A year ago this month, under cover of darkness, fifteen Taliban, dressed as American soldiers, snuck onto one of the largest air bases in Afghanistan. What followed was a violent confrontation highlighting a startling security lapse, with hundreds of millions in matériel lost in a matter of hours the worst day for American airpower since the Tet Offensive. Yet the attack faded away before anyone could figure out what went wrong.
MOGADISHU, Somalia -- Hundreds of the Somali Federal Government troops reportedly went on strike as a result of negligence and lack of support services on Thursday, Garowe Online reports.
Well aren't they just special...
300 soldiers dressed in Somali military uniform flooded into streets of Mogadishu on strikes and according to sources, the striking soldiers have been receiving military training at Mogadishu sweet factory.
What are they, chocolatiers?
Speaking to the media, one of the striking soldiers said they have been suffering from food shortages and lack of salary, "We have been under military training for three months but our government didn't provide us with the necessary requirements including food, weapons and salary".
The incident comes after Federal Government of Somalia's ministry of defence declared that it would up both security and support services for the Somali military forces.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/06/2013 00:00 ||
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Egypt's government will dissolve the Muslim Brotherhood as a non-governmental organization within days, a newspaper reported on Friday. The move applies to the NGO registered by the Brotherhood in March in response to a lawsuit that argued the group was without any legal status. It would mark a largely symbolic blow to Morsi's organization.
A privately-owned newspaper, Al-Shorouk, said the decision would be taken "within days", quoting Hany Mahana, a spokesman for the minister of social solidarity.
The same official was quoted by state-run Al-Akhbar saying the decision had already beem taken. It said, "The minister's decision has in fact been issued but it will be announced at the start of next week in a press conference."
Al-Akhbar said Social Solidarity Minister Ahmed el-Boraie's decision to dissolve the group as an NGO sprang from accusations that the Brotherhood had used its headquarters to fire and store weapons and explosives. It said that Brotherhood officials had failed to meet a deadline for responding to the accusations.
A government official denied a decision had been taken.
[An Nahar] Morocco's ruling Islamists have struck a deal with the main opposition party to form a new coalition government, ending months of uncertainty after a key ally's decision to withdraw, media reported Thursday.
A cabinet reshuffle is due to be announced in the coming days, following the accord between Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane, and the head of the National Rally of Independents (RNI), Salaheddine Mezouar.
Benkirane's Party of Justice and Development shot to power for the first time after triumphing in 2011 parliamentary polls called by the monarchy in response to Arab Spring protests sweeping Morocco.
But the Islamists have been seeking a new coalition partner to avoid fresh elections since the nationalist Istiqlal Party, which held several ministerial portfolios, announced its intention to resign in May, accusing the PJD of failing to fix the economy and resolve pressing social problems.
News website Lakome, citing an RNI official, said Thursday an accord had been reached, with Mezouar taking the key post of finance minister.
Benkirane's new cabinet would be announced in the coming days, the source added.
Government front man Mustafa Khalfi could not be reached for comment, but a PJD politician, speaking on condition of anonymity ... for fear of being murdered... , confirmed that a deal had been struck and a "limited" cabinet reshuffle would take place next week.
French-language daily L'Economiste said Mezouar's party would take seven portfolios in the new government, including finance, foreign affairs, commerce and industry, and teaching.
Despite its electoral success in 2011 after decades in opposition, the PJD failed to win an outright majority, forcing it into an unlikely coalition with three other parties, including Istiqlal, whose leader Hamid Chabat was openly critical of the Islamists towards the end.
The political deadlock had prompted fears of government paralysis at a time when Morocco is under pressure to implement much-needed social reforms, notably on costly subsidies, and to fix its ailing public finances.
The country last year faced a budget deficit of more than seven percent of GDP.
But the political difficulties facing the moderate Islamist party are belied by its undeniable popularity, with a recent opinion poll showing Benkirane still having widespread support among the electorate.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/06/2013 00:00 ||
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[Al Ahram] The Egyptian presidency issued a statement Thursday afternoon condemning the kaboom that targeted Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim's convoy, vowing not to let those who committed the crime escape justice.
"The presidency will not allow terrorism, which was defeated by the people in the 1980s and the 1990s, to return once again," read the statement in the name of Egypt's interim president, Adly Mansour.
"The Egyptian state vows to the people that whoever stands behind those terrorist crimes will not get away regardless of their political affiliation," it continued, adding that the Egyptian state will not be prevented by these terrorist attacks from completing its transitional roadmap.
The minister survived the kaboom on Thursday unscathed, although 21 people were maimed, including a child.
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09/06/2013 00:00 ||
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[Al Ahram] Egypt's interim President Adly Mansour told a US Congress delegation that Egypt does not support an individual US decision on a military attack on Syria, state news agency MENA reported. "Egypt does not understand the US's insistence on acting individually, without the approval of the UN Security Council and without commitment to international legitimacy," he said, according to a presidential statement published by MENA.
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09/06/2013 00:00 ||
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[Libya Herald] Public opinion in Libya appears to be overwhelmingly in favour of US and French strikes against Syria in the wake of the chemical gas attacks in Damascus. However, there is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened... most appear to be looking to action that brings down the Assad regime rather than the limited strikes proposed by Washington and Gay Paree. Additionally, the motives of the Americans and French are questioned, with many Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... tans seeing the two governments having their own agenda -- specifically support for Israel.
Others, while supporting action, fear that that many innocent lives will be lost in the process and that there will be chaos in Syria after Syrians obtain their freedom as, they say, has been the case in Libya.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/06/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Those people who killed the US embasador are strongly for an action in Syria. The Americans who let him being killed too.
[Bangla Daily Star] Police yesterday claimed to have proof that seven political parties, including 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... , had backed Hefajat-e Islam, which struck terror in the capital's Motijheel area on May 5.
Jamaat and Mohammedan League supported the Islamist group indirectly while Nezame Islam, Khelafat Majlish, Khelafat Andolon, Jamaat e Olama e Islam and Islami Oikya Jote ... a political party in Bangladesh. In the 2001 elections the party won 2 out of 300 elected members in an alliance with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. It has a focus on building an islamic state, and has used the madrassas to gain support... backed it directly, AKM Shahidul Hoque, additional inspector general of police (admin), told news hounds at the police headquarters in Dhaka.
He claimed that Hefajat was in control of the leaders of the seven parties, and if the Hefajat leaders could keep a hold over their group, things would not have turned so bad that day.
Shahidul once again insisted that a total of 13 people died in festivities between Hefajat and law enforcers in Dhaka between May 5 and early hours of May 6 when the latter tried to resist Hefajat's unruly actions in the name of holding a peaceful rally.
The report of rights body Odhikar, which was published online on June 10, falsely put the death figure at 61, said the additional IGP.
He pointed out the anomalies and flaws in the Odhikar list found in the computers that police seized from the organization's office after its Secretary Adilur Rahman Khan was jugged Drop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un! on August 10 for the publication of the false report.
Though the list showed 61 people as dead, actually 26 of them -- 13 in the capital and 13 outside it -- had died in festivities between law enforcers and Hefajat activists.
Terming Odhikar's report false and ill-motivated, Shahidul said police have the right to defend their position, as law enforcers had been irrationally accused of "genocide" in the early hours of May 6.
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09/06/2013 00:00 ||
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Three Russian warships crossed Turkey's Bosphorus Strait Thursday en route to the eastern Mediterranean, near the Syrian coast, amid concern in the region over potential US-led strikes in response to the Damascus regime's alleged use of chemical weapons.
The SSV-201 intelligence ship Priazovye, accompanied by the two landing ships Minsk and Novocherkassk passed through the Bosphorus known as the Istanbul strait that separates Asia from Europe, an AFP photographer reported.
Russia, a key ally of Damascus, has kept a constant presence of around four warships in the eastern Mediterranean in the Syrian crisis, rotating them every few months. It also has a naval base in the Syrian port of Tartus whose origins date back to Moscow's close relationship with Damascus under the Soviet Union.
#1
WAFF > WE HAVE OUR OWN PLAN IFF US LAUNCHES ON SYRIA, PUTIN SAYS | [PressTV] RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN SAYS ... ... TO DEAL WID A POSSIBLE US MILITARY OFFENSIVE AGZ SYRIA.
* SAME > RUSSIAN SOURCES: NAVY WARSHIPS DEPLOYED TO MEDITERRANEAN COULD RESPOND TO [against] ANY US STRIKE AGZ ASSAD.
versus
* CHINESE MILITARY FORUM > REPORT: CHINA SENDS WARSHIPS TO COAST OF SYRIA | [Infowars] PLA DISPATCHES VESSEL TO OBSERVE US [+ Russian] MANEUVERS.
PLAN SURFACE WARFARE SHIPS are right behind it.
* RELATED FREEREPUBLIC > CHINESE ARMY [PLA = actually PLAN] SENDS WARSHIPS TO SYRIA.
versus
* PACIFICNEWSCENTER > NNS: US CHIEF OF NAVAL OPERATIONS [ADM. Jonathan W. Greenert] SAYS IT WILL TAKE YEARS FOR THE US NAVY TO RECOVER FROM SEQUESTRATION, e.g. up to five (5) years - perhaps more - for USN NavAir [Naval Aviation] PME.
A group of Islamist Death Eaters from the North Caucasus who are fighting in Syria have announced that they are splitting from a major Al-Qaeda-linkied rebel group to form an independent battalion. A group calling itself "the Mujahedin of the Caucsasus in the Levant" announced its decision to split from Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in a video posted on a social-media website on September 3. News agencies have been unable to verify the authenticity of the video.
Posted by: ryuge ||
09/06/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Meanwhile, "GRANDMASTER" fans, NOT to be outdone by Muslim Russians or ex-Russians ...
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > INDIAN JIHADIS ARE FIGHTING [agz Assad] IN SYRIA, SAYS ASSAD'S ENVOY.
Along wid Chechens, Afghans, + other Foreign Bad Boyz.
Pick the winner from among Anti-Assad Teams. Have them on a certain date form up into a camp in the shape of a square, have them place beacons on the corners. Capture the airspace, take out whatever anti-air weapons pop up, and when Team AQ Rebels come out snackbarring, blast them too. Allow Egypt to clean the Sinai and Israel to hit Hizbelly and who else and whoever gopher pops. Russia gets post-Assad Syria, but the dominant fighting force had been chosen by us.
Guess the flaw there is President My Army gets to make that pick. Disregard.
WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon said Thursday it believes North Korea and Syria may have cooperated on the chemical weapons front as well as nuclear program.
"I think there's been sharing between North Korea and Syria on any number of fronts," George Little, press secretary for the Defense Department, said at a news briefing. "There has been a relationship and an exchange of information between North Koreans and the Syrian regime for some time."
He cited the Al Kibar nuclear facility in Syria, allegedly built with North Korea's help and destroyed by an Israeli strike in 2007.
"I can't count out the possibility that they've discussed or shared information on chemical weapons," Little said, without further elaborating.
U.S. officials underscore the need to set a precedent for possible similar problems created by North Korea, Iran and terrorist groups. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said in Congress earlier this week that North Korea has a massive stockpile of chemical weapons.
His spokesman, Little, said, "We have very good information" that suggests that Hagel's view is true.
"If we sit idly by and allow the Syrian regime to perpetrate atrocities the likes of which we've seen recently, then what signal does that send to countries like North Korea?" Little said.
In Seoul, South Korean Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin openly expressed concern over alleged links between North Korea and Syria on chemical weapons. Kim met with Hagel in Brunei last week on the sidelines of ASEAN defense ministers' meetings.
Peter Lavoy, acting assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific security affairs, said Kim and Hagel talked about the Syria issue, especially "the implications of how the Syrian use of chemical weapons is handled for North Korean behavior."
But a direct commercial or some other connection between North Korea and Syria on chemical weapons was not discussed in detail, Lavoy said, speaking separately to reporters at the Pentagon.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/06/2013 00:00 ||
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BEIJING -- China appears to have been unable to make much headway in the latest diplomatic efforts to persuade North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program, diplomatic sources with knowledge of last week's talks between the two said Friday.
I think this is nonsense. China can bring the Norks to heel by cutting off the oil and the cash. China is engaged in some play-handwringing to make it look like it's Uncle Sugar's intransigence that is the problem.
China's chief nuclear envoy Wu Dawei made a five-day visit to North Korea last week, during which he met with his North Korean counterpart, Kim Kye-gwan. The Chinese foreign ministry has said the two sides discussed ways to re-start the long-stalled six-party talks on the North's nuclear weapons programs.
This week, the Chinese foreign ministry briefed diplomats from South Korea, the U.S., Russia and Japan about the outcome of the talks between Wu and Kim, but it didn't say whether Kim expressed an intention to demonstrate its seriousness about denuclearization through concrete actions, according to the sources.
"The ministry explained the outcome of Wu's visit to North Korea to relevant nations through a debriefing session, but it didn't say whether North Korea changed its stance on denuclearization," a source said on the condition of anonymity.
Though a diplomat asked Pyongyang if it switched its stance on denuclearization during the debriefing session, the Chinese side "did not get a definite answer," according to the source.
"At the debriefing session, China only emphasized its efforts to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue without explaining about the North's latest stance," said another diplomatic source.
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09/06/2013 00:00 ||
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WASHINGTON, Sept. 5 (Yonhap) -- The U.S. government said Thursday it was contemplating whether to accept China's invitation to an informal multilateral meeting that would set the stage for a rare meeting with the North Koreans.
China recently suggested a mid-September gathering with the U.S., the two Koreas, Japan and Russia attended by their senior officials and academics. China proposed Sept. 18 as a candidate date for the event, intended to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the six-way talks on Pyongyang's nuclear program. The six countries are members of the Beijing-based negotiations last held in December 2008.
North Korea is expected to send its nuclear envoy, Ri Yong-ho, to the proposed session, according to a diplomatic source.
But the Barack Obama administration was cautious about such a meeting at a time when North Korea's seriousness on dialogue remains untested and an American citizen is still jailed in the communist nation.
"The United States has not made a final decision on participation in this event," a State Department official said on the customary condition of anonymity.
China's top point man on Korea, Wu Dawei, traveled to North Korea last week for meetings with senior officials.
In Beijing, China's foreign ministry confirmed Thursday (local time) that the China Institute of International Studies, a state-run think tank, will "hold a seminar on Sept. 18 to review the past course of the six-party talks."
Ministry spokesman Hong Lei emphasized the importance of reviving the six-way talks, viewed by many as one of the best mechanisms to deal with North Korea's nuclear weapons drive.
"The six-party talks remain an important platform for the realization of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and also an important mechanism for the improvement of relations between relevant parties," Hong said. "We hope that our relevant parties will stick to the six-party talks and solve relevant issues through dialogue."
Next week, meanwhile, the U.S. is sending a delegation specializing in North Korea issues to Northeast Asia for regular consultations.
"A U.S. delegation led by Special Representative for North Korea Policy Glyn Davies will travel to the Republic of Korea, China and Japan Sept. 8-13 for meetings with senior officials in each country to discuss North Korea policy," the State Department announced.
The team will visit Seoul on Monday and Tuesday, where Davies will meet his South Korean counterpart Cho Tae-yong, followed by trips to Beijing and Tokyo, it said. In the Chinese capital, Davies plans to have discussions with Wu Dawei, special representative for Korean Peninsula affairs.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/06/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
The Norks are your problem Beijing. You've feed them, they belong to you.
[Dawn] Pakistain Thursday warned that any foreign military action in Syria will plunge the already volatile region into a deeper conflict.
In a news briefing, Foreign Office Spokesman Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry said Pakistain remains opposed to the use of force. He urged maximum restraint from all sides and called for dialogue among Syrians for peaceful solution to the problem.
To a question, the front man said Pakistain condemns the use of chemical weapons by any side. The UN report about the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria is very vital in this regard and its findings should be thoroughly examined for an acceptable way forward, he added.
Dismissing Washington Post's report about Pakistain's nuclear arsenal, the front man said Pakistain follows the best international practices and standards set by the ineffective International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Posted by: Fred ||
09/06/2013 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] The US embassy in Islamabad on Thursday refuted media reports suggesting 19,000 shipping containers belonging to the US and International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) had been stolen from Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... ports.
The head of the Sindh Rangers paramilitary force, Maj-Gen Rizwan Akhtar, told the Supreme Court last week that about 19,000 containers had gone missing a few years ago and that a shipload of arms and ammunition had been brought to Karachi and their whereabouts was never ascertained. Local media reports suggested the containers carrying weapons may have belonged to NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis.... forces in Afghanistan.
Rejecting the reports, a statement from the US embassy said media suggestions that US or ISAF containers were stolen, including containers that contain weapons and ammunition, were false. "While the United States routinely uses Karachi ports for both diplomatic and military shipments, neither the United States nor ISAF has ever shipped weapons or ammunition via Karachi ports," said the statement.
The statement said US government and ISAF cargo shipments were subject to inspection by Pak customs authorities and that the US tracks and accounts for all military cargo shipments worldwide, including shipments entering and transiting Pakistain.
"We have engaged the appropriate Pak authorities on this topic. We have underscored that the United States is able to account for all shipments that have arrived in and transited Karachi ports," said the US embassy.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/06/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
"Totaly wrong! Only 18793 containers are missing!"?
[Dawn] In a bid to evolve consensus on national counter-terrorism strategy, the Pakistan government has at last decided to convene a multi-party conference on September 9, DawnNews reported. Good symbolism. The 12-year anniversary of the assassination of Ahmed Shah Masood.
Federal Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan Thursday night contacted all key political leaders of the country and officially invited them to attend the important meeting. Jamaat-e-Islami and Jamaat-e-Ulema Islam (all branches) might present a problem, since they're sponsors and enablers of terrorism.
PTI chief Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who ain't the sharpest bulb on the national tree... , Opposition Leader in NA Syed Khurshid Shah of PPP, MQM's Dr Farooq Sattar, 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 ... , Mehmood Khan Achakzai of PKMAP, JI chief Syed Munawar Hassan, ... The funny-looking leader-for-life of the Pak Jamaat-e-Islami. He joined the National Students Federation (NSF), a lefty student body, and was elected its President in 1959. He came into contact with the Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba (IJT) Pakistan and studied the writings of Mawlana Syed Abul Ala Maududi, The Great Apostasizer. As a result, he joined IJT in 1960 and soon he was elected as President of its University of Karachi Unit and member of the Central Executive Council. He was Assistant Secretary General of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistain in 1992-93, and became Secretary General in 1993. After years of holding Qazi's camel he was named Amir when the old man stepped down in 2009... Mir Hasil Bazinjo and Allama Sajid Mir were among those who were invited by the interior minister. So you know they're gonna accomplish something substantive.
The moot was initially scheduled to take place on July 12. However, there's more than one way to stuff a chicken... it was delayed because the government wanted to further fine tune the draft of its national security and counter-terrorism policy before tabling it at the conference. There it can be contemptuously dismissed as an instrument of American imperialism.
The political leadership of Pakistan is expected to decide in the meeting whether to negotiate with Taliban militants or to use force to eradicate the menace of terrorism facing the country. I'm guessing they're going to go for the negotiations route. That will put them on the back burner until the Americans are out of Afghanistan, at which point the Taliban wil take over to Obama's surprise, and the guys with turbans can then swarm across the LOC. They can have another war over Kargil or Siachen or someplace like that. Hafiz Saeed will howl for the use of nuclear weapons to avenge the blood of Moslems. Maybe they will this time and both Islamabad and Muzzafargah will be vaporized, the blood of their inhabitants along with them. Maybe Peshawar. Pakistain will lose the war. The turbans will return to plotting the next one.
Speaking to a press conference on July 4, Chaudhry Nisar said Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani ... four star general, current Chief of Army Staff of the Mighty Pak Army. Kayani is the former Director General of ISI... and DG ISI Lt-Gen Zaheerul Islam would brief the party heads on security situation in different parts of the country in the conference, officially called by Prime Minister 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... earlier on the same date.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/06/2013 00:00 ||
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The Second Smartest Man In The Room is working on his legacy. Possibly also a new hat.
[Ynet] US Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State... will meet with Paleostinian President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial... in London on Monday, the White House said.
[Ynet] Lebanese sources say ten thousand Hezbollah bully boyz gird for Damascus' defense in case of US strike, pending Iranian go-ahead. Russian report claims rebels behind Aleppo sarin attack
Russia counters with its own chemical report, Hezbollah prepares for strike: Moscow accused the Syrian rebels of using chemical weapons in an attack on the town of Khan al-Assal near Aleppo on March 19.
At the same time, Hezbollah is reportedly preparing for two tasks: Preventing Damascus from falling in rebel hands during expected US strike, and firing toward Israel.
The Saudi newspaper al-Okaz reported on Thursday that according to Lebanese sources in Beirut Hezbollah is readying for the collapse of the Syrian army following an American attack and is therefore planning to stand ground in Damascus with ten thousands combatants.
However, Caliphornia hasn't yet slid into the ocean, no matter how hard it's tried... such a move -- as well as firing missiles in the north of the country -- will only be commenced with direct instructions from Iran, said the report.
Recently, the Shiite group has tuned down its involvement in the Syrian civil war due to the severe criticism turned against it at home. On Wednesday, it was reported that a top official in the group admitted that Assad is responsible for the chemical massacre in Damascus' suburbs.
Moscow, as said, is standing in staunch support of its ally Assad, and turns a blaming finger at the Syrian rebels.
The Russian RT network reported that Russian specialists claimed that the shells found were improvised, and conjectured they were manufactured in northern Syria by rebel forces.
According to them, the shells contained sarin nerve gas, classified by the UN as a weapon of mass destruction.
The Russian Foreign Ministry declared that probing the evidence may aid the UN investigate that incident in which at least 26 civilians and Syrian army soldiers were killed, and 86 more were maimed.
Meanwhile, ...back at the pie fight, Bella opened her mouth at precisely the wrong moment... the Syrian President's Office political advisor, Bouthaina Shaaban, claimed that it was the Syrian opposition who perpetrated the August 21 chemical attack: "The opposition kidnapped men and children from villages in Latakia and brought them to the Gouta area near Damascus. There it used chemical weapons against them," she said in an interview for Sky news in Arabic.
Earlier this week, UN Chief the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon ... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan... stated that the UN inspectors are expected to return to Syria in order to investigate additional attacked suspected to have involved chemical arms.
Meanwhile, ...back at the pie fight, Bella opened her mouth at precisely the wrong moment... the US Senate's Foreign Relations Committee voted on Wednesday to give President Barack Obama Jedi mind meld... the authority to use military force against Syria in response to a deadly chemical attack in Damascus on August 21.
The Senate committee vote was 10-7, with one senator voting present. The full Senate is expected to vote on the measure next week.
Regarding the proposal for military action in Syria, President B.O. stated on Wednesday during a presser in Sweden: "I believe that Congress will approve it. I think it's very important that Congress say that we mean what we say."
He stressed that "My credibility's not on the line. The international community's credibility is on the line, and America and Congress' credibility is on the line because we give lip service to the notion that these international norms are important. And when those videos first broke and you saw images of over 400 children subjected to gas, everybody expressed outrage. How can this happen in this modern world? Well, it happened because a government chose to deploy these deadly weapons on civilian populations.
"And so the question is how credible is the international community when it says this is an international norm that has to be observed? The question is how credible is Congress when it passes a treaty saying we have to forbid the use of chemical weapons? And I do think that we have to act because if we don't, we are effectively saying that even though we may condemn it and issue resolutions and so forth and so on, somebody who is not shamed by resolutions can continue to act with impunity."
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > SYRIAN ARMY CRUSHES US-BACKED REBEL ASSAULT FROM JORDAN | WORLD TRIBUNE, just inside the Syrian border from Jordan.
As TV's "SGT. SCHULTZ" would say - "TWO US-TRAINED, OBAMA-RAISED/ORDERED FSA BATTALIONS COMPRISED OF 600 ANTI-ASSAD FIGHTERS FROM EGYPT + KSA - SQUASHED/FLATTENED LIKE A PANCAKE = NOT-BERLIN"!
#4
I suppose the "we" he is referring to would be he and Prince Bandar. I knew this feckless bastid was a huge mistake in 2007, but I never thought he would risk WWIII. This may not end well. :-(
#7
DAILY STAR LEBANON > HEZBOLLAH, IRAN + SYRIA READY FOR COUNTERATTACK, agz agz US strike.
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > BEWARE US, WORLD WAR AMONG MUSLIMS CAN {easily] GET OUT OF CONTROL | [AllVoices] SYRIA STRIKE: SHIA THREAT TO TARGET US INTERESTS CAN TRIGGER A GLOBAL CONFLICT.
Lest we fergit, NOSTRADAMUS = "... None shall see the power of Asia destroyed until the Seven = Seventh? holds the line".
As for RUSSIA ...
* SAME > PUTIN: RUSSIA WILL CONTINUE TO HELP [assist = arm?] SYRIA IFF THE US ATTACKS - BUSNESS INSIDER.
[An Nahar] President Michel Suleiman ...before assuming office as President, he held the position of commander of the Leb Armed Forces. That was after the previous commander, the loathesome Emile Lahoud, took office as president in November of 1998. Likely the next president of Leb will be whoever's commander of the armed forces, too... praised on Thursday the General Security members for their role in uncovering spy networks and terrorist cells.
He said: "The discovery of these cells and the firing of rockets in Leb are a glimpse of what global terror has in store for the country."
He made his remarks during a ceremony marking the 68th anniversary of the establishment of the General Security.
The president added: "The military institution is at the heart of our interests as officials."
"It should be properly equipped and bolstered with a national defense strategy that benefits from the resistance's expertise in confronting Israel," continued Suleiman.
"You must remain united in carrying out your duties and you must have faith in the army and state institutions in confronting any instability," he said addressing General Security officials.
Moreover, he warned of foreign dangers facing Leb, namely Israel's ongoing threat against the country's illusory sovereignty.
"Confronting dangers is a collective responsibility," he declared.
"Officials should maintain the proper operation of state institutions because they guarantee the functioning of the state," he remarked.
The interests of the state institutions should not be affected by political setbacks, he noted.
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09/06/2013 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Salafists
[An Nahar] Hizbullah on Thursday condemned plans for U.S.-led military action against Damascus as an "aggression" and "organized terrorism," warning that it would pose a "threat to regional and international peace and security."
In a statement issued after its periodic meeting in Haret Hreik, the party's Loyalty to Resistance parliamentary bloc stressed that any strike is "rejected and condemned by all standards, regardless of its alibis or limits, and it will not be able to conceal its objectives, which are aimed at reviving the Israeli arm again and attempting to tighten the Western colonial grip on the region and its fortunes."
"The U.S. administration's resorting to the phase of direct involvement in the aggression against Syria confirms our belief that the crisis that hit this brotherly country more than two years ago was only one episode of the conspiratorial, strategic foreign scheme seeking to impose its hegemony on the region," the bloc added.
Turning to the domestic political scene, Loyalty to Resistance held the rival March 14 camp "fully responsible for the current situation, due to its insistence on impeding the parliamentary sessions and the cabinet formation process," accusing the coalition of hindering Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam's efforts through "crippling preconditions."
The bloc added that March 14 camp was "rejecting real partnership and deliberately causing a power vacuum as it bets on changes it mistakenly thinks will give it the right chance to monopolize power."
Loyalty to Resistance accused the rival coalition of "counting on the hostile world powers and their proxies with the aim of subjugating the Lebanese to the policies of the axis of submission and normalization with the Israeli enemy, and making changes to the ruling authorities in Leb in a manner that suits and serves the policies of this axis on the one hand and the mentality of monopolization and unilateralism on the other hand."
The bloc blamed the deterioration in the security situation on March 14's "shunning of national dialogue; rejection of the permanently needed harmony among the army, people and resistance; unrealistic interpretation of some of the Baabda Declaration stipulations; insistence on the rhetoric of sectarianism and elimination; support for the chaos of seditious weapons; and heavy involvement in the anti-Syria axis."
It also accused the coalition of "deepening the rift among the Lebanese ... weakening the economy, inciting the social components against each another, dragging the country into a social contract crisis and creating a dangerous flaw at the level of abiding by the national choices and principles."
Posted by: Fred ||
09/06/2013 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Hezbollah
[An Nahar] German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle on Thursday said that the International Criminal Court ... where Milosevich died of old age before being convicted ... should examine the use of chemical weapons in Syria.
That'll slow the rush to war. By about a decade...
"I have again pressed for the U.N. Security Council to give a mandate to the ICC to examine the chemical attack in Syria," he said on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Russia's Saint Petersburg.
"We have launched this initiative already in January," he said. "The situation has worsened sufficiently for another initiative."
"Naturally, use of chemical weapons is absolutely unacceptable," said the foreign minister.
"We will also discuss this with my European colleagues in Vilnius" at the meeting of European foreign ministers on Friday and Saturday, he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/06/2013 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
#1
Same ICC that may be awaiting the one after he departs the office, if he chooses to 'shot' without Congressional/Constitutional authority.
* TOPIX > [Journal Gazette] SYRIA ACTION WILL TAKE 217 IN THE HOUSE, 60 IN THE SENATE.
IIUC any POTUS need only resort to the Congress iff there is any possibility that US troops will be involved in military operations beyond 180 days.
I'm more worried here that the Bammer may unilaterally order a US mil response agz the wrong party-perpetrator to the chemical attack which the us claims killed up to 1429 ordinary Syrians, OVERTLY IN "GRAVE MISTAKE/ERROR" BUT COVERTLY IN SUPPORT OF THE ANTI-US, GLOBALIST AGENDA OF A OWG MULTI-POLAR WORLD WHERE THE US IS JUST ONE GLOBAL = GLOBALIST "CO-SUPERPOWER" AMONG MANY.
SEVEN CONTINENTS FOR SEVEN OWG "GLOBAL FEDERAL UNIONS" FOR SEVEN PAR GLOBAL "CO-SUPERPOWERS".
We need only look at World History, e.g. CHINA-VS-INDIA, WITHDRAWAL OF [post-Victoriana]BRITISH EMPIRE, TO SEE IFF PROTAGONIST WILL SEE WEAKNESS OR STRENGTH IN UNILATERAL, VOLUNTARY = FORCED?, STRATEGIC PULLOUT IN THE NAME OF OWG AND
"GLOBALISM".
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > [Economic Times] INDIAN TROOPS NOT ALLOWED BY PLA TO PATROL UP TO LAC?
* SAME > [India Today] ACTING IN GOOD FAITH, WE RESTRICTED OUR ARMY ONLY TO SEE CHINESE ALTER THE "STATUS QUO" ALONG LAC, SAYS [now retired] TOP GENERAL.
[POTUS Jimmy Carter, post-1975 USSR-Commie Bloc + RABBIT-OF-THE-APOCALYPSE here].
* WORLD NEWS > [American Spectator]OBAMA'S HALF-ASSAD WAR.
CHINA, of China-vs-Japan, PHIL, Vietnam, India, ASEAN; + IRAN are NOT Assadian Syria - "Post-US" wannabe, long-time "Nuclear Club" Member, WHY-YES-WE'VE-HAD-NUKES-N-HEAVY-ICBMS-FOR-DECADES-NOW China is neither Nuke-wannabe Iran nor Scud-happy Syria.
Apply the Bammer's alleged "lack of action/decision/responsibility", + alleged "poor or lousy leadership" in the ME to IRAN + ultimately his real test CHINA.
ASSAD'S WORST IN SYRIA DOTH NOT = IRAN, WHICH IN TURN DOTH NOT = AGZ CHINA IN THE PACIFIC + EAST-SOUTH ASIA.
#4
Remember when an open mike caught Obama telling Putin's adjutant to wait until after the election for . . . Something?
How's about this for a conspiracy theory....
The thorn in all the bad guys' side is conservative Tea Party types. Obama hates them. Boehner and McCain and the rest of the institutional Republicans do. Most of the ruling elite in the world hate them.
So....
What if the objective here is to get the House to vote this down by all of the above? Obama and the Democrats get to run against the "obstructionists", Boehner staves off assaults from his right, and Putin gets a weaker U.S.
Crazy? Maybe not.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
09/06/2013 7:52 Comments ||
Top||
#5
If this catastrophe is voted down by the House, what happens if O pulls the trigger anyway?
Does the House have to pass an "Anti-war" resolution forbidding that?
#9
I keep telling you, O wants to avoid bombing Syria and his plan will allow him to blame the GOP. It's all about the 2014 elections. He's in campaign mode all the time, that's all he knows or wants to know.
The other possibility is that Obama did not regard approval as a sure thing but figured that he'd win either way--that if Republicans balked, he could blame them for inaction in Syria, and if they went along with intervention, they'd share the blame for anything that went wrong.
Approaching the matter so cynically would be despicable, but in any case it is difficult to imagine Obama would get any political mileage out of being thwarted by Congress.
#13
After the speech they gave a list of ten or so countries that are standing toe to toe with the US in demanding redress to this outrage by Syria.
Congress should consider their contributions.
Sort of reminds me of the composition of a Peace Keeping force deployed under the old Organization of American States: an MP platoon from Mexico, a medical detachment from Brazil, a construction company from Argentina, and the 82 Airborne.
Posted by: Kelly ||
09/06/2013 11:21 Comments ||
Top||
#14
Someone in congress should stand up and say that they will support Obama in the same capaicty that Kerry support the President in the early 70's and Obama supported Bush in the 2000's.
#16
You have a choice between a Constitutional republic at home or the ascension of the Imperator over a piss-ant country like Syria. The rule of law replaced by the rule by men. Fascinating how many are willing to give up the republic to 'save face' or rationalize about saving a world that can't be saved.
#19
As per CNN, asof 0915AM Saturday 09/7th Guam time the US Senate vote is likely 24-19 in favor of the Bammer attacking Syria.
FYI at the G20 Summit, CNN AM = the Bammer repor refused to answer Reporters' questions pertaining as to whether he will still strike Syria iff the US Congress fails to authorize military action.
All the above being said ...
To wit,
* FREEREPUBLIC > [Daily Caller] OBAMA HINTS AT ABANDONING SYRIA STRIKE, iff Congress fails to authorize same.
Now that's News CHINA in East Asia, + IRAN in ME, may want to hear.
As per CHINA, SAME = [Debka] A CHINESE LANDING CRAFT WID 1000 MARINES FOR SYRIA.
* SAME > IRAN THREATENS BRUTAL ATTACKS ON AMERICANS, OBAMA'S FAMILY.
OLIVER STONE'S next POTUS Terror assassination biopic = "O", or "Obama"???
#20
The seriously big downside of an Obama defeat accrues to Israel. The perception of a weak US stared down by recent events will not end well in the M.E.
I wish there were a third way; Cmdr. Zero shot off his mouth and now, well, "the whole world is watching" (Gawd I hated that in the 60's etc...).
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > OBAMA'S SYRIA TIMING DELAYED BY RELUCTANCE AT HOME, ABROAD - BLOOMBERG.
* TALKING POINTS MEMO LIVEWIRE > OBAMA GIVES "NO DIRECT RESPONSE" [straight answer] ON WHETHER HE WILL ACT WIDOUT CONGRESS, i.e. attack Syria widout much ballyhooed, formal joint US Congressional authorization.
versus
* TOPIX > [Atlas Shrugs] "DID THE WHITE HOUSE [covertly] HELP PLAN THE SYRIA CHEMICAL ATTACK"?, in order to come up wid a PCorrect-Deniable cover story = excuse for anti-Assad intervention in favor the Rebels???
RELATED? DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > [Russia Today]PUTIN: DEADLY SYRIA CHEMICAL ATTACK WAS REBELS' {desperate + malicious] PROVOCATION HOAX TO FORCE [foreign, UNO] INTERVENTION, to preempt or preclude thier imminent defeat by Assad + SAA.
versus
* YAHOO NEWS > OBAMA HAS NO INTENTION TO STRIKE SYRIA IFF COPNGRESS SAYS "NO", SAYS AIDE.
[BBC.CO.UK] The UK has fresh evidence of the use of chemical weapons in Damascus, David Cameron ... has stated that he is certainly a big Thatcher fan, but I don't know whether that makes me a Thatcherite, which means he's not. Since he is not deeply ideological he lacks core principles and is easily led. He has been described as certainly not a Pitt, Elder or Younger, but he does wear a nice suit so maybe he's Beau Brummel ... told the BBC as he arrived in Russia for the G20 summit.
Scientists at the Porton Down laboratories have been "examining samples" from Syria's capital, he said.
The Ministry of Defence confirmed reports that they found traces of sarin gas on cloth and soil samples.
Mr Cameron also denied claims he had "no hand to play" over Syria after his Commons defeat on UK military action.
He said the UK would lead calls for more action on aid for refugees and push for fresh peace talks.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/06/2013 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
#2
It's $hit like this that makes us all cynical. Manufacturing evidence on demand? Why not wait for proof BEFORE you make the call? Oh, that's right, didn't think you needed it then.
#5
The interesting question is not Sarin: Yes or No? The evidence for some chemical agent is pretty strong. What we want to know is where did it come from? This whole story is starting to make my Bullshit Anomaly Detector twitch.
[Washington Times] Speaker John A. Boehner has turned down an invitation to meet with Russian lawmakers next week when they come to the U.S. Capitol to lobby Congress against strikes on Syria. No time for diplomacy, his mind is made up.
"The speaker has declined the Russian Embassy's request that he meet with a delegation," said Mr. Boehner's spokesman, Michael Steel. No meeting between Vlad and Champ at G-20. The Speaker following Champ's lead once again.
#2
Given the BHO admin's track record for, uh, dissembling, it would be interesting to hear from the side that is already on the ground in Syria. Even if it was a late-night breakfast at Denny's and not a formal meeting.
Sure, the rooskis are going to try and push a story, but I'd wager they have some interesting facts to help sell it.
#3
RGR SteveS. I fully expect the Syrian Army to be rounding up a few knuckle-dragging, North Carolinian steely eye killers in the days and weeks ahead. If will be interesting to see how the regime reacts to that footage.
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WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon said Thursday it believes North Korea and Syria may have cooperated on the chemical weapons front as well as nuclear program.
Maulana Fazlur Rehman
Nawaz Sharif
[Ynet] Lebanese sources say ten thousand Hezbollah 
the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon
International Criminal Court
David Cameron
