[Breitbart] On Sunday's "State of the Union" on CNN, House Intelligence Committee chairman Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) explained to moderator Candy Crowley why the Obama administration's deal to secure American prisoner of war Bowe Bergdahl's release for five Guantanamo detainees was a bad deal and broke law. According to Rogers, this sends the wrong message to terrorists around the world. And this has what to do with the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence? Benghazi who? No, no, no, forget Benghazi. Here... Candy, look, SQUIRREL !
#1
Even if they had been notified, they are not required to give consent. And given the security classification that would have been attached to the notification, they could not have told anybody outside the committee that they had been notified. So, what difference could it have made?Would not think it sensible politically, assuming Bergdahl was indeed a deserter (& probably even if he wasn't.) Clearly makes no sense militarily. We must not know the whole story.
#2
I've just submitted a Mike Ledeen article with attachments from PJ Media entitled Mirrors and Veils: The Bergdahl Complex. As Paul Harvey used to say.... "and now for the rest of the story."
#5
Assuming he broke the law. What is the penalty for this? Fine? No desert? If it doesnt mean jail time it is only one of many transgressions (the pile of which seem to leave many voters unphazed).
#9
...explained to moderator Candy Crowley why the Obama administration's deal to secure American prisoner of war Bowe Bergdahl's release for five Guantanamo detainees was a bad deal and broke law
Oooh! Did she rip his face off and eat it for making fun of her boyfriend?
#11
Yep, like fu8181 said, I expect that they were tagged. Later, they and their buddies get together to share some goats, and it's like shootin' fish in a barrel. Good times ... Good times.
Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the last known American POW, was freed after five years in captivity â an ordeal that began and ended in Afghanistan under a shroud of mystery.
How he managed to be captured has never been adequately explained, for example.
The Taliban turned over Bergdahl Saturday morning to US special forces in exchange for five notorious Islamic terrorists militants who had been held at Guantanamo Bay and will be sent to Qatar, where they will stay at the Hilton for a year under the terms of the trade. At least one of the prisoners, ranking Taliban leader Khairullah Khairkhwa, had direct ties to Osama bin Laden.
Bergdahl's parents, who had lobbied continuously for his Ârelease, had not seen him by Saturday night, but intimated that he faces an arduous recovery from his ordeal. Bergdahl is speaking in what appears to be Pashto, said his dad, Bob Bergdahl. It was not clear whether his son can still even speak English, Bob said.
I predict an amazingly quick recovery...
When the father spoke to his son â for the first time in five worried years â it was to say both in Pashto and English, "I am your father, Bowe."
"We will continue to stay strong for Bowe while he recovers," said his mom, Jani.
The search for Bergdahl began soon after he went missing on June 30, 2009, in the same rugged wilds of southeastern Afghanistan where NFL player-turned-Army Ranger Pat Tillman was killed. Bergdahl's mysterious disappearance from the small military outpost there and the subsequent revelation that he was in enemy hands prompted questions that still linger.
Soon after the capture, Taliban commander Mulvi Sangeen claimed a drunken Bergdahl was snatched while he stumbled to his car in the Yousaf Khel district of Paktika. The US military called that a lie, and in one of the videos taken during his captivity, Bergdahl himself said he was captured while lagging behind a patrol.
But in the weeks before his capture, Bergdahl had made murky statements that suggested he was gravitating away from the soldiers in his unit and toward Âdesertion, a member of his platoon told Rolling Stone.
"He spent more time with the Afghans than he did with his platoon," former Spc. Jason Fry told the magazine in 2012.
As a teen, the home-schooled son of Calvinists took up ballet â recruited to be a "lifter" by "a beautiful local girl," Rolling Stone reported â "the guy who holds the girl aloft in a ballet sequence." The strategy worked â Bergdahl, who also began dabbling in BuddÂhism and tarot card reading â soon moved in with the woman.
Even as a teen, he could fire a .22-caliber rifle with precision. At age 20, he traveled to Paris and started learning French in hopes of joining the French Foreign Legion. His application was rejected, and he was devastated, the magazine reported.
Bergdahl would drift for years, working mainly at a coffee shop near home. He briefly considered moving to Uganda to help villagers being terrorized by militias before deciding on a different Âadventure.
"I'm thinking of joining the Army," he told his folks after Âalready having signed up.
Bergdahl's dream was to help Afghan villagers rebuild their lives and learn to defend themselves, his dad told the magazine.
"The whole 'COIN' thing," Bob explained, referring to America's strategy of counter-insurgency. "We were given a fictitious picture, an artificially created picture of what we were doing in ÂAfghanistan," the dad said.
Bowe Bergdahl would detail his disillusionment with the Afghanistan campaign in an e-mail to his parents three days before he went missing.
"I am sorry for everything here," he wrote. "These people need help, yet what they get is the most conceited country in the world telling them that they are nothing and that they are stupid."
Bergdahl also complained about fellow soldiers. The battalion commander was a "conceited old fool," he said, and the only "decent" sergeants, planning to leave the platoon "as soon as they can," told the privates â Bergdahl then among them â "to do the same."
"I am ashamed to be an American. And the title of US soldier is just the lie of fools," he concluded. "I am sorry for everything. The horror that is America is disgusting."
Bob Bergdahl responded in an e-mail: "OBEY YOUR CONSCIENCE!"
One night, after finishing a guard-duty shift Bowe Bergdahl asked his team leader whether there would be a problem if he left camp with his rifle and night-vision goggles â to which the team leader replied "yes."
Bergdahl then returned to his bunker, picked up a knife, water, his diary and a camera, and left camp, according to Rolling Stone. The next morning, he was reported missing, and later that day, a drone and four fighter jets Âbegan to search for him.
Weeks of searching turned into months. The military pushed his parents and fellow soldiers to sign nondisclosure agreements. But before everyone signed, a comrade from his unit publicly called on Facebook for Bergdahl's execution as a deserter.
Propaganda videos of his captivity â which featured Bergdahl denouncing American foreign policy â were released. At least once, in 2011, the prisoner, looking more haggard, fought back and tried to escape.
"He fought like a boxer," a Taliban fighter told Newsweek.
Why Bergdahl was captured in the first place remained a mystery by the time high-level US government talks began in 2012 regarding a trade for his release.
"Frankly, we don't give a sât why he left," one White House official said at the time. "He's an American soldier. We want to bring him home."
I understand that sentiment. I worry that we gave up far too much. But then we say the same thing when the Israelis do one of these 1000:1 trades. There's a lot of pressure not to leave one of ours behind.
There was fierce debate over exchanging him for the five Taliban combatants. Sen. John McCain, himself a former POW, once described the five as "the five biggest murderers in world history," according to Rolling Stone.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/02/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[6 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
for a US Ambassador, we have no assets to help him
for US Veterans we have no doctors to see them
but for a deserter and possibly a traitor, we will move mountains to see he is safe and sound
Posted by: lord garth ||
06/02/2014 0:05 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Did anyone pick up on the fact that Papa Islami said he sent several folks to Germany to see him at the hospital, and that he was supposed to listen to them and do what they say. Sounds like he has got some ACLU lawyer types already.
#6
Michelle should invite him for tea. Serve him a good Lunch.
And I bet the Taliban are laughing their asses off. He walked off his post and went over and we traded him for five ...Moslem gentleman. Thank Hussein that in his wisdom we have such a President. he's obviously the Messiah and the smartest man in the room. Why, I am getting a thrill up my leg just thinking of him. Don't you?
Check the back of your Obama Card for his picture and a brief inspirational message.
Posted by: Big Thromoth3646 ||
06/02/2014 5:38 Comments ||
Top||
#7
Bowe Bergdahl will be just fine. He will lay low through the election cycle, begin interviews, book deals, guest appearances on msnbc and CNN and then talk of running for congress.
#8
Congressman? From California? Maybe he could oust the old biddy from San Francisco.
Idaho, Sun Valley, Idaho. According to Wikipedia, Bergdahl told Fry before their deployment to Afghanistan, "If this deployment is lame, I'm just going to walk off into the mountains of Pakistan."
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/02/2014 8:17 Comments ||
Top||
#9
Isn't that called desertion in time of war? At one time I believe that would be a capital offense and a firing squad would be called for.
It's said he can no longer speak English? Has anyone ever heard of losing a language? Losing the ability to speak or hear perhaps - but a language? Perhaps someone can clarify.
I think he simply refuses to speak the dirty infidel language and it does provide a convient excuse for not answering questions.
#10
He went AWOL and joined the enemy. Teaching the enemy how to take a cell phone and turn it into a road side bomb detonator, teaching them how to ambush his fellow soldiers, the Hussein Regime was calling him a POW. A lie. He now speaks only the Taliban language his family says. He has been and is a threat to this country.
#11
Sometiems I wish we were the type of country that would implant slow acting poisons into POWs we free (but know will return to hostilities despite promises). Something that would be wraith of God like in its pain.
#12
And Bergdahl, right back at you. if you are not tried and convicted I expect you to give up your passport and stay away from the country you loath.
#16
As a true, faithful Muslim, Bergdahl would never even think of going into a bar.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
06/02/2014 19:42 Comments ||
Top||
#17
President Obama's national security adviser, Susan Rice, said on ABC that Bowe Bergdahl "served the United States with honor and distinction" and that "Sergeant Bergdahl wasn't simply a hostage; he was an American prisoner of war captured on the battlefield"
Same Susan Rice who told us that Benghazi was caused by a video.
Now that we have him back, let's hang this deserter high. It would emphasize what we value--loyalty; esprit de corps; and a commitment to bring everyone home. Because he disrespected those values, six members of his platoon, who were dedicated to those values, came home in a box.
#19
Correction. The same Susan Rice who, with full knowledge of the truth, lied (as in knowingly told a falsehood) to the American public on national TV and afterwards about the cause of Benghazi.
She is a known and proven liar.
If he did desert his post and joined the Taliban then have a very national and public trial first so everyone knows what kind of despicable being he is and the full story and cost of his actions so his name becomes a household word.
Then hang him, publically. He doesn't deserve the honor of even a firing squad. And to top it off bury him with hogs.
#22
OldSpook, while what you wrote was meant to be satiric, it expresses an ideal that is so, so wrong. Which of course is the point of the words you wrote.
I am truly overwrought. I hope I never meet this kid, because I would just beat him until I could no longer lift my arms.
As bad as he is, whoever is responsible for making his colleagues sign non-disclosure agreements is worse. We need to know who that political-officer was, and shame him/her into exile, after a hearty tar and feathering.
[An Nahar] Freed U.S. soldier Bowe Bergdahl developed a love for Afghan green tea, taught his captors badminton, and even celebrated Christmas and Easter with the hardline Islamists, a Pak bully boy commander told Agence La Belle France Presse Sunday.
Stockholm syndrome? Or was he a lot like his dear old dad...
Bergdahl, the only U.S. soldier detained in Afghanistan since war began in 2001, was released Saturday in exchange for the freeing of five senior Taliban figures held at Guantanamo Bay, in a dramatic deal brokered by Qatar.
The army sergeant's almost five years in captivity saw him transferred between various bully boy factions along the volatile Afghanistan-Pakistain border, finally ending up in Pakistain's North Wazoo tribal district, according to bully boy sources.
A commander of the Haqqani network, a bully boy outfit allied with the Taliban with ties to al-Qaeda, on Sunday painted a picture of a man who adjusted to his new life by engaging with his captors while clinging to aspects of his own identity.
"He was fond of kawa (Afghan green tea). He drank a lot of kawa all day, which he mostly prepared himself," the commander told Agence La Belle France Presse by phone from some holy man's guesthouse an undisclosed location in Pakistain's tribal areas.
Over time, Bergdahl, now 28, grew fluent in Pashto and Dari, he said.
Unlike the bully boys, who were mainly ethnic Pashtuns known for their voracious appetite for meat, Bergdahl "liked vegetables and asked for meat only once or twice a week," the commander said.
While the snuffies attempted to teach the soldier about Islam and provided him with religious books, he preferred more earthly pursuits.
"He would spend more time playing badminton or helping with cooking," the bully boy chief said.
"He loved badminton and always played badminton with his handlers. In fact, he taught many fighters about the game," he added.
And the Idaho native made a point of celebrating the Christian festivals he was accustomed to back home, even inviting his captors to participate.
"He never missed his religious festivals. He used to tell his handlers they were coming up weeks before Christmas and Easter and celebrated it with them," he said.
Imtiaz Gul, a security analyst, said the snuffies would have regarded Bergdahl as a high-value asset and harming him would have had a negative impact on their propaganda efforts.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/02/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban
#1
Over time, Bergdahl, now 28, grew fluent in Pashto and Dari, he said.
Computer skills? Perhaps he could go to work for Booze Allen as a contractor at Fort Meade. Oh wait !!!!
#4
Actually, this shows how desperate the administration is; the only thing they can do to get rid of the previous scandal is to get a new one that's also in the process of blowing up in their faces. (and if you didn't notice the dead veterans in that one too you haven't been paying attention).
#6
His squad mates are all coming out with the truth that Bergdahl was a deserter. How the hell is Obama going to spin that? Even the leftist press can't bury a turd this big.
[An Nahar] Taliban supreme leader Mullah Mohammad Omar hailed Sunday the prisoner swap as a "big victory."
"I extend my heartfelt congratulations to the entire Afghan Mohammedan nation, all the mujahideen and to the families and relatives of the prisoners for this big victory regarding the release of five Taliban leaders from Guantanamo prison," he said in a rare statement.
"I thank the government of Qatar, especially its emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad (al-Thani), who made sincere efforts for release of these leaders and for their mediation and for hosting them," he added.
Mullah Omar ... a minor Pashtun commander in the war against the Soviets who made good as leader of the Taliban. As ruler of Afghanistan, he took the title Leader of the Faithful. The imposition of Pashtunkhwa on the nation institutionalized ignorance and brutality in a country already notable for its own fair share of ignorance and brutality... was Afghanistan's de facto head of state during their 1996-2001 rule over Afghanistan. He has continued to lead the group's insurgency since they were ousted from power.
His current whereabouts are unconfirmed but some observers believe he is hiding inside Pakistain.
The five transferred Taliban detainees have been named by the U.S. State Department as Mohammad Fazl, Mullah Norullah Noori, Mohammed Nabi, Khairullah Khairkhwa and Abdul Haq Wasiq.
A Taliban source in the Pak city of Quetta told Agence La Belle France Presse that the five had been officials in the Taliban regime driven out by the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, and that they remained influential.
Later on Sunday, the United States defended its decision on the prisoner swap. Republican politicians have sharply criticized the move, saying it sets a bad precedent and endangers U.S. soldiers still in Afghanistan.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/02/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under: Taliban
#1
Yeah, a bad precedent, but one the Israelis have followed for years.
On the other hand, once they are all out of Gitmo, Champ can finally close it down, 'cementing his legacy'.
On the third hand, the newly-released talibunnies are once again targets - nobody could pop 'em in Gitmo.
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/02/2014 8:04 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Given the ROE - I don't think anyone would be allowed to pop them even on the battlefield.
#3
On the third hand
The gripping hand Bobby, as in:
On one hand it makes sense, but on the other hand it seems silly, on the gripping hand it makes me want to puke.
#5
Qatar will probably hold them for a year as promised but allow them to meet with whomever they want so it won't make a difference. They can have it both ways that way.
In fact the 5 could run the war effort from Qatar with no fear of drones.
[An Nahar] Sudan denied on Sunday a Christian Sudanese woman sentenced to hang for apostasy would be freed soon, saying quotes attributed to a foreign ministry official had been taken out of context.
Meriam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag was sentenced to death on May 15 under the Islamic sharia law that has been in place since 1983 and outlaws conversions under pain of death.
Abdullah al-Azraq, a foreign ministry under-secretary, told Agence La Belle France Presse and other media outlets on Saturday that Ishag "will be freed within days in line with legal procedure that will be taken by the judiciary and the ministry of justice."
But the foreign ministry said the release of the 27-year-old, who gave birth to a baby girl in prison on Tuesday, depended on whether a court accepted an appeal request made by her defense team.
A ministry statement said Azraq actually told media on Saturday "that the defense team of the concerned citizen has appealed the verdict ... and if the appeals court rules in her favour, she will be released."
Azraq said "the government does not interfere in the work of the judiciary because it is an independent body," the ministry added. "Some media took what the undersecretary said out of context, changing the meaning of what he said."
After Azraq's comment Saturday, Ishag's husband, Daniel Wani, told Agence La Belle France Presse he did not believe she would be freed.
"No one has contacted me and I don't think it will happen. We have submitted an appeal but they have not looked at it yet, so how is it that they will release her?" he said.
Ishag's lawyer Mohannad Mustapha had expressed doubts she would be released or that charges against her would be dropped.
"The only party who can do that is the appeals court but I am not sure that they have the full case file," he said on Saturday.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/02/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Sudan
[Al Ahram] Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb on Sunday urged Libyans to fight a rogue general pressing an offensive against Islamist militias in the country's east, labelling him an "enemy of Islam".
Just hours after the AQIM statement, ex-general Khalifa Haftar's forces launched fresh air raids on Islamists in the eastern city of Benghazi, witnesses said, without any casualties reported.
Last month, the general unleashed forces from his so-called National Army on Islamist militias in Benghazi in a campaign dubbed "Operation Dignity".
"We call on you to unite to remove the symbol of treachery and apostasy, Khalifa Haftar, and the supporters of (late dictator Moamer) Qadaffy who are under his command," AQIM said in its statement posted on jihadist Internet forums.
"Thanks to the support of the bloodthirsty (Egyptian president-elect Abdel Fattah al-) Sisi, American complicity and funding from Gulf countries, the traitor Haftar has launched a war against Islam on the pretext of fighting terrorism," it said.
"We warn our Libyan brothers that the criminal Haftar is carrying out a crusader plan against sharia (Islamic law), and we especially urge the Libyan heroes of the revolution to strongly resist it".
On Sunday, Haftar's forces targeted Islamist military camps and assembly points in Benghazi, said General Saqr al-Jerushi, commander of his air operations.
He said members of jihadist group Ansar al-Sharia ...a Salafist militia which claims it is not part of al-Qaeda, even though it works about the same and for the same ends. There are groups of the same name in Libya, Tunisia and Yemen, with the Libyan and Tunisian versions currently most active... holding a meeting at a former royal palace were among the targets.
Columns of black smoke billowed over the sites hit, including a camp of the Ansar-linked "February 17 Martyrs Brigade", according to an AFP correspondent in the Mediterranean city.
Authorities have denounced Haftar as an outlaw, but he has won over units from the regular army and air force and says he aims to crush "terrorism" in Benghazi.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/02/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under: al-Qaeda in North Africa
#1
"Hey! We're getting killed down here! Join us!"
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/02/2014 14:55 Comments ||
Top||
[Al Ahram] Egypt's Presidential Election Commission (PEC) rejected an appeal by the presidential campaign of candidate Hamdeen Sabahi, who suffered a crushing loss in the poll according to preliminary results of the vote, against violations claimed by it during the poll.
The PEC said, according to Al-Ahram's Arabic news website, the complaints submitted on Friday were investigated and no evidence was found to support them. The complaints haven't influenced the results of the poll, the commission added.
Sabahi, who suffered a drastic loss in this week's poll, gaining only 3.5 percent of the vote, admitted he lost the race in a presser on Thursday.
His contender, El-Sisi, won a landslide victory of over 96 percent of valid votes, with over 23 million voters casting their ballots for him.
The long-time leftist activist, however, accused the electoral procedure of lacking credibility, citing violations that he says his campaign faced during the election -- including his campaign representatives being restricted, attacked and detained, as well as suspicions of forgery and El-Sisi's representatives being allowed to campaign inside polling stations.
He also questioned the "credibility or ratification" of the announced turnout or results, which he described as "an insult to Egyptian intelligence of the Egyptians."
Sabahi further rejected a decision by the Presidential Elections Commission (PEC) to extend voting by a third day. Both his and El-Sisi's campaign filed a formal complaint against the decision, which were later rejected.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/02/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[5 views]
Top|| File under: Arab Spring
[Yemen Post] Military officials in the Yemeni capital, Sana'a, confirmed on Sunday morning that Houthi ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is "God is Great, Death to America", Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews" ... turbans based in the northern province of Amran attempted late on Saturday to outrun several military outposts in the province in a bid to reassert their control and secure their hold over the region.
For the past week the Houthis (Shiite group organized under the leadership of Abdel-Malek al-Houthi), whose stronghold is originally based in the northern province of Amran, have clashed with the armed forces in Amran, a province which falls under the control of the Hashid tribe, organized under the leadership of Sheikh Sadiq al-Ahmar, one of Yemen's most prominent tribal leader.
It all started on May 17th when a group of Houthi turbans attempted to storm a military base in Amran. The armed forces' response was swift, immediate and led to the killing of over a dozen Houthi fighters.
Since then tensions in the province of Amran have run high, with experts warning that Sana'a central government could soon find itself embroiled in another war with the Houthis should tribal enmities be allowed to fester further.
This reality has not escaped President Abdo Rabbo Mansour Hadi. While President Hadi has been keen to assert the superiority and legitimacy of the armed forces, he made clear he does not wish ran a military campaign against the Houthis.
Officials actually confirmed on Sunday that President Hadi has tasked a new mediation committee to broker a truce with Abdel-Malek al-Houthi in a last bid to avoid a downward spiral into violence,
However unless both parties can agree on the terms of a lasting truce, many fear that whatever lull in violence will end in further bloodshed.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/02/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under: Houthis
[Ynet] Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo on Sunday welcomed the progress in the investigation into the shooting of the Jewish Museum of Belgium and called for European cooperation against jihadists.
Elio di Rupo said he had spoken to French President Francois Hollande after the announcement of the arrest in La Belle France of the French jihadist suspected of being the perpetrator of the massacre committed in the Jewish Museum Brussels on May 24.
[Ynet] Upcoming congressional elections means that Obama will try to time Iran agreement after voting, but before inaugurations.
The Smartest Men In The Room have never paid less than list price for their cars, I suspect.
If there will be a deal with Iran over its nuclear program, it will be signed in the winter, just after US congressional elections and just before the new Congress is sworn in in January.
The reason derives from the fact that President B.O. doesn't want his policy on Iran to be the focal point of elections and he will try to push through a deal before the swearing in of Congress when the Democrats are likely to lose their majority on Capitol Hill.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
06/02/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
Can't blame Shia Iran, Muslim World, nor even the Hard Boyz for noticing OWG Globalists using the term "parity" when describing their agenda, as opposed to "inferiority" or "nothing".
Truth be told, the Globies + aligned are still using or inferring the term "parity".
IRAN + MUSLIM WORLD WILL GET THEIR NUKES BECAUSE IN THEIR MIND THE GLOBIES SAID THEY COULD - THERE WILL MUCHO MILPOL TROUBLE FOR THE US-WEST = NON-MUSLIM WORLD IFF THE FORMER BELIEVE THE LATTER = GLOBIES, ETC. WERE LYING.
The US + Israel might as well bomb Mecca + Tehran N-O-W because the Muslim world will be super - p.o'd and coming after their six no matter the consequences or casualties.
E.G. YAHOO NEWS > CHINA SAYS US IS MAKING [major]STRATEGIC MISTAKES, RISKS MAKING CHINA AN [de facto dedicated = "absolute"] ENEMY.
PLA MGEN. ZHU CHENGHU.
China = Iran, Muslim World = No more "Mr. Nice Globalist"???
EVEN IN INTERNATIONAL POLITICS OR DILOMACY PCORRECTNESS-DENIABILITY HAS ITS LIMITS.
[DAWN] MIRAMSHAH: Elders of Ahmadzai Wazir and Dawar tribes have started efforts to stop the government from launching military operation in North Wazoo Agency.
Speaking at a jirga held here on Saturday, the rustics decided to travel to Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. and Islamabad to hold meetings with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... Governor Sardar Mahtab Ahmad Khan and Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan. The elders would ask the governor and interior minister to find out solution to the situation through negotiations instead of military action. They said that people of Waziristan were patriotic and peace-loving.
The jirga decided that tribal people would not vacate their homes in case security forces launched operation. They said that people would take refuge in Afghanistan instead of taking shelter in relief camps in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
Rumours about military operation have created uncertainty in North Waziristan with several Afghan families have already gone back to Afghanistan. While Taliban Commander Hafiz Gul Bahadur ...a member of the Madda Khel clan of the Uthmanzai Waziris. Educated in a Deobandi madrassa located in Multan, he is affiliated with the Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) political party. Upon the formation of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in December 2007, he was announced as the group's overall naib amir under Baitullah Mehsud, who was based in South Wazoo, but has largely distanced himself from the TTP due to rivalries with the Mehsuds and disagreements about the TTP's attacks against the Pak state.. has also asked people to vacate their houses by June 10 and move to safe locations as what he said the government had decided to launch operation in the tribal agency.
Haji Sher Mohammad Khan presided over the jirga.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/02/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[12 views]
Top|| File under: TTP
#5
Well theres not-a-shock - Marxist Hamas agz Fatah.
At this point in the GWOT its becoming increasingly dubious iff the Secular Marxist-Commie Socialists will prevail over Muslim Theo-Socialists once the US, West is defeated or destroyed.
[Ynet] Move comes as Russia seeks new allies in wake of crisis with West over annexation of Crimea.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin ...Second and fourth President and sixth of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from polonium poisoning. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead... have upgraded their relationship, with an agreement that the two leaders will be connected by a special hotline between their two bureaus.
The decision, which comes even as ties between Russia and Israel's major ally the US sink even lower, was announced Friday by Moscow.
"The Russian government has decided to accept the proposal from Russian security service, in conjunction with the Russian Foreign Ministry, to set up a secure line that will allow a direct and encrypted connection between Russian President Vladimir Putin and the residence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu," the country said in a statement.
The decision means the immediate commencement of negotiations between Russia and Israel to set up the direct line between the two leaders.
Russia has secure telephone lines with leaders in various countries around the world. The first was set up in 1963, between Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev and US President John F. Kennedy, in the wake of the Cuban missile crisis. In 1966, the Soviets also launched a similar hotline with La Belle France, at the time led by President Charles de Gaulle. Moscow went on to set up further direct lines with Britannia, Germany, Spain, Italia and South Korea.
Russia expert Alex Tentzer says the move aims to allow Russia and Israel to converse on sensitive issues that impact on both nations without any intervention by the United States. Israeli and American leaders also have a direct line.
"Russia feels very close to the Israeli leadership," says Tentzer. "The Russians want to speak to Israel without anyone eavesdropping -- in particular the US."
The establishment of the line also has ties to ongoing events in Ukraine, in which Russia came under fierce international criticism for its annexation of Crimea. Israel is one of the few countries that did not condemn the move by Moscow, a decision that in turn was criticized by Washington.
In the wake of the crisis with the West over Ukraine, Russia decided to strengthen its ties to other nations, including China, India and Israel. Jerusalem and Moscow have also drawn closer recently over regional security issues such as Syria and Iran.
[Ynet] Jordan amended its anti-terrorism laws Sunday to criminalize disrupting its foreign affairs and spreading the ideas of terror groups, a move criticized by activists as vague and limiting free speech in the kingdom.
Information Minister Mohammad Al-Momani said that the amendments were published in the government gazette Sunday after King Abdullah II signed them into law. The country's House of Representatives and Senate earlier approved the amendments.
The new amendments further widen the law. Under it, those who disturb the country's relations with foreign states could be prosecuted as terrorists. Networks that spread the ideas or support groups committing acts of terrorism also could be charged as well.
From Daniel Pipes blog. Check out the maps and pictures in the link. Between Baby Assad, Turkey, and all the Islamic terrorists, Syria is becoming one of the major centers of gravity of insanity.
Two reports from Beirut's Al-Akhbar point to potentially catastrophic water problems about to affect Syria.
The lesser concerns Aleppo, where mortar shells and barrel bombs have slackened off but Islamist rebels have shut down the city's potable water supply, forcing Aleppan residents in government-controlled areas to depend on wells and trucks for limited, contaminated, and expensive water. Lines of women and children "have become ubiquitous in front of mosque fountains and government wells in order to fill small containers such as cooking pots, teapots and plastic bottles as well as small barrels." According to an official at the Syrian Red Crescent, "The situation signals a humanitarian and health disaster."
The greater problem concerns the Euphrates River, the second longest waterway of the Middle East. Nearly all its volume originates in the Republic of Turkey, from which it flows into Syria and Iraq, ending in the Persian Gulf. It provides about one-third of Syria's water supply. In the last few weeks, the Turkish government completely stopped Euphrates waters from leaving Turkey and flowing into Syria, something made possible by the enormous reservoir behind its Atatürk Dam.
This action threatens Syria and also Iraq with water crises. As one indication, the water level in Lake Assad, Syria's largest body of water, has gone down by about 20 feet. Within days, some 7 million Syrians could be left without water as well as electricity. Al-Akhbar notes that "A halt to the water supply is now inevitable and can't be resolved unless the Turkish government takes the decision to resume pumping Euphrates water." To make matters yet more worrisome, the fanatic Islamic State in Iraq and Syria group controls the Tishrin Dam, one of Syria's three dams on the Euphrates.
Comments:
(1) The Syrian civil war keeps getting more ferocious, vicious, and barbaric not a surprise given that Islamists, both domestic and foreign, dominate the fighting on both sides.
(2) The Euphrates River contains some of the world's most volatile and fearsome waterworks; the Mosul Dam in Iraq, for example, could collapse, killing millions. Again, given the three states involved (Turkey, Syria, and Iraq), this also ranks as less than a surprise.
(3) Should terminal dehydration kill massive numbers of Syrians, this will likely prompt Western opinion to call for intervention.
(4) Turkey's AKP government has already shown itself callous about loss of life (recall the Soma coal mine disaster). But is Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan really about to commit what appears to be genocide?
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
06/02/2014 13:52 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
pretend they're Armenians
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/02/2014 15:23 Comments ||
Top||
#2
"is Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdođan really about to commit what appears to be genocide?"
Does a bear shit sleep in the woods?
Posted by: Barbara ||
06/02/2014 15:38 Comments ||
Top||
[Ynet] More than a million displaced in three-year-old civil war warned their benefits will be jeoperdized by visiting polling stations to vote for Assad.
Leb has told more than a million Syrian refugees they will lose their refugee status if they cross back into Syria, a move likely to discourage many from voting at polling stations on the border in Tuesday's presidential election.
Tens of thousands of Syrians voted at their Beirut embassy in an early round of expatriate voting last week and Syrian officials said those who were unable to get to the embassy should go to polling stations on the border for the June 3 poll.
The scale of turnout at the embassy and the vocal displays of support for Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Before going into the family business Pencilneck was an eye doctor. If he'd stuck with it he'd have had a good practice by now... angered Assad's Lebanese opponents, who said any refugees who took part should be sent back to Syria.
Leb's Interior Ministry made no mention of the election in its warning to the Syrian refugees, but said it was acting to "prevent any friction or mutual provocation" between Syrians and their Lebanese host communities.
The three-year-old conflict has deepened political divisions in Leb and fuelled violence including bombings, rocket attacks and gun-battles. The Hezbollah-dominated March 8 political coalition supports Assad while its March 14 opponents have backed the rebels trying to topple him.
The presence of a million Syrians from a seemingly endless conflict has also raised fears that Leb's 4 million population may end up hosting a permanent refugee population several times larger than the Paleostinian influx which helped destabilize the country before its 1975-1990 civil war.
"All displaced Syrians and those registered with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees are asked to refrain from entering Syria as of June 1, 2014, under penalty of losing their refugee status in Leb," the Interior Ministry said in a statement issued on Saturday.
UNHCR spokesperson Dana Sleiman said the government's message had been relayed to the refugees.
She said the United Nations ...where theory meets practice and practice loses... did not have data on the number of refugees who have made trips back home, but said some did go back briefly to check on their land and property.
[An Nahar] Syria on Sunday wrapped up campaigning for the June 3 presidential election expected to return Bashir al-Assad to power, a vote the opposition brands a "parody of democracy."
With swathes of Syria out of government control, Tuesday's vote will only take place in regime-held territory, far from where Assad's forces are battling the rebels who seek to topple him.
The fragmented opposition, and their Western and Arab allies, will be left to watch powerlessly as the ballot returns Assad to power for a third seven-year term while the army makes advances on the battlefield.
Assad's opponents have dubbed the vote a "parody of democracy" and urged Syrians to boycott the vote in which Assad's sole competitors -- MP Maher al-Hajjar and businessman Hassan al-Nouri -- are little known and seen as token rivals.
On Sunday, the ruling Baath Party, which has dominated Syria for more than half a century, called for people to re-elect Assad.
The president was chosen by referendum in 2000 following the death of his father and veteran strongman, president Hafez Assad.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/02/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[8 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
[An Nahar] Head of Hizbullah ...Party of God, a Leb militia inspired, founded, funded and directed by Iran. Hizbullah refers to itself as The Resistance and purports to defend Leb against Israel, with whom it has started and lost one disastrous war to date, though it did claim victory... 's Juristic Committee Sheikh Mohammed Yazbek on Sunday stressed that only the Lebanese state can condemn or acquit the Lebanese who fled to Israel in 2000, responding to recent remarks by Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi.
"The Israeli enemy used these Lebanese to kill other Lebanese ... and when the liberation happened, we said back then that this issue is in the hands of the state," Yazbek said during a memorial service in Baalbek.
"We reiterate that this issue is in the hands of the state, which alone must say who is Lebanese and who is not Lebanese. This is for the state to rule on and it's not about certain viewpoints from here or there," Yazbek added.
He stressed that "the victory in 2000 was behind changing the equations" in the conflict with Israel.
"They tried (to change the equations) after the year 2006 to no avail," the Hizbullah official added, referring to the 2006 war with Israel.
Meanwhile, ...back at the precinct house, Sergeant Maloney wasn't buying it. It was just too pat. The whole thing smelled phony, kind of like a dead mackeral but without the scales... Bkirki sources told MTV that Patriarch al-Rahi "has nothing to say" about his controversial trip to Israel and the Holy Land, underlining that "his visit achieved a historic success."
"We refuse to comment on the remarks issued against al-Rahi's statement and we don't want to engage in a debate with anyone," the sources said.
"The file of the Lebanese in Israel is humanitarian, not political," the sources pointed out.
For his part, Maronite Bishop Boulos Sayyah told MTV that Bkirki "will not respond to anyone's remarks regarding al-Rahi's statement."
Posted by: Fred ||
06/02/2014 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[8 views]
Top|| File under: Hezbollah
"Salami added, according to the report, that its ballistic missiles now enjoy "pinpoint precision capability when fired at mobile targets; this might be impossible in terms of science, but it is true and, in addition to us, only the Russians might possess this technology and even the Americans do not have it.'" Mmmmmmmmmm-k
#4
"Delusional disorder, previously called paranoid disorder, is a type of serious mental illness called a "psychosis" in which a person cannot tell what is real from what is imagined."
Either a requirement for, or a consequence of, the Iranian military.
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.
Wazoo
...Second and fourth President and sixth of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from polonium poisoning. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead...
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
