels and forces loyal to Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Light of the Alawites... , a staunch Hezbollah ally."
Hezbollah's uncharacteristic silence on Syria
Hezbollah's existence, its very raison d'etre, has been its resistance to Israel. In the past, it has waged war against Leb's powerful neighbour, but those days are over and all is relatively quiet along Leb's southern border with Israel. But on its northern and eastern front, the Syrian civil war has entered its 19th month and is threatening to spill into Leb - a tiny, multi-religious country that has been historically destabilized by the conflicts in one of the world's most volatile regions.
While the Shiite movement's propaganda arms are particularly adept at lionizing the resistance against Israel, the Syrian civil war presents an altogether different conundrum for senior Hezbollah leaders.
Ever since the Syrian uprising against Assad began in March 2011, Hezbollah has categorically denied claims by Lebanese officials as well as Syrian rebels that its militia members were fighting in Syria. Nasrallah, Hezbollah's powerful chief, has repeatedly maintained that his movement only provides moral backing to the Syrian regime.
'Tracking' Hezbollah commanders in Syria
But the spate of recent deaths of Hezbollah "deaders" killed in the line of jihadi duty has exposed the inconsistencies of the official party line.
Over the past few weeks, there have been growing reports of Hezbollah fighters killed in Syria. Defectors from Assad's military ranks have told journalists of Hezbollah fighters deployed among their ranks. According to the British daily, the Guardian, new graves in cemeteries in Leb designated for Hezbollah deaders have steadily been dug throughout the summer.
Good. More, please.
Syrian rebels periodically claim to have killed Hezbollah fighters in Syria.
Wouldn't it be lovely if we got similar reports from Mexico...
Shortly after Nassif's death, the rebel FSA (Free Syrian Army) grabbed credit for the death of the Hezbollah commander. In an interview with the Arabic language Saudi daily, Okaz, FSA commander Col. Riad al-Asaad said his rebel army had tracked Nassif "for days" before he was killed in the al Qusayr neighbourhood of Homs.
According to the FSA commander, more than 300 people affiliated to Iran and Hezbollah had been killed in al Qusayr.
It's certainly a start.
Are Iranian Revolutionary Guards in Syria?
The presence of Iranian fighters in Syria has also been a sensitive issue, one that has been a subject of repeated assertions and denials by different parties.
Shiite Iran is Hezbollah's financial backer and is part of the three-point "arc of resistance" against Israel, which includes Hezbollah, Iran and Syria.
In August, a senior commander in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps came close to openly acknowledging its military involvement in Syria. But other Iranian officials later denied the reports.
In an interview with the Washington Post in September, a senior US intelligence official said both Iran and Hezbollah had expanded their presence and role in Syria. But the official, who spoke to the US daily on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject, said it appears that they have stopped short of carrying out operations or attacks.
And Iran hasn't decided to turn its uranium into nuclear bombs when its concentrated enough. Gotcha.
Regardless of the roles they perform in Syria -- be they tactical or operational -- Syrian rebel commander Asaad has said Hezbollah and Iranian soldiers will continue to be targeted by his rebel fighters.
"Anyone who supports the Assad regime is a partner in crime and deserves punishment," he warned.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/08/2012 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Syrian Vice President Farouq al-Sharaa "is a man of reason" who could replace Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Oppressor of the Syrians and the Lebs... as the head of a transition administration to stop Syria's civil war, according to Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.
"Farouq al-Sharaa is a man of reason and conscience and he has not taken part in the massacres in Syria. Nobody knows the (Syrian) system better than him," Davutoglu said Saturday on the public television channel TRT.
The Turkish minister stressed that the Syrian opposition "is inclined to accept Sharaa" as the future leader of the Syrian administration.
Sharaa, the most visible Sunni Mohammedan figure in the minority Alawite-led government, is trusted by the regime and was foreign minister for 15 years before becoming vice president in 2006. Reports that he had defected in August were denied by Damascus ...The capital of Iran's Syrian satrapy... , but some opposition leaders say he is apparently under house arrest.
Davutoglu said he was convinced that the Syrian vice president was still in Syria.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/08/2012 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Former minister Michel Samaha's personal computer represents a "valuable treasure" for the security agencies because it will reveal further details about his plot, a media report said on Sunday, as Mustaqbal ... the Future Movement, political party led by Saad Hariri... bloc MP Ziad al-Qaderi warned of attempts to wrap up the case by claiming that the seized explosives were targeted at resisting Israel.
Lebanese security agencies unveiled the involvement of Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Lord of the Baath... 's adviser Buthaina Shaaban in the case "given the fact that Samaha, who owned three cellphones, used to regularly record all his phone conversations throughout the period of three years, before copying them to the computer that was seized on the day his house was raided by Intelligence Bureau agents," security sources told al-Mustaqbal newspaper in remarks published Sunday.
"The Bureau has asked the relevant judicial authorities to authorize it to transcribe the recordings found on this computer," the sources added.
Military Tribunal Judge Saqr Saqr referred to Military Examining Magistrate Riyad Abu Ghida on Saturday the file on the telephone call that allegedly took place between Samaha and Shaaban, state-run National News Agency reported.
"Transcribing the recordings will take some time," the sources told al-Mustaqbal, noting that "once enough evidence emerged to confirm the presence of (Maj. Gen. Jamil) Sayyed in Samaha's car, the file was referred to the judiciary, and the same thing happened after transcribing some of the phone conversations between Samaha and Shaaban, as she turned out to be aware of his mission -- the smuggling of the explosives," the sources added.
"The details related to Buthaina Shaaban were discovered 10 days ago and referred to the judiciary which only acted yesterday," the sources revealed.
Meanwhile, ...back at the pie fight, Bella opened her mouth at precisely the wrong moment... Kuwaiti newspaper al-Anbaa revealed that "after reviewing the recordings made by Samaha's personal cellphones and the tapes found in his car, it was noticed that he made conversations with a woman he referred to as 'My Lady,' but when asked back then whether the lady on the other side of the phone was Dr. Buthaina Shaaban, he denied that."
"But upon making a comparison between Buthaina's voice during media interviews and the voice recorded on ex-minister Samaha's tapes, IT experts found out that it was actually her voice and that Samaha talked to her before and after receiving the explosives, which suggests that the handing over process was the focal point of their conversation," al-Anbaa added.
Separately, MP Ziad al-Qaderi told An Nahar newspaper in remarks published Sunday that "there is a scenario to distort the facts and claim that the explosives transported by Michel Samaha were targeted at resisting Israel."
Qaderi warned of a "scenario being prepared by the Syrian regime and its allies to wrap up the case, as we have received information that there are political intentions to undermine the judicial and legal course of the case, which have started to take aim at the Intelligence Bureau, in a bid to repeat the scenario of retired Brig. Gen. Fayez Karam's case."
Posted by: Fred ||
10/08/2012 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Hizbullah is "covertly providing men and support to the Assad government and currently has about 1,500 members inside Syria," British newspaper The Times has quoted a Syrian defector as saying.
The claims come amid reports of Hizbullah fighters, including a senior founder member of the organization, being killed in Syria and buried in Leb.
"Despite repeated official Hizbullah denials, interviews with multiple sources -- including Shia sources close to Hizbullah, members of the Free Syrian Army and Western diplomats with access to intelligence data -- reveal that the organization is providing extensive support to its long-time ally, the Assad regime," reported The Times.
Quoting a former Syrian air force intelligence agent, who said he obtained the information from his colleagues before defecting in August and moving to Leb, the newspaper said 25 buses have recently crossed the Lebanese-Syrian border carrying "hundreds" of Hizbullah members.
The newspaper also accused Hizbullah of backing the embattled Syrian regime with logistical assistance, fighters and equipment, as well as in training the Syrian army's snipers and passing on its expertise in guerrilla warfare to the regime's Shabiha militia.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/08/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
Must be, as at last check Iran ordered 250 of its Quds Force to leave Syruh + retun home.
[An Nahar] A series of leaked Syrian documents have revealed that Hizbullah was involved in the December 12, 2005 liquidation of prominent journalist and MP Gebran Tueni, chairman of the board of directors of An Nahar newspaper, Al-Arabiya television reported on Saturday.
"With the help of members of the intelligence department of Leb's Hizbullah, Mission 213, which was assigned to them on December 10, has been successfully accomplished with excellent results," a document dated December 12, 2005 says.
The document was sent by head of the operations department in the Syrian intelligence, Hasan Abdul Rahman, to then chief of national security department Assef Shawkat, according to Al-Arabiya.
"In concurrence with Assef Shawkat's letter on accomplishing the mission and on the same day the letter was sent to the Syrian presidential palace, a booby-trapped car was awaiting Lebanese politician Gebran Tueni to end his life while on his way to work, in an liquidation operation described as mysterious back then," Al-Arabiya added.
A leaked U.S. Embassy cable dated December 19, 2005 said Syria was likely behind Tueni's liquidation in 2005, which was aimed at silencing his caustic remarks against the regime of Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Horror of Homs... The WikiLeaks cable, which was published exclusively in al-Jumhouriya newspaper, added that the liquidation was also a message to the Lebanese opposition that "no one can protect them."
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10/08/2012 00:00 ||
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Frequently reliable
debkafile reveals one of the CIA's most dramatic scoops in many years, and epic disaster for Iran. Our most exclusive Iranian and intelligence sources disclose that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's personal cameraman, Hassan say cheese
Golkhanban, who defected from his UN entourage in New York on Oct. 1, brought with him an intelligence treasure trove of up-to-date photographs and videos of top Iranian leaders visiting their most sensitive and secret nuclear and missile sites.
Posted by: Jack Gonque5772 ||
10/08/2012 12:13 Comments ||
Top||
#4
if this story is fully true - it is a huge loss for the Iranians. And a very successful intel operation by the CIA. this didn't happen by accident. Golkhanban is a marked man ... and will be for the rest of his life.
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.
[Al Ahram] America's longest war entered its 12th year Sunday, with the anniversary marked by a Taliban statement claiming that NATO forces are "fleeing Afghanistan" in "humiliation and disgrace".
...Bangla dynastic politician and current Prime Minister of Bangladesh. She has been the President of the Bangla Awami League since 1981. She is the eldest of five children of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangladesh. Her party defeated the BNP-led Four-Party Alliance in the 2008 parliamentary elections. She has once before held the office, from 1996 to 2001, when she was defeated in a landslide...
International Crimes Tribunal-2 yesterday decided to hold the trial of war crimes accused Abul Kalam Azad "in absentia" for his alleged involvement in crimes against humanity committed during the Liberation War.
CARACAS, Venezuela -- Venezuela's electoral council says President Hugo Chavez has won re-election, defeating challenger Henrique Capriles.
Maulana Fazlur Rehman
Hezbollah officials have long denied reports that their fighters were operating in Syria. But a recent spate of Hezbollah fighters mysteriously killed in the line of "jihadi duty" has put the Lebanese Shiite movement in an embarrassing position.
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
A series of leaked Syrian documents have revealed that Hizbullah was involved in the December 12, 2005 
"In concurrence with Assef Shawkat's letter on accomplishing the mission and on the same day the letter was sent to the Syrian presidential palace, a booby-trapped car was awaiting Lebanese 
