The US Air Force has reduced the number of drones it keeps in the air because their stressed-out pilots are quitting in large numbers. Ummm... Really? Those who've met me in person have commented on my handsome set of antennae, which pop right up at the scent of bullshit. (And also Brut by Faberge, but that's another story.)
In February, the Air Force said it was planning to increase the number of daily drone flights over the Middle East and Asia to 65 a day, possibly rising to 70 a day dependent on need. But Colonel James Cluff, the commander of the Air Force's 432nd Wing, told The New York Times ...which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... on Wednesday that this would be cut to 60 because of remote-controller burnout. Allow me to express my strong sense of disbelief. If there are cutbacks it's not because of pilot "burnout," unless they've been recruiting extraordinarily large numbers of pilots for their political opinions and/or skin color and/or sexual preferences. I suppose that's possible. Even then there are administrative actions that could be taken: shorten shifts, shorten tour lengths, pull pilots from other sources (that would certainly torque up the guys currently in place.) "Having our folks make that mental shift every day, driving into the gate and thinking, 'All right, I've got my war face on, and I'm going to the fight,' and then driving out of the gate and stopping at Walmart to pick up a carton of milk or going to the soccer game on the way home -- and the fact that you can't talk about most of what you do at home -- all those stressors together are what is putting pressure on the family, putting pressure on the airman," Colonel Cluff said. Gee. Golly. Shucks. And all the rest of us had to worry about was artillery.
Drone pilots, who control their aircraft from afar, are not posted to dusty deserts nor frigid mountaintop air bases, but they are worked much harder as a result. The typical aircraft pilot will fly about 300 hours a year but drone operators work 12-hour shifts five or six days a week. Sounds like they're understaffed. When I was flying in Vietnam (crew, not pilot) we put in between 100 and 150 hours a month, usually. My first month in the unit I flew about 300 hours, but that wasn't typical; I was the only guy with my skills they had yet. Two more guys came in the next month and the hours dropped to more manageable levels.
#1
I used to want to be a Navy fighter pilot. Then it turned out that they wanted people with perfect vision. Since I'm about 20/200 uncorrected, I didn't have a chance. (I also don't have the macho jock personality that a lot of fighter jocks have.)
I realize that the drone pilots need to be trained as pilots so that they understand the flight physics, navigation, etc. However, the physical requirements should be much less.
I could be a drone pilot. Maybe I could get the Navy to call me out of retirement.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
06/20/2015 0:30 Comments ||
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#2
Air Force also dislikes the idea of Warrant Officers or Flight Sergeants. A drone pilot doesn't have to be fighter or even transport qualified.
#4
I would guess the number of possible recruits who would make good drone pilots is rather large. I suspect the USAF is not looking in that direction, but more likely wants business as usual.
#5
...Some truth here, along with a whole buncha BS.
*The zipper-suited Sun Gods who still run the USAF look down on the drone drivers as not even being in the same species as they are, let alone the same job. The current hierarchy is as follows: Fighters, Attack, Bombers, Transport, and Helo...and one joke I've heard a couple times is that the Drones were created to give the Helo drivers someone to look down on. Either way, the USAF leadership despises the drone drivers...and given that attitude, I'm almost wondering if there isn't now (as suggested by AH9418) a quiet, concerted effort to get rid of the drones and blame it on (FILL IN THE BLANK).
*The USAF doesn't just dislike the idea of flying NCOs, it loathes it the way the Devil loathes Holy Water. A moral and emotional edifice rivaling Mount Rushmore would come crashing down if a single NCO ever got wings - specialized/restricted wings or anything else.
*Drone pilots leaving means we cut back the mission? Aw, HELL no. If it's combat, then you find a way. I'd point this out - 70 sorties a day means between 70 to 140 operators, and there's currently TWELVE HUNDRED in the USAF. Even if you lost fifty percent of that number, that's still six hundred operators available every day. Even at 140 operators required, that means somebody flies a mission every 4.28 days...and if it means somebody has to get out from behind their desk and 'I-Love-Me' wall, then by God you do it. Some simple scheduling work will take care of the rest, and if it means you're on (for instance) two weeks at a crack, flying every other day and then off two weeks, you're still good.
*Truth is spoken about the fact that these guys see their work in far more detail than any other combat pilot has ever seen before, and this is something that has yet to be addressed - and better be, PDQ. The B-52 driver at 40K feet neither sees nor hears the result of his efforts, except in sterile post-strike pictures. The F-15/F-16/A-10 drivers see their work in quick, almost incomprehensible flashes more like scenes from a video game. Drone pilots see it very up close and personal, and if they make a mistake they're far more likely to see it happen and have to watch the results.
It's hard for me to escape the conclusion that the USAF knows there's a problem, but simply and categorically refuses to do what's needed to fix it and/or doesn't want to fix it in the hope that the problem tasking will go away. Either way, I weep for what's become of My Beloved Service.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
06/20/2015 8:35 Comments ||
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#6
"Fighter Mafia" effect.
Maybe we can outsource this to the Chinese as well. (do I need to put a /sarc on that too?)
#7
Army has a whole pile of damned good drone operators, and no issues with "burnout". But they are mostly enlisted, and warrant officers. Get a clue USAF
#8
Two points:
1) Before and during WWII, the US had a rank called Flying Officer. They were WO, and not normally promoted. The USAF could recreate the category.
2) "driving out of the gate and stopping at Walmart to pick up a carton of milk or going to the soccer game on the way home."
What the hell do you think it was like for flyers in England during WWII? Don't you think it was jarring to go from the sky over Germany to dating your girl at the pub? This Colonel Cluff must have a degree from the Fluffy Ducks Institute of Psycho-babble.
Al
Posted by: frozen al ||
06/20/2015 12:46 Comments ||
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#9
Cops and Firemen walk into their locker rooms everyday not knowing if they are going to go home in one piece, yet they make it to Walmart and the kids soccer games. And most do it for 30 years.
#10
Frozen A, by the end of the war so did the Marines. My Uncle Jim, China, Iceland, Midway, Guadualcanal, New Britain, Palau all with 1st Marine Air Wing, found him at the end of the war learning to fly Corsairs. That program ended, back in the Fleet Marine Force and back to China. He carried a grudge about the timing. My Dad didn't tho. :)
So here I damn am and he will be over for breakfast tomorrow. 4th Division, 4 assault landings, and preparing for Operation Olympic, the assault on Kyushu.
[Tolo News] Lawmakers in Parliament on Friday panned officials at the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled (MoLSAMD) for allowing corruption to siphon away much needed funds from its budget, including money that was meant to support programs for disabled Afghans and pensions for retired public servants.
Alongside providing care and financial support for thousands of disabled people, the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled (MoLSAMD) is also responsible for paying the pensions of nearly 200,000 retired government servants. Nevertheless, millions of Afghanis have allegedly been embezzled from the ministry's budget, in yet another example of large-scale graft at high levels of the Afghan government.
"The existence of corruption in the ministry of labor is quite a distressing issue, and the embezzlement of salaries and allowances for disabled people have led to major problems," MP Ramazan Juma Zada said. "The first step the ministry should take is an initiative to curb corruption," he added.
The comments from politicians come in response to a recent report published by the High Office of Oversight and Anti-Corruption, which first exposed the large-scale corruption going on within the MoLSAMD.
A front man for the ministry, Ali Eftekhari, acknowledged the existence of corruption in MoLSAMD on Friday. However, the difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits... he emphasized that a new strategy for getting payments directly to retired public servants and disabled individuals would be put in place to bypass the hands of corrupt officials.
"In consideration of the problems, we are trying to digitalize the salary payment process by issuing bank cards to retired government servants and disabled people, so they can receive their salaries," Eftekhari said.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2015 00:00 ||
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[Breitbart] "The only person who can stop a bad guy with a gun, is a good guy with a gun. Unarmed victims are pretty helpless. At present I'm working to develop a curriculum for training African churches to defend themselves against Islamic and Communist aggression."
He then referenced the fact that South Carolina forbids guns in churches, and responded to calls for gun control that have arisen over the past two days:
"Firearms surely make it easier to kill people, but firearms also make it easier for people to defend themselves. Removing all firearms from society risks leaving potential victims defenseless."
Nb: Negotiations did fail, and Saudi Arabia resumed bombing at dawn today. In light of that, here is where matters stand:
[AnNahar] Yemen's warring factions want to make military advances on the ground before accepting a humanitarian pause proposed by the U.N. at deadlocked negotiations in Geneva, experts say.
So far, no advances have been made at the talks, expected to wrap up Friday, with both the Iran-backed Huthi rebels and the Saudi Arabia-supported exiled government sticking to their guns.
"Neither side has exhausted its military options, and they both think they could achieve more gains on the ground," said April Alley, a Yemen specialist with the International Crisis Group.
U.N. special envoy for Yemen, Mauritanian diplomat Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, has been frantically shuttling between the hotels housing the two delegations to convince them to declare a halt in the relentless violence. If it can't achieve that, the U.N. hopes to at least get them to agree to a 15-day humanitarian truce.
U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon launched the high-stakes negotiations on Monday with an appeal for a two-week humanitarian truce during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan.
The negotiations, in their fifth day, have been bogged down by the government's insistence that the rebels must withdraw from the vast territory they control, including the capital Sanaa.
The rebels have overrun much of the Sunni-majority country and, along with their allies including forces loyal to ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh, have been the target of Saudi-led air strikes since March.
More than 2,600 people have been killed since then and some 21 million Yemenis are in urgent need of humanitarian aid.
The rebels meanwhile are demanding an unconditional halt to the air strikes before they will consider a pause in fighting.
A source close to the negotiations however said that on Thursday they seemed prepared to consider withdrawals from the southern city of Aden and central city of Taez, far removed from their northern stronghold.
Since they entered Sanaa last September, the Huthis, members of the Zaidi sect of Shiite Islam, have swept through the country, forcing President Abedrabbo Mansur Hadi into exile in Saudi Arabia. Their massive advances were made possible by their alliance with ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who ironically fought them while he was in power.
A Western diplomat following the Geneva talks compared the alliance to "a marriage of convenience", where each side brings something to the table. The rebels, he said have "their determination, their local expertise, their support" from the local population and tribes. The Saleh camp meanwhile has elite troops, heavy weaponry and a sophisticated communications network, he added.
Mustafa Alani, an analyst with the Gulf Research Center, said the Huthis have between 15,000 and 20,000 fighters on the ground, trained by the Iranians and Lebanon's Hizbullah. However, he said, since the beginning of the airstrikes, they "are no longer receiving military aid from Iran."
There are also around 70,000 elite troops on the ground, he said, but stressed that it remained unclear how many of them remain loyal to Saleh.
Hadi meanwhile "has no tribal base and is not strong within the army," Alani said, pointing out that troops loyal to the exiled president were fewer and not as well-equipped as those fighting on the other side. Instead, Hadi is relying on the Saudi-led airstrikes to weaken his opponents, he said, pointing out that the bombing raids are knocking out rebel side's communications networks and destroying their heavy weaponry. But the almost daily air strikes have not shifted the balance on the ground, and have not halted the rebel advance, the Western diplomat said.
The rebels, who have no experience in power or international negotiations, said Thursday they wanted the country to hold elections.
"We hope these preliminary talks will end up in some kind of accord... a transition that will hopefully lead to free, fair and transparent elections," the head of the rebel delegation Hamza al-Huthi told reporters.
"Huthis have always had ambiguous, evolving demands over time," Alley said.
Meanwhile, the U.N. is preparing to announce a new round of talks in Geneva, the delegates hinted.
#3
Yup. You have to come up with plutonium somehow. Spent rods from a nuclear power plant are a great source of plutonium. Indeed, the recycling of plutonium into new power rods is a great way to generate new fuel. But you can divert the plutonium.
It's exactly how Japan and South Korea could generate nuclear weapons quickly: they have lots of power plants and lots of power rods to be processed.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/20/2015 14:08 Comments ||
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[THEGUARDIAN] 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 ... is at risk of demoralising British Moslems with his "misguided emphasis" on saying that some people in the community are quietly condoning Islamist extremism, according to a former cabinet colleague and Conservative party co-chair. They're still arguing over that "some Moslems" circumlocution. Try "takfiris." That's the preferred term among the Medes and the Persians and it looks about accurate to me. I'd go with "salafists" myself, but they couldn't get away with that since that's the official Saudi line. "Sunnis" is too broad, as actually is "Moslems," even though I've long since reached the point where I don't like them generically. ("Don't like" != "Hate.")
Writing in the Guardian, Lady Warsi said the prime minister may have further alienated Moslems with a speech about tackling radicalisation, which he made on Friday. That still leaves cultural clashes to be dealt with. Western nations have less in common with the Islamic world than we do with the Chinese.
She warned that Cameron and ministers lacked the credibility to demand that British Moslems do more to weed out extremism when the government was itself failing to adequately champion and support them -- although she said she did support the prime minister's anti-extremist intention. How about a "kill all takfiris," Baroness? Criticising Cameron's heavy focus on "Moslem community complicity", Warsi wrote:"My concern is that this call to Moslems to do more, without an understanding of what they already do now, will demoralise the very people who will continue to lead this fight. As one prominent female Moslem activist told me: 'This speech has undermined what I've been doing.' ... and then you could say something like "and keep yer goddamned hands off British women unless they want you to touch them!"
"David Cameron is right that there are 'some' -- a minority within a minority within a minority -- who condone the Isis view of the world, but there are many, many, many more of this minority who are fighting a very real and sustained battle, the same battle he is fighting. They know they have to do more, they are willing to do more but they will do it a lot better knowing we are on the same side. ... and then she could say something like "And don't lop off your daughters' outer genitalia." "The government needs to champion them, support them. Only then will it have the credibility to demand that communities themselves do more." Y'see, government's function is to look out for a groups within the borders, not just to cater to Moslems. Show us a Moslem country where the government goes out of its way to protect the rights, let alone the finer sensibilities, of its Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Zoroastrian, and animist minorities and then we'll all agree to use kid gloves.But first find just that one Moslem country.
Warsi said Cameron's own advisers should have been aware of how the intervention "with its misguided emphasis and call to action, would at best fall on deaf ears, at worst further alienate". Takfir wal hijra.
The outspoken intervention came after Cameron told a global security summit in Slovakia that the growing threat posed by Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... could only be defeated if Moslem communities and internet service providers stopped giving any credence to an Islamic murderous Moslem ideology that claims the west is evil, democracy is wrong and women are inferior.
In one passage that was briefed to newspapers overnight, he said: "A troubled boy who is angry at the world, or a girl [who is] looking for an identity, for something to believe in, and there's something that is quietly condoned online or perhaps even in parts of your local community, then it's less of a leap to go from a British teenager to an Isil [Isis] fighter or an Isil wife than it would be for someone who hasn't been exposed to these things."
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
I agree. Shouldn't target them verbally. HMG are lots more effective in inducing peaceful thoughts in Muslim minds.
#2
"As one prominent female Moslem activist told me: 'This speech has undermined what I've been doing.'"
By calling Cameron's effort out you can tell this is a leftwing worthless lump all cozied up in her seat on the Tony Blair gravy train.
Even if Cameron were counter productive it's no less than this statement, from a muslim woman, thinking her voice holds influence in a patriarchal society.
[Al Ahram] 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... said Friday he is ready to "push" his Syrian counterpart Bashir al-Assad towards introducing reforms in the war-torn country, while vowing to continue to support his ally.
"We are ready to work with Assad so that he engages in a process of political change," Putin said at the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum.
"We are ready to push President Assad so that he engages in discussions with the 'healthy' opposition with a view towards political reforms. It is totally feasible," he said.
Russia hosted talks in April between the regime and members of the domestic, Damascus-tolerated opposition, but the absence of key exiled opposition groups meant there was no progress in resolving the four-year conflict.
Meanwhile, ...back at the barn, Bossy had come up with a new idea, one that didn't involve kerosene... he vowed Moscow would continue to support the Damascus regime, claiming he feared Syria would follow in the steps of Libya or Iraq should Assad leave power.
"We think it is the right decision, and it is hard to expect anything different from us," Putin said.
The Russian president meanwhile called on the West to make "supplementary efforts to fight the absolute evil, which we believe is the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... 's fundamentalism".
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
What reforms: not using "barrel bombs" and "elephant rockets"?
[Al Ahram] A son of Al-Qaeda leader the late Osama bin Laden ... who used to be alive but now he's not... asked the United States for a death certificate after US Navy SEALS killed him, said a letter released by WikiLeaks Thursday.
The letter, stating it is from the US embassy in Riyadh, is among about 70,000 documents dubbed "The Saudi Cables" the whistleblower website published.
They are among more than half a million cables and other documents from the Saudi foreign ministry and other institutions in the kingdom which WikiLeaks says it will release over the coming weeks.
They are among more than half a million cables and other documents from the Saudi foreign ministry and other institutions in the kingdom which WikiLeaks says it will release over the coming weeks.
The letter is signed by Glen Keiser, the US consul general in Riyadh and addressed to Abdullah bin Laden on September 9, 2011, about four months after a US raid killed his father in Pakistain after a decade-long manhunt.
"I have received your request for a death certificate for your father, Osama bin Laden," Keiser wrote.
Legal experts in the State Department advised that no such document was issued, he said.
"This is consistent with regular practice for individuals killed in the course of military operations."
Instead, Keiser provided Abdullah bin Laden with US court records in which officials confirmed his father's death and, as a result, dropped a criminal case against him.
"I hope that these US government documents are of assistance to you and your family," Keiser said.
The bin Ladens are a prominent Saudi business family. The kingdom stripped Osama bin Laden of citizenship in 1994.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
I'm guessing OBL's son was having difficulties getting his inheritance out of his uncles without paperwork. Waaaaa.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
06/20/2015 8:37 Comments ||
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#2
Death certificates, birth certificates...meh...
Patience, people, patience. The next China-built nuclear power plant will be connected to the grid near Karachi next year, and the fourth (or fifth -- it's a little confusing) in 2017. And after that construction will accelerate, with larger nuclear power plants of the most modern Chinese design being built until there are a total of 32 across Pakistan by 2050, per Wikipedia. A cheerful thought, no?
[DAWN] Violent protests erupted in several parts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... province on Friday over prolonged loadshedding conducted despite claims made by the federal government that no power cuts would take place during critical timings in the Holy month of Ramazan.
Power outages during Sehr timings were also reported from other cities across the country including 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... , Lahore, Multan, Bahawalpur, Gujranwala, Kasur, Sheikhupira, Sahiwal and Okara.
Up to 20-hours long power cuts were reported in 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. , Charsasda, Mardan, Swabi, Kohat, Dera Ismail Khan ... the Pearl of Pashtunistan ... , Karak and Dir districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa prompting violent protesters to take to the streets.
A grid station was torched by a mob in Charsadda district while district administration offices were set alight in Swabi. Clashes between police and protesters were also reported in several areas.
Earlier 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... , during meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Energy, had directed authorities to ensure hassle-free power supply during 'Sehr' and 'Iftar' in the Holy month of Ramazan.
Federal Minister of Water and Power Khawaja Muhammad Asif had also assured the nation of uninterrupted power supply during critical times throughout the Ramadan.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
Friday's at the reactor
Get a carton of Camels
And talk that goat to wed.
#2
Fezzed muezzin of teh Burg,
Howling cross the sandy erg,
What monaural hand or eye
Would maim thy fearful poetry?
"Pervez, it could drive me to booze.
It's dark but it's too hot to snooze!"
"By Issa, Mahmood,
I am forced to conclude
That what Pakistan needs is more juice!"
[DAWN] India-held Kashmire was largely under curfew on Friday with top separatist leaders detained to halt a planned protest march over a series of recent killings in the restive territory.
Hundreds of police and paramilitary soldiers patrolled the main city of Srinagar and schools and shops were closed, while there were similar restrictions in other towns in the Kashmire Valley, coppers and residents said.
"No one will be allowed to take part in any protest march anywhere," a top police officer told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2015 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] District and Session Judge Kamran Busharat Mufti on Friday issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against former military ruler Gen (retd) Pervez Perv Musharraf ... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ... in the case pertaining to the murder of former Lal Masjid ...literally the Red Mosque, located in Islamabad and frequented by all sorts of high govt officials. The proprietors, Ghazi Abdul Rasheed and Maulana Abdul Aziz Ghazi, unleashed their Islamic storm troopers on the city, shutting down whorehouses and beating people up who weren't devout enough. The Musharraf govt put an end to the nonsense by besieging the place. Abdul Aziz Ghazi was nabbed while he was trying to escape dressed up like a girl. BBC reported that the corpse count at 173, but other claims, usually hysterical, say there were up to 1000 titzup. Among their number was Abdul Rashid Ghazi. Everyone then said tut-tut and what a nice guy he had been... holy man Ghazi Abdul Rasheed.
The court also rejected a plea requesting complete exemption for Musharraf from appearing in the court.
Police has been ordered to arrest the former president and present him in court for the next hearing of the case which was adjourned until July 24.
The judge also directed Musharraf's guarantors to ensure his presence in court in the next hearing.
He warned of action against the guarantors and confiscation of the bail money submitted, in case the former military ruler does not appear in court.
Earlier in April, a local court in Islamabad had also issued a non-bailable arrest warrant for Musharraf over his failure to appear in the court despite repeated summons.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2015 00:00 ||
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[Rudaw] The Shiite militia movement known the Hashd al-Shaabi, or Popular Mobilization Units, has a crucial role in maintaining Iraq's security in the future, Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said in a Wednesday meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.
But the Supreme Leader ("Heil Khamenei!") will soon be dead and gone to his just reward, according to reports. What will the new guy say, whoever he might be?
"Maintain peace in Iraq requires the tolerance and co-existence of all Iraqis," Khamenai said.
He added that Iraq's security is important for Iran, and that Tehran fully supports Baghdad in the ongoing war against the so-called Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... , or ISIS.
Khamenei said the Hashd al-Shaabi have played a key role in the fight against ISIS and will help build a more secure future for Iraqis.
Abadi's trip to Tehran was focused on regional security issues, according to information obtained by Rudaw.
The Hashd al-Shaabi rose up last year after a call from Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the highest Shiite holy man in Iraq, when ISIS fighters overran much of the country's western territory.
The militias, some of which have known ties to Iran, took the lead in the liberation of Tikrit earlier this year amid subsequent allegations the fighters marginalized Sunni residents of the area.
Marginalized, massacred and looted. Of the three, marginalized is of least concern.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
06/20/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
OWG NAU Amerika's future OWG CO-Superpower sibling IRAN still has to secure its AFPAK = Central Asia flank from the ISIS/ISIL, or possibly worse a merger of the Taliban, etal. wid the ISIS/ISIL???
* BIGNEWSNETWORK > [Daily Signal = Heritage Fdn.] ARE THE TALIBAN AND ISIS FLIRTING WID MERGING TOGETHER? | DESPITE CURRENT FICTION, TALIBAN AND ISIS COULD EVENTUALLY MERGE IN AFGHANISTAN.
BEST FRENEMIES E-V-A-R = HUGS-N-KISSES/KUMBAYAH WHEN NOT KILLING ONE ANOTHER.
* GROONG, TOPIX > FAILURE OF US COALITION TO STOP ISIS IN IRAQ AND SYRIA MEANS THREAT TO THE CAUCASUS.
Can RUSSIA + even CHINA TRUST IRAN TO STOP THE ISIS/ISIL???
* Also from BIGNEWSNETWORK > [US DepState] REPORT: INDIA REMAINS TOP TARGET FOR TERROR ATTACKS | PAKISTAN TOOK NO ACTION AGZ LeT [Pro-Jihad, Anti-india Lashkar-e-Taiba].
#4
Good luck with that. Tater and the locals get big, you'll not be able to control them, yet they will have control over the holiest Shia sites where all you Persians feel obligated to pilgrimize. And trust me, once the Sunni threats are put aside, Persians become the issue for the Shia Arabs.
[AnNahar] The Paleostinian unity government resigned on Wednesday in a deepening rift with Gazoo as the blockaded territory's de facto rulers Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason, held separate, indirect talks with Israel.
An aide to President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial... said prime minister Rami Hamdallah "handed his resignation to Abbas", but confusion reigned over when the government was likely to dissolve.
Continued on Page 49
[Benar] Thai officials trying to restart peace negotiations with southern militants are having problems getting different insurgent factions to cooperate. Maj. Gen. Nakrob Boonbuathong, of the Internal Security Operation Command (ISOC), said that he was nevertheless continuing with efforts to get a new round of talks going. The process was still in the delicate stage of confidence building, as he described it.
He said, "We need to build mutual trust. And to verify that they are legitimate representatives. I didn’t know who is who and what type of person they are."
According to an academic involved in previous rounds, Thai government negotiators held a secret meeting early this month with militant representatives in Kuala Lumpur. They were trying to broker a ceasefire ahead of the talks, but failed.
Srisompob Jitpiromsri said, "As far as I know, there was a meeting on June 8 or 9, between the Thai government representatives and those of MARA Patani, in Kuala Lumpur," referring to an umbrella group which was established recently among six militant groups in order to negotiate as a united front.
MARA Patani consists of three factions of the Patani United Liberation Organization (PULO) and three other militant groups: the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN), Barisan Islam Perberbasan Patani (BIPP), and Gerakan Mujahideen Islami Patani (GMIP).
Srisompob said the secret talks focused on a proposed truce during Ramadan. He said, "There was a talk of a ‘ceasefire’ during Ramadan period but both sides could not strike such an agreement. We cannot say that there was an agreement to cease fire during Ramadan."
Ramadan-time amnesty
Maj. Gen. Nakrob would not confirm the pre-talk meeting, but he acknowledged that the government tried to persuade the militants to agree to a truce as a precursor to peace talks.
As many as 473 militants, however, did agree to take part in a Thai military program granting temporary immunity from arrest so they could come out of hiding and reunite with their families during Ramadan, officials said.
[Al Ahram] Iran and Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates... should "get over their differences" and boost relations to ensure regional stability, Qatar's emir has told Iran's president as the Moslem fasting month of Ramadan gets underway.
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani and President Hassan Rouhani also called in a telephone conversation Thursday night for an end to violence in the region during the holy month, Iran's ISNA news agency reported Friday.
Iran is the main regional ally of Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Horror of Homs... and of sock puppets of the Medes and the Persians in Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic... known as Houthis.
In contrast, Qatar supports rebels fighting to overthrow Assad and is part of a Saudi-led coalition that has been bombing Houthis in Yemen for more than two months.
"There might be differences over some issues, but the two countries, as friends, brothers and neighbours, should get over these obstacles," Sheikh Tamim said, calling relations with Iran "historical and robust."
Rouhani said there was "good potential for economic and political" relations between the two countries.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2015 00:00 ||
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[AnNahar] The world's chemical weapons watchdog on Wednesday said all effluents from Syria's neutralized chemical weapons arsenal have been destroyed.
"The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons welcomes the disposal of effluents resulting from neutralization operations aboard the U.S. vessel Cape Ray," the Hague-based watchdog said in a statement.
A total of 1,300 metric tonnes of chemical weapons have been removed from Syria, with the majority neutralized on the U.S. Navy ship MV Cape Ray -- and turned into less harmful effluent.
This effluent is the result of the sea-based destruction of sulphur mustards, commonly known as mustard gas, and methylphosphonyl difluoride, a precursor chemical for sarin gas.
Syria's chemical weapons stockpile was destroyed after Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad Trampler of Homs... 's regime agreed to an international plan, following a 2013 sarin attack on a Damascus suburb that sparked a global outcry.
The United States threatened military action against Damascus over the attack, but held off following the disarmament agreement.
The OPCW said a waste disposal facility in Finland last Thursday said it had destroyed 5,463 metric tonnes of methylphosphonyl difluoride effluent.
On Friday, a German waste disposal firm destroyed some 335 metric tonnes of sulphur mustard effluent in Germany.
The German disposal has been verified by an OPCW team, while another verification team will shortly be sent to Finland, the watchdog said.
"This is yet another milestone in the path to eliminating chemical weapons stocks in Syria," OPCW director Ahmet Uzumcu said in the statement.
Of the 1,300 metric tonnes of Syria's declared chemical weapons only 16 metric tonnes of hydrogen fluoride remain to be destroyed at a facility in Port Arthur in Texas, the OPCW said.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
06/20/2015 00:00 ||
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[Al Ahram] Islamist Death Eater propaganda websites and social media accounts in South Asia are promoting Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... at the expense of al Qaeda, analysts said on Friday, highlighting the rivalry between the two global Death Eater groups.
Disaffected Taliban factions have started to look towards Islamic State, impressed by its rapid capture of territory in Syria and Iraq, though there is no evidence it is providing substantial material support to the Taliban.
The popularity of IS comes at the expense of al Qaeda, whose deep pockets and imported muscle once readily attracted local commanders. But al Qaeda has been decimated by drone strikes and its traditional influence severely eroded.
"The Taliban and al Qaeda have almost been written out of the picture," said Omar Hamid, the head of Asia analysis at IHS Country Risk. "Most of these sites have converted their content to an Islamic State (IS) platform."
Posted by: Fred ||
06/20/2015 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
The US Air Force has reduced the number of drones it keeps in the air because their stressed-out pilots are quitting in large numbers.
"Having our folks make that mental shift every day, driving into the gate and thinking, 'All right, I've got my war face on, and I'm going to the fight,' and then driving out of the gate and stopping at Walmart to pick up a carton of milk or going to the soccer game on the way home -- and the fact that you can't talk about most of what you do at home -- all those stressors together are what is putting pressure on the family, putting pressure on the airman," Colonel Cluff said.
[Breitbart] "The only person who can stop a bad guy with a gun, is a good guy with a gun. Unarmed victims are pretty helpless. At present I'm working to develop a curriculum for training African churches to defend themselves against Islamic and Communist aggression."
David Cameron
Criticising Cameron's heavy focus on "
"The government needs to champion them, support them. Only then will it have the credibility to demand that communities themselves do more."
[Al Ahram] Russian President 
Pervez 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir 
